Search
-
December 19, 2018OKARCHE – Archbishop Paul Coakley, former pastors, parishioners and the community of Okarche gathered Oct. 7 to celebrate the 125 th anniversary of Holy Trinity Catholic Church.
Hundreds of well-wishers filled the gothic-inspired church that sits just off the main thoroughfare through this quaint farming town 40 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. The parish and the community are the home of Blessed Stanley Rother, who was beatified in 2017.
During his homily, Archbishop Coakley celebrated the faith and the life of the church and its people in what he said is one of the most historically Catholic towns in Oklahoma.
“On the first Sunday of October in 1893, the Catholics of Okarche gathered in the first church built here by the local Catholic community to celebrate the Eucharist for the first time. From that time until now, the faithful of this community have come together to celebrate their Catholic faith, to celebrate the Mass, to live their faith, to hand on their faith in ways that have been a great blessing to the families, to this community and to the Church in Oklahoma.”
In 1892, Father Joseph Beck began to say Mass in Okarche in the homes of residents, since many of them were of German Catholic background. A church was built in 1893 and dedicated by Bishop Theo Meerschaert a year later.
The church opened a school more than a decade before a public school system was started in Oklahoma. In 1902, Father Zenon Steber arrived as a missionary, serving the Okarche community for more than 45 years. Until English became more prominent in the area, Father Steber celebrated Mass in German and English, and oversaw the tremendous growth of the parish, the school and vocations.
Blessed Stanley is among nine priests who are Okarche natives, and the parish has been home to several other religious men and women.
“I’m grateful for the vocations that have come from here, the witness that this parish has given the larger Church, the gift that Blessed Stanley has been,” Archbishop Coakley said. “Vocation and family have been nurtured here. We are called to be good stewards of the gifts God has given us.”
The 125 th anniversary celebration included Mass and a parish dinner with several former pastors of Holy Trinity – Father Stephen Bird, Father Marvin Leven, Father Philip Louis and Father Gerard MacAulay (administrator) – in attendance.
Diane Clay is editor of the Sooner Catholic.
OKARCHE – Archbishop Paul Coakley, former pastors, parishioners and the community of Okarche gathered Oct. 7 to celebrate the 125 th anniversary of Holy Trinity Catholic Church.
Hundreds of well-wishers filled the gothic-inspired church that sits just off the main thoroughfare through this quaint farming town 40 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. The parish and the community are the home of Blessed Stanley Rother, who was beatified in 2017.
During his homily, Archbishop Coakley celebrated the faith and the life of the church and its people in what he said is one of the most historically Catholic towns in Oklahoma.
“On the first Sunday of October in 1893, the Catholics of Okarche gathered in the first church built here by the local Catholic community to celebrate the Eucharist for the first time. From that time until now, the faithful of this community have come together to celebrate their Catholic faith, to celebrate the Mass, to live their faith, to hand on their faith in ways that have been a great blessing to the families, to this community and to the Church in Oklahoma.”
In 1892, Father Joseph Beck began to say Mass in Okarche in the homes of residents, since many of them were of German Catholic background. A church was built in 1893 and dedicated by Bishop Theo Meerschaert a year later.
The church opened a school more than a decade before a public school system was started in Oklahoma. In 1902, Father Zenon Steber arrived as a missionary, serving the Okarche community for more than 45 years. Until English became more prominent in the area, Father Steber celebrated Mass in German and English, and oversaw the tremendous growth of the parish, the school and vocations.
Blessed Stanley is among nine priests who are Okarche natives, and the parish has been home to several other religious men and women.
“I’m grateful for the vocations that have come from here, the witness that this parish has given the larger Church, the gift that Blessed Stanley has been,” Archbishop Coakley said. “Vocation and family have been nurtured here. We are called to be good stewards of the gifts God has given us.”
The 125 th anniversary celebration included Mass and a parish dinner with several former pastors of Holy Trinity – Father Stephen Bird, Father Marvin Leven, Father Philip Louis and Father Gerard MacAulay (administrator) – in attendance.
Diane Clay is editor of the Sooner Catholic.