Reverend Emil Depreitere was a member of a remarkable family that would be part of the very core of leadership in the early history of the Church in Oklahoma.
His uncle was Monsignor Gustave Depreitere who served the Diocese of Oklahoma (later Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa) for 66 years and was vicar general for 56 years. His great-uncle was Theophile Meerschaert, the first bishop of Oklahoma. From this auspicious pedigree, Father Emil made a name for himself in his priestly ministry for Oklahoma.
His arrival in Oklahoma coincided with the Germans invading Belgium in 1915, causing him to flee to France. Arriving in the United States, he continued his studies at Kenrick Seminary in Saint Louis. He was ordained at his uncle’s church at Saint Francis Xavier in Enid on May 8, 1918.
As a young pastor of Bristow and Drumright, he was threatened by the Ku Klux Klan (who were enjoying a resurgence after the First World War in Oklahoma) that if he didn’t leave within 30 days he would suffer the consequences. Not to be deterred, Father Depreitere was commissioned a deputy sheriff that allowed him to carry a concealed weapon. Thankfully, he never had to use it.
As the pastor of Pawhuska, he oversaw the Golden Jubilee (1937) of the parish of Immaculate Conception in the heart of Osage country. It promised a great feast of antelope steak. One thousand people attended the celebration, including Cardinal Hayes of New York.
Not afraid of tackling building projects, he built a church at Bristow and the entire current parish plant in El Reno. He retired in 1967 to the Center for Christian Renewal (now the Catholic Pastoral Center). In 1968, he underwent the world’s first lung transplant performed by his nephew.
He passed away on Sept. 26, 1973, having lived a fruitful and interesting life that typified the early clergy of this state. Father Emil’s chalice, which he gave to his El Reno parishioner Father James Kastner on the occasion of his ordination, is kept as a treasured artifact in the archdiocesan archives.