A Little Oom-Pah-Pah Lightens the Liturgy

It’s not the solemn stuff that Mass is usually made of, but a Minnesota priest says polka and prayers do mix.

“People are always asking me why,” the Rev. Frank Perkovich said. “Why bring this beer hall music into church? I say, ‘What is church music anyway?’ It’s anything that raises your heart to God.”

The weekend polka Mass for about 850 people was the first at St. John’s Abbey Church. Perkovich, now pastor in Gilbert, introduced the idea about 20 years ago.

“Basically, it’s a Catholic Mass,” he said. “Except we use polkas and waltzes for the music.”