The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City established the Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Spiritual Center of Oklahoma in 2017. The director is Deacon Roy Callison, coordinator for American Indian Catholic Outreach for the archdiocese.
The spiritual center was briefly housed at Saint Gregory’s University in Shawnee. After Saint Gregory’s closed, Father Joseph Schwarz at Saint Benedict in Shawnee provided space for the center at the church.
“We very much appreciate his generosity,” Callison said. “However, the center really needs a building of its own to function at its full potential. While the center was operating at Saint Gregory’s, it was having a great impact on both students and faculty.”
Callison, Cherokee, and his wife Susan, Choctaw, lead the AICO office and the Saint Kateri center for the archdiocese. They began collecting Bibles written in different tribal languages to display at the spiritual center and hope to one day have a relic of Saint Kateri at the center.
“Susan and I envision a center with a small chapel where the Mass can be celebrated with American Indian spirituality and where we can provide an opportunity for adoration,” Callison said. “Anything that can be done to draw American Indian people to a place where Catholicism is promoted would be a tremendous help in our evangelization efforts.”
Deacon and Susan Callison attended the 2018 Tekakwitha Conference in Tacoma, Wash., this summer and came back to Oklahoma rejuvenated.
“When Susan and I return from a conference, we can’t wait to begin our powwow ministry again,” Callison said. “The beauty of it is our rejuvenation is contagious.”
Their powwow ministry takes them to powwows throughout the archdiocese where they set up a table to provide books about the Catholic faith, pamphlets about different programs, and provide rosaries.
They also answer questions and participate in the powwow. Overall, they provide an example of how the Catholic faith and American Indian spirituality can be equally combined.
In 2017, Bishop David Konderla invited them to expand their ministry to the Diocese of Tulsa. For the past two years, AICO has held a Prayer in the Four Directions conference, which brought in nationally-known speakers on American Indian Catholics.
“Susan and I want to thank Archbishop Coakley for establishing American Indian Catholic Outreach more than four years ago. In the short time that the outreach has been active, through the grace of God, we feel we have made great strides in evangelizing and sometimes re-evangelizing our American Indian brothers and sisters,” Callison said. “We have heard from people at the powwows that either they have returned to the Catholic faith or a friend or loved one has. What a blessing! Please keep the office of American Indian Catholic Outreach in your prayers.”
For more information about AICO and Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Spiritual Center of Oklahoma, contact Deacon Roy Callison at (918) 822-3255 or [email protected], or go online to archokc.org/american-indian-catholic-outreach.
Dana Attocknie is managing editor for the Sooner Catholic.
Photo: The Most Reverend Gary Gordon, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria, prays for Deacon Roy and Susan Callison and the American Indian Catholic Outreach at the 2018 Tekakwitha Conference in Tacoma, Wash.