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June 17, 2021The Catholic presence in Tonkawa can be traced back to 1903 when Father Renier Sevens, pastor of Ponca City, celebrated Mass for Catholics in the area. He eventually bought the old Methodist church for the purpose of providing a worship space for the young community. Bishop Meerschaert blessed the building for Catholic use on May 3, 1909.
By 1911, Tonkawa had become a mission of Blackwell. With the Three Sands oil boom (Tonkawa being at the center of it), the town thrived, and residents were becoming wealthy. It now seemed to be the opportune moment to build a new church.
Funds to make this happen were not a problem as the church was paid for when it was completed. This was an anomaly in Oklahoma as the practice of the Church was that a church could be dedicated but not consecrated until the debt was retired.
As a point of reference, The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Oklahoma City was dedicated in 1924 but not consecrated until 1947. The first church consecrated in Oklahoma was Holy Family (later cathedral) in Tulsa in 1925. Saint Joseph Catholic Church was consecrated on July 5, 1926, the second such action in the state.
Bishop Kelley was entertaining a guest from Rome. His guest, Archbishop Giuseppe Palica, was drafted to perform the six-hour marathon ceremony with Kelley assisting. One can only imagine enduring this in the midst of an Oklahoma summer before the advent of air conditioning. The edifice was beautifully done and due to its size and importance, Blackwell became a mission of Tonkawa.
What became of the old church? Moved from the premises, it continued to serve the Church of God in Tonkawa. This prairie ingenuity of repurposing saw one building being utilized by three different denominations.
Tonkawa became one of the centers for Bishop Kelley’s Lapeer Experiment. While a parish priest in Michigan, Kelley saw the poverty and extreme loneliness of rural parish life for the clergy. He devised a plan to house several priests to reside in the same central location and minister to several parishes. Upon becoming bishop in Oklahoma, he eventually established a few of these centers with Tonkawa being the most successful due to a large rectory and the leadership of Father Stephen Leven. Leven was a pioneer in the field of evangelization and perfected the technique of street preaching proclaiming the gospel whenever and wherever. This dynamic priest went on to become the first Oklahoman to be named a bishop when he was appointed auxiliary of San Antonio.
In 1948, the parish opened an elementary school initially run by the Felician Sisters out of Ponca City. Unfortunately, like so many other small rural schools, the struggle to keep the doors open was too much for this community and it closed in 1963.
For nearly 120 years, Saint Joseph Catholic Church has served the people of northern Oklahoma with a rich history and strong foundation in the faith.
