Saint Matthew Catholic Church is preparing to celebrate the parish’s 50th anniversary in December. Archbishop Coakley will celebrate Mass on Dec. 13.
The first Masses were said at Saint Matthew on Dec. 5-6, 1970, after Bishop Victor Reed combined three parishes in the area – Saint Francis, Saint Joseph and Holy Family. Parishioners met in a temporary space until 1998 when a permanent church was built.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary, parishioner Don Greteman recalled his family’s history in the wide-open western portions of Oklahoma that led to Saint Matthew Catholic Church.
“Before I can adequately relate the history of this iconic church, I need to go to where it all began – Saint Francis.
I crossed Turkey Creek, a small tributary that runs one mile south of Canute and headed toward Saint Francis Cemetery. The cemetery lies a little more than a mile east of the old "two mile bar," a leftover of one of the many oil busts of western Oklahoma. The site rested below a small hill dotted with pasture grass and fields of red sand surrounding what was once the home of a vibrant church community – Saint Francis Catholic Church, "the mother church" of western Oklahoma.
In the latter part of the 19th century, Oklahoma missionary priests from Saint Francis of Assisi in El Reno made the arduous journey west to minister to the pioneer families who had settled near an area that later would be known as Scheidel. Mass was said in the homes and dugouts of the pioneers until a small church was completed in March 1900. P.N. (Lippy) Schones had donated five acres of land for the site. Eight men volunteered to take their teams and wagons to Weatherford for the materials, a journey of two and a half days. A year later, two rooms were added to accommodate the resident pastor. In 1903, a new rectory was begun. It later lodged the Sisters of Mercy who staffed the school. The congregation was rapidly increasing, which resulted in the building of a new church in 1905.
In the cemetery lay pioneer Catholic families, mostly ethnic German immigrants who first settled in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and later made the demanding journey to Oklahoma Territory.
While the history of the Catholic Church in western Oklahoma began at Saint Francis, it quickly spread to the communities of Sayre, Elk City, Weatherford, Thomas, Clinton, Cordell, Hobart and Mangum. A year before statehood, Bishop Theophile Meerschaert dedicated a new church, Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Elk City. In 1926, Saint Joseph Catholic School was built, and in 1926, the Canute members broke away from Saint Francis and established Holy Family Catholic Church.
Unlike Saint Francis, the former church building was still standing, plus a rectory and the old gym. Since Holy Family was located on Route 66, the grotto had been a favorite tourist stop in the 1950s and 1960s. Later, when Route 66 became Interstate 40, the town of Canute fell victim to the bypass. Local businesses closed due to the loss of traffic and the grotto attracted fewer tourists.
I made the eight-mile trek to Elk City via I-40 to visit the site of Saint Joseph Catholic Church. The former church building was now a community theater.
The Catholic churches of Saint Francis, Holy Family and Saint Joseph served the needs of western Oklahoma Catholics for more than 80 years. Although they shared a common faith, there was a sense of individualism in each parish. It was on Dec. 5 and 6, 1970, two very emotional days, Mass was celebrated for the last time in the three parishes.
The lack of priestly personnel and the financial pressure was too great to maintain three parishes. Bishop Reed wrote, “It is my sincere hope that you will mutually support Saint Matthew Church in a cooperative spirit in order that it may grow into a parish community marked by fraternal love and regard for one another, and to cooperate working together as a parish family, that future pastors will be happy to serve here."
A site on the eastern edge of Elk City was chosen as the home of the new parish. The members of the three parishes started worshiping in temporary quarters at Saint Matthew School. In 1998, a permanent church was dedicated adjoining the school building. The new structure was dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene.
The three-bell tower features bells from the three churches. The 10,000-square-foot church also has a crucifix from Saint Joseph; stations of the cross from Holy Family; and stained-glass windows from Saint Francis. The church also features an outside mosaic of Saint Matthew, a granite baptismal font with a waterfall, a prayer garden, a reconciliation room, a sacristy and an audio-visual control room with seating for more than 500 people.
Much has transpired in those 50 years. Saint Matthew and its sister community of Queen of All Saints Catholic Church in Sayre will celebrate a special milestone as they continue to reveal God's presence to both Catholic and non-Catholic people in western Oklahoma.”