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August 27, 2020When examining the history of the Church in Oklahoma, it cannot be overstated in saying that the Benedictines from Pierre-qui-Vire, France, were critical to its founding and growth.
Coming to Oklahoma in 1875, Father Isidore Robot and Brother Dominic Lambert settled in the Potawatomi Tribe’s territory near Konawa to build Sacred Heart Abbey. It would become the hub for all things Catholic in Oklahoma.
The mettle of this community would be tested often as life on the prairie was difficult and the challenges complex. The best word to describe their existence would be “austere.” Prayer began at 3 a.m. and work ensued. Seven times a day they gathered to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. In the year 1877 their meals consisted of: bread and coffee for breakfast; soup and vegetables for dinner; and rice and prunes for supper … every day.
Father David Monahan wrote: “The spirit of daring and hardiness of the Sacred Heart Benedictines is illustrated by Father Suitbert Breiken who arrived alone in Indian Territory at Atoka in March 1883. Realizing that no one had come to meet him, Father Suitbert, then 63 years old, walked the 70 miles from Atoka to Sacred Heart carrying his suitcase and crossing Muddy Boggy Creek and the South Canadian River along the way.”
Despite hardships and seemingly endless roadblocks, these monks tamed the harsh prairie and brought the Gospel in the far-flung mining communities of McAlester, Krebs and Lehigh where Catholic immigrants resided. They ministered to the Osage Tribe in Northeastern Oklahoma with zeal in the person of Father Felix DeGrasse. They educated, administered the sacraments, and were the backbone of Catholic life for many Oklahomans. In total, more than 40 parishes and missions were founded by these dedicated monks.
They would, of course, move to Shawnee in 1929 and become Saint Gregory’s Abbey, and the buildings at Sacred Heart would be demolished in the 1950s. There are a few buildings on the site as well as the cemeteries where the monks and Mercy Sisters (who ran a school for girls) were laid to rest.
In the above picture, the Sacred Heart Abbey Band is pictured circa 1905. On the left is Father Gregory Gerrer who would become an internationally known painter and artist for his official portrait of Pope Saint Pius X.
