Rigazzi’s archdiocese impact long-running, far-reaching

George Rigazzi sat comfortably in his makeshift office tucked behind the stage inside the conference room at the Catholic Pastoral Center, surrounded by the passions of his life.

There’s the chair of the former Bishop Theophile Meerschaert, the first bishop of Oklahoma, retrieved from the basement of Saint Gregory’s Abbey in Shawnee. There are chalices and monstrances belonging to former priests and bishops, along with many more intriguing artifacts. There’s a statue of Mother Cabrini, whose worldwide impact on the faith has been revitalized recently through the motion picture “Cabrini.”

The walls feature vintage works of art, while fun cutouts of bishops Meerschaert and Eusebius Beltran peer down from a second level. Stacks of boxes house photos and documents – some 120 years old – that reveal the rich history of the Catholic Church in Oklahoma. 

All are appropriately treasured by Rigazzi, the archdiocese archivist since 2016.

Yet it’s not all church business adorning Rigazzi’s desk. There, too, is a nod to the Cardinals – not of the conclave variety – but his beloved baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals.

Church and baseball. Those have held Rigazzi’s heart ever since he was a boy pondering his path in McAlester.

“When I was a kid, I had two dreams in my life,” Rigazzi said. “One was to play for the St. Louis Cardinals. And the other was to be an Episcopal priest, because I grew up in an Episcopal tradition.

“When I learned I couldn’t hit the curveball, Part B became my first choice.”

First choice, but not, as it turned out, his exact path, which instead features 43 years of wide-ranging work in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, only now nearing an end with retirement closing in on April 9.

“George has been a valued staff member and collaborator within the archdiocese and at the Catholic Pastoral Center for so many years,” Archbishop Paul Coakley said.

It’s been a journey for Rigazzi, filled with interesting work, for sure, but also friendships to last a lifetime. And despite the retirement announcement, he figures he’s not completely done serving, even if it’s simply volunteering.

“I think I just need to go to Mass and be somebody sitting in the pew,” Rigazzi said. “Then I’ll get going again.”

Forks in the road

Once the curveball ended one dream for Rigazzi, his long and winding road to and through the Catholic Church found footing.

By the time he converted to Catholicism in 1976 – a dozen years ahead of his parents, Dan and Pat – Rigazzi was ready to fully discern a path to the priesthood, entering Conception Seminary College in Missouri.

“It was a great place to be,” he said. “And it was a place to discern whether that was what God was calling me to do.”

Discernment led Rigazzi to believe God actually had other plans for him – a family.

“In the 70s – it’s a little different now – you always had the idea that, ‘When I grow up, I want to find the right woman, settle down and have a family.’ And that was still very much ingrained in my psyche.

“My parents still have a wonderful marriage. They’ve been married 72 years and they’re still with us, thanks be to God. So I wanted that.”

And he got that.

After refocusing his life, Rigazzi moved to Oklahoma City and began teaching theology at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in the fall of 1981. There he met Stephanie Speligene, who taught home economics and Christian living, and they’ve been together since.

“Boy, was she a good cook, and still is,” Rigazzi said. “I thought it was a coup that I found both an Italian and a Catholic in Oklahoma, which is not easy to do.

“Everything began to change from there.”

And the changes kept coming.

From that life-altering moment that began at Bishop McGuinness, Rigazzi navigated through a variety of shifting roles in the archdiocese: teaching at Bishop McGuinness, twice; director of religious education at Epiphany of the Lord Catholic Church; principal at Saint James the Greater Catholic School, followed by a turn as director of religious education there at the parish; and stints working in the Office of Family life and the Archdiocese Tribunal, overseeing marriage annulments, following a necessary step away to study canon law in Ottawa, Canada.

Along the way, the couple had a daughter and a son, Laura and Joe, too.

Rigazzi felt the importance of the Tribunal job, and the stresses.

“I learned so much about humanity and its struggles,” he said.

Fortunately, he could lean on his co-workers in Family Life, Lisa Carrasco and Ana Romero. And they leaned on him.

“We were always available to help and serve when needed, but it was George they went to visit, who made them feel at ease,” said Lisa Carrasco, who along with Ana Romero worked with Rigazzi. “He is a people person and a great moderator. At times we joked that we were going to place a sign that said, ‘The doctor can see you now,’ on his door.”

One final job awaited: archivist.

So, what is an archivist?

All the other roles, along with his love of Church history, prepared Rigazzi to serve as the archdiocese archivist, charged with properly preserving, organizing and cataloging records, as well as collecting artifacts – some then assigned to four museums in the archdiocese.

Among the joys of the job for Rigazzi: filling a key role in gathering information for the case for the beatification of Blessed Stanley Rother. A three-year project, it produced 14 boxes of research, including four boxes consisting of more than 7,000 documents sent to Rome, along with artifacts.

Blessed Stanley was formally declared a martyr in 2015, a key step in the cause to have him beatified, the final stage before canonization as a saint.

“I’m very proud that I worked on that,” Rigazzi said. “The fact that it happened was amazing.”

Those who have worked with Rigazzi, the first full-time archivist in the archdiocese, say he has established a high standard.

“No one is irreplaceable. George is the exception to the rule,” said Rose Mary Story, who works alongside Rigazzi. “He has a passion for the history of the Church. That together with his encyclopedic brain makes him a perfect fit for his role as the archivist.”

The memories

At the end of a workday alongside Carrasco and Romero, Rigazzi would often leave them with some uplifting words.

“Good night, children of God, joy of Heaven,” Carrasco recalled him saying to them. “This is one of the phrases Ana, and I will never forget.”

Said Romero, “Sometimes Lisa and I would speak Spanglish to each other while working on our programs. We would start in Spanish and end up with a few English words here and there and George would burst out laughing. He used to call us his ‘Latina Sisters.’”

Rigazzi earned a reputation for quickly making friends.

“I had been here in the Pastoral Center only a brief time when we passed in the hallway,” Story said. “I didn’t know him well. George asked how my daughter was doing playing college softball. He remembers things like that.

“Another special gift he has is his laughter. I can’t describe it, but you’ll know it when you hear it.”

Rigazzi made more friends inside and outside the Pastoral Center by writing a popular column in the Sooner Catholic, remembering some of the key Catholic people and places from archdiocese history.

“One of my favorite features that I never missed reading in the Sooner Catholic was George’s ‘From the Archives’ column,” Archbishop Coakley said. “Upon his retirement I will miss that column, but I will miss having George at the CPC even more.”

Rigazzi said he’ll miss everyone at the CPC. And he’ll miss the work, spanning three archbishops, which has resulted in meaningful friendships created at every stop across four-plus decades.

He and Stephanie aim to travel and spend more time with their granddaughter, Margot. Rigazzi figures some chores are in order. Eventually, and probably sooner than later, he’ll be volunteering at church again.

“This is who I am. It’s all I’ve ever done,” Rigazzi said. “And helping people along the way, if I’ve done that, then I feel like I’ve been successful.

“I’ve been very fortunate and very blessed to have worked for the diocese 43 years. It’s a very long time. And I’ve known some wonderful people. And I thank God every day for that.”

John Helsley is the editor of the Sooner Catholic.

Photo (above) Avery Holt.


Archdiocesan Archivist George Rigazzi gave Tom and Marti Rother a tour of the Heritage Gallery in 2017 at the Catholic Pastoral Center in Oklahoma City. The exhibit was “The Shepherd Cannot Run: A Retrospective on the Life of Bl. Stanley Rother.” Photo Archdiocese of Oklahoma City Archives.