From the Archives

In November of 1971, Bishop John R. Quinn (he was the auxiliary bishop of San Diego) was appointed the new bishop of the Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa following the death of Bishop Victor Reed. Only 42 years old, he was already a rising star in the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (later the USCCB). 

Due to his intellect and abundant talent, he was chosen to come to Oklahoma to bring stability to a church that was known for its experimentation and progressive nature. Unlike Bishop Reed, Bishop Quinn was punctual about most things and as Father David Monahan pointed out, “Bishop Quinn tried to steer a difficult course with a combination of firmness and openness.” 

A large part of that “difficult course” was the dividing of the diocese. The Church in Oklahoma was established as the Diocese of Oklahoma in 1905. In 1930, Bishop Francis Kelley petitioned Rome for a name change to the Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa since Tulsa had been largely overlooked even though it had been very generous to the maintenance of the diocese.

It had become clear that the time for the diocese to divide was at hand and the capable Bishop Quinn was just the man to do it. A papal bull was issued on Dec. 19, 1972, calling for the change. 

From Shawnee to the west would make up the new Archdiocese of Oklahoma City; east of the line would constitute the new Diocese of Tulsa. Wherever a priest was at the time of the division would be the diocese to which he belonged. Only one priest asked to be moved. Thorny financial and patrimonial issues were tackled as well but considering the difficulty of the task it was a relatively smooth transition.

On Feb. 6, 1973, Bishop Quinn became the first Archbishop of Oklahoma City. The next day, Texan Bernard Ganter became the first Bishop of Tulsa. Bishop Ganter, a proud graduate of Texas A&M, was kind, unassuming, exuded warmth and was able to laugh at Aggie jokes. 

He would remain Bishop of Tulsa until 1977, returning to Texas to become the bishop in Beaumont where he remained until death took him too soon due to brain tumor at the age of 65. His replacement in Tulsa would be the 42-year-old Eusebius Beltran from Atlanta, Ga. Archbishop Quinn also would leave in 1977 to become the Archbishop of San Francisco.

After belonging to the Province of San Antonio for decades, a new province of Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Little Rock, Ark., was formed with Oklahoma City being the Metropolitan See. Because of Archbishop Quinn and devoted members of the clergy, this mammoth undertaking would not have been as seamless as it turned out to be. This would begin a new chapter in the history of the Church in Oklahoma.