From the Archives

Brother Dominic Lambert, OSB, was a witness to the very beginnings of the Church in Oklahoma as the traveling companion, and assistant, to Father Isidore Robot. The monks came to the state from France to establish the faith in what was most assuredly mission territory. Brother Dominic’s story is unique, in that he served as a Papal Zouave enlisted to protect the Papal States and Rome from the Italian Nationalists in the 1860s. He became a member of a strict observance Benedictine monastery at Pierre-qui-Vire in France making his profession in 1870. His experience and physical prowess made him the obvious choice to accompany the less than robust Robot.

Embarking from New Orleans, they spent time in Louisiana where Brother Dominic contracted yellow fever. Extremely ill, he battled through the disease that killed thousands, and with Father Isidore, finally arrived in Atoka on Oct. 12, 1875. 

With the generosity of the Potawatomi tribe, the monastery of Sacred Heart was founded near Konawa. Father Isidore had been appointed Prefect Apostolic of the Territory to oversee the expansion of the Church in Oklahoma. The ever-resourceful Brother Lambert helped to build the first log structure at Sacred Heart in 1877.

He continued to serve as Dom Isidore’s companion on his many travels throughout the state until the Prefect’s resignation in 1886. Brother Dominic returned to Sacred Heart to become the master of the wine cellar, as his vines provided what was necessary for sacramental wine and consumption at the abbey. This was his work until he decided to return to Europe in 1912 to the Abbey at Kain in Belgium, where he died three years later.

As the intrepid partner to one of the most prominent figures in the history of the Church in Oklahoma, Brother Dominic Lambert is one of the lesser-known figures of this critical time and fulfilled his duties while being faithful to the Benedictine credo “Ora et Labora” (prayer and work).


Photo: Br. Dominic Lambert standing to the right of Fr. Isidore Robert with the Mercy Sisters.