Grad Stories: tales of family and faith

Returning to Oklahoma City for her 20th high school class reunion, Laura Cain reconnected with an old love.

Mount Saint Mary Catholic High School.

A graduate in The Mount’s class of 1989, Cain said her high school experiences with good and loving teachers directed her toward a professional life in education, first in Joplin, Missouri, and later in Ardmore.

The reunion ignited a quest to return “home,” which she did in 2022, as The Mount’s principal.

“To be back on campus, experience that feel again,” Cain said, “that’s what I wanted for my girls.”

Those girls – Claire, Kayla and Katherine Gallagher – graduated from Saint Mary, continuing the family story at the school.

Such stories are common at Saint Mary and Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School, and surely soon at Cristo Rey OKC Catholic High School, once a few years create some distance from its opening in 2018.

And they are the stories of legacies, connecting past and present and carrying on family memories from old to young.

The archdiocese celebrates another year of school with the annual Sooner Catholic graduation issue. Another class of graduates. Another year of excellence.

And another link in the chain of Catholic families filling hallways and yearbooks for generations.

Roll Call of Kierls

Phil Kierl sold insurance and coached basketball. Pretty good at both, too, which prompted a possible promotion within the insurance company, albeit with one caveat: relocation to West Texas.

“Dad talked to a priest or bishop out there who said, ‘If Catholic school is a priority, you need to stay in Oklahoma City,’” said Michael Kierl, recalling a conversation of how the family, and Bishop McGuinness, were changed dramatically.

Because, yes, Catholic school was of the utmost importance to the Kierls.

Michael, an orthodontist in Oklahoma City, is one of 10 children of Phil and Betty Kierl. The roll call: Phil Jr., Mary Elizabeth, Anne, Peter, Patricia (Tish), Christy, Margaret Mary, Michael, Theresa and Barbara.

All McGuinness grads.

“It was a great sacrifice by our parents,” Michael said. “One we all recognize.

“Catholic education is all I knew. We lived half a block from Rosary (School). Grew up, 6 o’clock in the morning, the church bells rang. Six o’clock in the evening, the Angelus rang; time to come home for dinner.”

The Kierls all passed through Rosary, then on to McGuinness where dad was building an Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame career after founding the girls basketball program.

Why was a Catholic education so important to the Kierls?

“Based on my experience, and watching my children, the faith community that you’re exposed to, it just becomes natural,” said Michael, Class of 1978. “And, of course, it’s a wonderful education.

“Maybe because Oklahoma is such a small Catholic faith community – it’s not St. Louis, it’s not Kansas City – I think the faith community was something important.”

That importance extended through Michael and his wife Ann’s own children – Peter, Patraic, Maureen and finally Clare, the last of four more Kierl McGuinness grads who graduated this spring.

“McGuinness has always been an anchor for our family,” Michael said. “From my time, to my kids graduating, and I’m certain that some, if not all of my grandchildren, if they live in the Oklahoma City area, will go there.”

Formulative Years

Laura Cain realized early that something special was happening to her and for her at Saint Mary.

“I had a great experience at The Mount,” she said. “The people I encountered at The Mount – teachers, the sisters – definitely formed me at that time of my life into the young adult I became, ultimately the life and mother and professional I became.

“And it was at The Mount that I even became inspired to become a teacher, because I was taught by and interacted with truly incredible teachers. Lay teachers and religious. That sparked something in me, to not only stay connected with the Catholic faith as I went into my young adult life, but also to want to give back by becoming a teacher, with the ultimate goal of serving in Catholic schools.”

Cain hadn’t yet considered that would happen at Saint Mary.

Then the class reunion brought back all those good feelings from high school, where she was a cheerleader and active in several organizations.

“From that time,” Cain said, “we started putting the wheels in motion to relocate our family back to Oklahoma City with the sole purpose of our girls attending Saint Mary.”

The path initially took Cain to Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School in Edmond. And that was good, she said, because her daughters were tired of attending school where her mom was the principal.

When she assumed the principal’s role at Saint Mary in 2022, her girls had all passed through.

“They loved it, had great experiences at The Mount, because of the people and the mission of the school and the deep Catholic identity of the school,” Cain said.

Same as it was back when mom was cheering on the Rockets.

And same for Cain today.

“Still, when I drive up to The Mount, it feels like I’m pulling up to my childhood home,” she said. “It’s a very warm and welcoming feeling. It’s a place where I feel like I belong – everybody belongs. I definitely owe Mount Saint Mary a debt of gratitude. And this is one way I can pay that back.

“Sometimes I have to pinch myself, knowing this is what I’m doing.”

John Helsley is the editor of the Sooner Catholic.


Photo: (Top) Laura Cain, Mount Saint Mary Catholic High School principal.

Laura Cain, from her senior yearbook. Photos provided.


Michael Kierl and his family at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School graduation this spring. Photos provided.


Michael Kierl and his siblings.
 
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Check out the Sooner Catholic graduation issue!