From the Archives

Monsignor James McGuire was born in a foreign country like so many of the early clergy. In this case, Sainte-Brigide-d'Iberville, Quebec, Canada, on Jan. 18, 1874. He arrived in Oklahoma in 1894 and served as county clerk in Pond Creek until answering the call to priesthood. Bishop Meerschaert accepted his application and sent him to his favorite seminary (where many missionaries were trained), the American College at Louvain, Belgium.

Following ordination in 1895, he served as assistant at Saint Joseph Cathedral (later referred to as Saint Joseph Old Cathedral) and became a pastor at Wagoner in 1907 and built a church there.

He came to Oklahoma City to start the parish of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in 1910. Named to the important post of chancellor 1919, he served in that capacity under two bishops leaving that role in 1925. His obituary characterized his service in that office: “The gentlemanly scholar had a host of friends in Oklahoma and was an important figure in the church until incapacitated. He was kind and gracious to everyone. He defended the faith numerous times in the public press during the Klan days of the early twenties.” In fact, his defense became legendary as the Klan enjoyed a resurgence after the First World War with Catholics being one of the primary targets.

As often time is the case, a new bishop names his own chancellor, and at that juncture he was named administrator of Holy Family Catholic Church in Tulsa. Named pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Tulsa, the name was changed to Christ the King Catholic Church by Bishop Kelley, and Monsignor McGuire was responsible for the oversight of the building of this architectural masterpiece.

He was appointed pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church in 1929 and rector when it became the co-cathedral in 1931. However, as the previously mentioned obituary alluded to, Monsignor McGuire suffered with sometimes debilitating bouts of asthma. Oklahoma’s climate certainly did nothing to relieve his infirmities. He retired from his pastorate in 1935 and served as a hospital chaplain in various locations as his health permitted.

Monsignor McGuire left this life on April 2, 1950. This intellectual priest gave his life in service to the people of Oklahoma with a kindness and gentleness that resonated and made him beloved. Had his health not been so limiting, it is not difficult to imagine an even larger footprint in Oklahoma church history would have been accomplished by this remarkable man.

In his eulogy at the Requiem Mass, Father Gilbert Hardesty summed up a life well led: “Of Msgr. McGuire I will say, and all will agree, that his outstanding virtue was a charitable judgement, both in mind and in words. We believe that God will judge and has judged him mercifully, for he was merciful in his judgement of his fellowman.”