Search
-
February 25, 2021Just a few weeks after the opening of the Cherokee Strip in September of 1893, the new village of Perry welcomed a Belgian missionary priest, Father A.G. Borremans. Father Borremans was sent by Father Felix De Grasse, the pastor of Guthrie to whom he had been assigned. Speaking little to no English, the first Mass offered in Perry took place in the rear of a grocery store owned by Conrad Lindeman and thus the Catholic community in Perry began.
From those humble beginnings, a vibrant faith brought about the building of the first church dedicated by Bishop Meerschaert to Saint Rose of Lima on Aug. 26, 1894. The Southwest Courier reported in the 50th anniversary of the diocese addition relates the following: “It was a day of great rejoicing for the parishioners. Catholics and non-Catholics alike were delighted with his excellency, his charming simplicity, his booming voice and his cordial handclaps, which won him many friends in Perry.”
In 1900, Saint Joseph’s Academy was built and operated by the Sisters of Divine Providence. It functioned until 1935 when the academy and high school were closed. The elementary school continued until 1968.
Father Wilibrord Voogden O.S.B., was named the first pastor in January of 1895 and remained so for the next 36 years. He came to Oklahoma by way of India where he had been a missionary. Belonging to a Belgian Benedictine monastery, he arrived with four other priests when the mission they served in Bengal was closed.
Seeing the necessity for expansion, he undertook the building of a new and larger brick church. Planning began in 1920 and it was completed in October of 1923. Bishop Theophile Meerschaert, in his last formal duty before his final illness and death in 1924, dedicated the beautiful new structure that was and continues to be a source of pride for all of Perry.
From 1931 through 1940, Father Urban de Hasque was pastor. Father Urban was an intellectually gifted priest who became the de facto historian of the Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa. He had served as chancellor under Bishop Meerschaert but fell from grace with the new bishop, Francis Clement Kelley. From 1935 until his departure, he wrote parish histories in the bulletin of Saint Rose of Lima that are invaluable starting points for all historical research of the archdiocese.
Coming in April 1945, Father Paul Brown was another pastor of note as he was involved with street preaching initiated by his friend Father Stephen Levin, who would later become bishop of San Angelo, Texas. During Father Brown’s tenure, Bishop McGuinness came in May of 1946 to burn the mortgage as the church was now debt free and to consecrate it. The popular and energetic Father Brown ministered to about 650 parishioners during his service to the community.
In 1977, the church went through an extensive renovation and added bronze doors depicting the 12 apostles. Two families were primarily responsible for the making of and the installation of the doors and it has been said that some of the copper used came from pennies they had collected for that express purpose.
From the Southwest Courier in 1955: “There is a nostalgic quality of youthful idealism of the early days about this parish. Many Oklahomans of succeeding generations scattered everywhere retain pleasant memories of friends and parish events at Saint Rose of Lima in Perry.”
