From the Archives

As is the case in the founding of many Oklahoma communities, the railroads played a significant role in establishing settlements. In April 1892, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad completed its mainline into the small town of Chickasha. Chickasha was then inhabited primarily by railroad workers.

Many of these workers were Catholic and in need of spiritual guidance and the sacraments. Father Germanus from El Reno, another Rock Island stronghold, was the first to minister to the community. As the Catholic population grew, the necessity of a resident pastor became abundantly clear. Joseph Van Hulse had that honor bestowed upon him in 1895. He rented the second floor of the Fitzpatrick building and quickly that space was outgrown.

In 1896, Father Frank Hall became the new pastor, and a more accommodating space was procured in the Masonic Lodge. The Masons were known to be notoriously anti-Catholic, so their courtesy is more than a little remarkable. However, there are numerous stories of religious tolerance on the prairie in the early years of Oklahoma, such as Saint John Catholic Church in Edmond being shared by Protestant churches.

Father Hall endured the hardships of missionary life, even being on a train robbed by outlaws Al and Frank Jennings – an experience that profoundly affected him. Lasting only two years, he departed. Father Hall’s troubled career included a suspension in 1903 for leaving the diocese without permission. Father Isidore Ricklin, a temporary replacement, succeeded in building a frame structure in 1898. Bishop Meershaert dedicated the church to the Holy Name of Jesus. In the following year, with funds from Saint Katherine Drexel, Saint Joseph’s Academy opened, served by Franciscan Sisters of Glen Riddle, Pa.

Under the capable leadership of Father Urban de Hasque, who later served as chancellor of the diocese, the church was moved four hundred feet and doubled in size in 1908. Finally, a beautiful brick church, still in use, was dedicated on May 26, 1926. 

Holy Name of Jesus has a long tradition of competent. quality pastors including Monsignor John Heiring, former rector of the cathedral in Tulsa, and Monsignor Gavin Monaghan of Prince Edward Island, Canada, who served as superintendent of Catholic Schools.

Vocations blossomed as six women entered religious life, and the Ross family provided three priests to serve in the diocese. 

In 1955, the golden anniversary of the Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa was celebrated by publishing the histories of each parish. The final paragraph of Holy Name’s contribution is a perfect summation: “It is impossible to ignore the many graces and blessings which have come to the parish through the fore fathers in the faith; the pioneer Catholics who remained faithful and true under conditions most adverse; the devoted Sisters of Saint Francis who have helped to educate succeeding generations of children; and the zealous priests, most of whom from across the sea to help build the Church in Oklahoma.”