From the Archives

Bishop Theophile Meerschaert came to the United States from Belgium to bring the Gospel to the decidedly non-Catholic areas of Mississippi and later as vicar apostolic to what would become the Diocese of Oklahoma. A series of dairies that meticulously tracked his movements throughout the state still exist and are priceless vignettes that paint a picture of life in the early days of the Oklahoma Church.
 
One such glimpse can be seen in the opening of the new church in Eufaula. This new structure was the result of the labor of Father William Ketchem, who would later head the Catholic Indian Bureau in Washington. His responsibilities included most of eastern Oklahoma from Pawhuska to Antlers.
 
A strong anti-Catholic attitude seemed to permeate Eufaula (hardly unusual for the time) and Catholics were a distinct minority. The bishop arrived to dedicate the church on Sept. 11, 1892, with a Pontifical High Mass at 10 a.m. To counteract the Catholics, the Methodist minister had scheduled a revival to be held during the bishop’s visit that would coincide with the dedication.
 
A special preacher was summoned from Arkansas for the occasion. The Indian Advocate (the publication of the Church in Oklahoma) recounts: “God, however moved his little finger, and all turned out for the best; during the night preceding the celebration and on the morning thereof it was very muddy. At 10 a.m., only a few people came to the Methodist church, and these reporting that the whole town was going to the Catholic celebration; whereupon the leading elder said: ‘Well my friends, I met the bishop last evening and he seems to a very nice man. I don’t think it will hurt us to go to the Catholic church today. So, they all went to the Catholic Church.”
 
As Father James White observed in his book “Diary of a Frontier Bishop:” “…even a Methodist revival couldn’t compete with a fully vested Catholic bishop, complete with throne!”
 
For early Oklahomans, the bishop’s visits were a source of entertainment and a unique curiosity for the community. Bishop Meerschaert realized that the trappings of his office could be a way to bring onlookers to his talks and he could evangelize or at the very least allow people to see that they had nothing to fear from the Catholic Church. These forays into sometimes hostile areas won the respect of Catholics and non-Catholics alike.