San Jose mission closes

San Jose Catholic Church in Ryan, a mission church of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Duncan, closed on Feb. 1. 

A final Mass with Archbishop Coakley was scheduled in the spring, but it was cancelled after COVID-19 led to restrictions.
 
George Rigazzi, archivist for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, provided a brief history of the mission. In the late 1960s, Father Leo Quinn rented a small house in Terral to meet the needs of migrant farm workers. In 1970, Father Thomas Smith came and secured a former Methodist church in Sugden, which would become San Jose Mission in 1973. 
 
“The building was in general disrepair with a leaky roof and was one storm away from being unusable. By 1979, the rains came, and the building was closed. It was and has always been a mission of Duncan. At that juncture in its history, all the priests were from the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales,” Rigazzi said. “A portion of the community migrated to Waurika during the years of 1980-1985. While they were welcomed at Saint Thomas Catholic Church, it was not their home. Many ceased to attend Mass.”

While planning for the building of a mission in Ryan, Rigazzi said, the new San Jose Church got a boost from a $68,500 grant given by the Catholic Extension Society. In December 1985, the new church building was complete, and a Mass of dedication was celebrated by Archbishop Salatka. Approximately 200 people attended the first Mass.
 
The mission was located at 12th and Lincoln in Ryan with Father Peter Jandaczek serving as pastor. 
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