From the Archives

Hailing proudly from the Blackwell/Tonkawa area, Stephen Aloysius Leven was an Oklahoma legend for a variety of reasons. Born on April 30, 1905, near Blackwell, this bright, personable young man spent his childhood as one of nine children in Ponca City as his father toiled as a sharecropper. Tragedy struck the family in 1918 when his brother was killed from wounds he had received in battle during the Great War. The scars of the event never completely healed as the pain was profound for this tight knit family. 

Due to his keen intellect, strong faith and communication skills, a possible vocation to the priesthood was not surprising. He entered the seminary at Saint Mary’s in Houston, Texas. One year later he was off to the American College in Leuven in Belgium, the alma mater of Bishop Theophile Meerschaert.

Excelling in the seminary program, he finished his studies but was below the canonical age for ordination. Since he was 23 years old, the Holy Father, Pope Pius XI, issued a dispensation and Stephen Leven was ordained on June 10, 1928. 

He served as an assistant pastor at Canute, Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in Oklahoma City and pastor of Bristow. It was during this pastorate that he began the innovative and creative process of street preaching. Being a distinct minority, Father Leven sought ways to bring the Catholic faith to the fore in a fashion more acceptable to an evangelical crowd. Armed with a podium and primitive microphone, he spent many summer evenings speaking to crowds on the streetcorner. So effective were his attempts at evangelization that the KKK burned a cross on the corner as a warning. 

In 1935, his potential had been recognized as he was appointed vice-rector at Leuven, a post he held for three years. Returning to Oklahoma, he was named pastor of Tonkawa where he served for ten years. His responsibilities expanded as he became the national director o the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. During World War II, he was the Holy See’s representative to the nine German POW camps in the boundaries of Oklahoma.

In Enid, from 1948 to 1955, Father Leven continued his street preaching ministry enlisting the assistance of Fathers Foken and Brown. 

Due to his abilities and talents for innovation, he was appointed in 1955 as auxiliary bishop of San Antonio. Long considered “bishop material,” Oklahoma was part of the Province of San Antonio, until 1973, so he was a logical choice. He was the first native Oklahoman to be elevated to the episcopate.

He attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council and was intrigued with the new -found emphasis on ecumenism most likely due to his efforts at evangelization in Oklahoma. An outspoken supporter of the laity, he firmly believed in the Church as the People of God.

Bishop Leven received his own diocese to care for as the third bishop of San Angelo, Texas, in 1969. Ministering to a large Hispanic population became a source of great joy. Solving seemingly perpetual financial issues through his leadership, this firm financial footing allowed for the development of new services. He also worked tirelessly to form the program for the reinstatement of the permanent diaconate in his diocese. The permanent deaconate had fallen into disuse in the Latin Church for centuries but was revived after the Council.

Ill health forced his retirement in 1979. He retired to his beloved Blackwell and his Oklahoma roots. This prelate’s remarkable life came to a close on June 28, 1983.