Laverne ‘parish’ making its move out of the garage

Much is possible through Annual Catholic Appeal


Sprigs of greenery and flowers and white chiffon fabric spring from the crucifix stationed properly behind an altar containing the essentials.

Two candles. The small cross placed up front, in the middle. A missal stand.

A bouquet of pink and white carnations situated on the floor in front adorn the altar. The walls feature framed images of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Jose Luis Sanchez del Rio – the Mexican boy put to death at the age of 14 for refusing to renounce his Catholic faith – both fitting for this heavy Hispanic community.

Everything stands in place in this house of worship.

Even if it’s worship housed in a metal workshop garage.

That’s the scene in Laverne, a remote rural community in a corner of the Oklahoma panhandle, where as many as 75 devoted “parishioners” cram into the makeshift church, bringing the joy every Sunday to celebrate Mass.

With the closest Catholic parish some 40 miles away in Woodward, they make Mass work in the garage. For now.
The good news: a new parish home – a brick and mortar parish home established by Archbishop Paul Coakley as a mission church designated San Jose Luis Sanchez del Rio – has shifted from hope to a happening, thanks to a generous donor and matching funds from the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City raised through the Annual Catholic Appeal.

A former protestant church has been purchased and renovations are underway at the future home of San Jose Luis del Rio, with optimism of opening in 2025.

As the 2024 Annual Catholic Appeal campaign gains traction, the ongoing story in Laverne shines a spotlight on what’s possible through the spirit of giving.

“With their help,” said Father Cristobal De Loera, the pastor in Laverne, “it has given us hope that it is possible for a small community in rural Oklahoma to have a dignified church where we can worship God.”

The Annual Catholic Appeal touches many.

Money raised is used to help parishes with building needs, like San Jose Luis Sanchez del Rio, and impact many other essential areas, like youth, young adult and campus ministry programs; adult formation; religious education and Catholic schools; marriage and family life; and the cause for canonization of Blessed Stanley Rother; among others.

“The funds raised by the Annual Catholic Appeal impact virtually every ministry in the archdiocese,” Archbishop Coakley said.

Every ministry, near and far.

Laverne, population 1,198, sits nearly three hours from Oklahoma City, northwest of Woodward in Harper County. Ranching, agriculture and pig farms drive the economy.

Of those filling the folding chairs inside the garage for Mass on Sundays, many are migrants from Mexico, who have found good work in Laverne.

“Sometimes it’s full and we don’t have enough seats for everybody,” said parishioner Laura Sanchez.

Not enough seats, yet those who can fit inside, Father De Loera said, fill the space with something special.

“The spirit of God is here,” he said.

Also the pastor at Saint Peter Catholic Church in Woodward, Father De Loera sees the bulging congregation in the garage and looks forward to the day when they, and more, can gather in a more proper sacred space.

While the building for the new church has been purchased, renovations are needed before San Jose Luis Sanchez del Rio opens its doors for Mass. The interior has been gutted, to accommodate ecclesiastical architecture for a Catholic sanctuary. The heat and air system needs to be replaced and there are other issues to restore the building to code. And that’s before addressing the aesthetics.

All that requires more money.

Father De Loera and the parishioners are doing their part.

Every Sunday, they sell food, including homemade tacos and tamales. They’ve gained donations through dinner dances, including a Valentine’s Day dance that netted $11,000.

Still, most of the parishioners are migrants with little to no disposable income. And at times, it feels for them that their new church is a distant reality.

“We’re trying to do the best we can, but we need the help of our brothers and sisters in the archdiocese,” Father De Loera said.

Not that there’s any sign of discouragement among the community.

“The people are committed to Christ, committed to their faith,” said Father De Loera. “It’s amazing to see parents bring their children, and they’re smiling and they’re happy. And they are there to worship God. 

“That gives me a lot of hope that our church is well and alive here in northwest Oklahoma.”

Sanchez and others have experienced quite a journey in living their faith in Laverne.

Mass has been celebrated in homes, in a Mexican Restaurant, even in the basement of a funeral home. And now, they’re in the garage, which has been graciously dedicated 100 percent for Mass by Ismael and Noemi Dominguez, who had the workshop built behind their home.

“I think we are trying to work so hard to have our own place,” Sanchez said. “I appreciate the whole community for working so hard for us. In a small town, we have a lot of different churches, but no Catholic.”

That will change. It is changing.

And stories like these reveal the impact of the Annual Catholic Appeal.

“I think if we’re going to take seriously Archbishop Coakley’s call to ‘Go Make Disciples,’ if we’re to go and be a people who bring Christ to others, then I think we have to put our money where our mouth is,” said Peter de Karatry, executive director for Stewardship and Development for the archdiocese.

“This is a case of we are bringing the Mass to a group of people who wouldn’t have it otherwise.”

Father De Loera figures Mass attendance will almost double when the new building opens. The garage, after all, offers limited seating. And word is still spreading of the Spanish Mass in Laverne, which is experiencing a new growth.

Eventually, the community’s growth will include a new Catholic parish.

“The people, with their sacrifice, their generosity, give to the Annual Appeal, and they have a greater impact,” Father De Loera said. “Sometimes people maybe give and think, ‘Maybe my help is not going to go that far.’

“Well, look how far. It’s come all the way to Laverne, America.”

John Helsley is the editor of the Sooner Catholic.



Parishioners gather in their temporary worship space with anticipation of the new San Jose Luis Sanchez del Rio Catholic Church, a mission of St. Peter Catholic Church in Woodward, which they hope will open in 2025. A church building was purchased to renovate using funds from the Annual Catholic Appeal. Photos Avery Holt/Sooner Catholic.