The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City ( la, Archidioecesis Oclahomensis) is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

ecclesiastical territory or

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the South Central region of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Its ecclesiastical territory includes 46 counties in western

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, with its cathedral in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

. The Most Reverend

Paul Stagg Coakley Paul Stagg Coakley (born June 3, 1955) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City since 2010 Early life and education Paul Coakley was born on June 3, 1955, in No ...

is the current

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

. As such, he is the

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

of the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

which includes the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, the Diocese of Tulsa and the

Diocese of Little Rock The Diocese of Little Rock ( la, Dioecesis Petriculana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church composed of the entire U.S. state of Arkansas. It was established on November 28, 1843. The seat of the dioc ...

. Previously the bishop of the Diocese of Salina in Kansas, Archbishop Coakley was appointed to Oklahoma City on December 16, 2010 and installed as archbishop on February 11, 2011.

History

The diocese had its roots through

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...

who entered

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

(the territory of the present state of

), then under the jurisdiction of the

in 1875, establishing a Catholic presence. On 14 May 1876,

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

erected the Apostolic Prefecture of Indian Territory, taking Indian Territory from the Diocese of Little Rock. On 29 May 1891,

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

elevated this apostolic prefecture to the Apostolic Vicariate of Indian Territory. On 23 August 1905,

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

erected the Diocese of Oklahoma, suppressing the apostolic vicariate., appointing Belgian Theophile Meerschaert as its first bishop and designating St. Joseph's Church in downtown Oklahoma City as its cathedral On 14 November 1930,

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

changed the title of the diocese to Diocese of Oklahoma City-Tulsa, establishing a second see. This reflected population trends in Oklahoma. In 1931, the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was designated as the new cathedral for the diocese. In 1949, the archdiocese established th
National Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague
at St. Wenceslaus Parish in

Prague, Oklahoma Prague () is a city in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,346 at the 2020 census, an 1.76 percent decrease from the figure of 2,388 in 2010. Czech immigrants founded the city, and named it after the capital of the pres ...

. On December 13, 1972,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

erected the Diocese of Tulsa, taking the territory of eastern Oklahoma from the Diocese of Oklahoma City-Tulsa. He simultaneously elevated the existing diocese to a metropolitan archdiocese, changed its title to Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, and assigned the

and the new Diocese of Tulsa as its suffragans.History
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma Web site (accessed February 17, 2010). This action established both the present territory of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the present configuration of the Metropolitan Province of Oklahoma City. On September 23, 2017, Father Stanley Francis Rother (March 27, 1935 – July 28, 1981), a priest of the Archdiocese, was beatified during a Mass at the

Cox Convention Center Prairie Surf Studios (originally Myriad Convention Center and later Cox Convention Center) is a film production complex located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was formerly a convention center and the home of several minor league teams. ...

in Oklahoma City. He had been murdered while working in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

in 1981. Pope Francis had declared him a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

, saying he had been killed "in odium fidei" (in hatred of the faith).

Bishops

Apostolic Prefects of Indian Territory

Isidore Robot Isidore Robot (July 18, 1837 – February 15, 1887) was a French-born missionary of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Prefect of the Indian Territory, Oklahoma from 1876 to 1887. Biography Early life Born July 18, 1837, at T ...

, OSB (1876–1887) # Ignatius Jean, OSB (1887–1890)

Apostolic Vicar of Indian Territory

Theophile Meerschaert Theophile Meerschaert (24 August 1847 – 21 February 1924) was a Belgian-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Oklahoma (and its predecessor) in the United States from 1891 until his death in 1924. Ear ...

(1891–1905), appointed Bishop of Oklahoma

Bishops of Oklahoma

# Theophile Meerschaert (1905–1924) #

Francis Kelley Francis Clement Kelley (October 23, 1870 – February 1, 1948) was a Canadian-born Catholic bishop. He was the second Bishop of Oklahoma City, as well as an author and diplomat. He was a Catholic priest for 54 years, and bishop for 23 years ...

(1924–1930), title changed with title of diocese

Bishops of Oklahoma City-Tulsa

# Francis Kelley (1930–1948) #

Eugene J. McGuinness Eugene Joseph McGuinness (September 6, 1889 – December 27, 1957) was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Raleigh (1937–44) and Bishop of Oklahoma City-Tulsa (1948–57). Biography Early life and e ...

(1948–1957;

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

1944-1948) # Victor Reed (1958–1971) # John R. Quinn (1971–1972), elevated to

and title changed with title of diocese

Archbishops of Oklahoma City

# John R. Quinn (1972–1977), appointed

Archbishop of San Francisco The Archdiocese of San Francisco (Latin: ''Archdiœcesis Sancti Francisci''; Spanish: ''Archidiócesis de San Francisco'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the Unite ...

Charles Salatka Charles Alexander Kazimieras Salatka (February 26, 1918 – March 17, 2003) was a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City in Oklahoma from 1977 to 1992. Salatka was the first bishop ...

(1977–1992) # Eusebius J. Beltran (1993–2010) #

(2011–present)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

Stephen Aloysius Leven Stephen Aloysius Leven (April 30, 1905 – June 28, 1983) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of San Angelo from 1969 to 1979. Biography Early life and education Stephen Leven was born in Blackwell, Okl ...

, appointed auxiliary bishop of San Antonio in 1955 *

Charles Albert Buswell Charles Albert Buswell (October 15, 1913 – June 14, 2008) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Pueblo in Colorado from 1959 to 1979. Biography Early life Charles Buswell was born on ...

, appointed Bishop of Pueblo in 1959 * John Joseph Sullivan, appointed Bishop of Grand Island in 1972 * Anthony Basil Taylor, appointed Bishop of Little Rock in 2008 * Edward Joseph Weisenburger, appointed Bishop of Salina in 2012

Newspaper

The official

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...

and information publication of the diocese is the '' Sooner Catholic''.

High schools

* Bishop McGuinness High School, Oklahoma City * Cristo Rey Catholic High School, Oklahoma City * Mount St. Mary High School, Oklahoma City

Universities

* St. Gregory's University, Shawnee ow closed

Summer camps

*Our Lady of Guadalupe Summer Camp, in between Luther and Wellston

Ecclesiastical province

:''See:

List of the Catholic bishops of the United States The following is a list of bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States, including its five Territories of the United States, inhabited territories. The U.S. Catholic Church comprises: * 176 Latin Church dioceses led by bishops * 18 Ea ...

Sources

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City Official Site''Sooner Catholic'' Online
website
St. Gregory's University
official website {{Coord, 35, 33, 41, N, 97, 38, 46, W, type:landmark_source:kolossus-plwiki, display=title Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Oklahoma City Archdiocese of Oklahoma City Education in Oklahoma City Culture of Oklahoma City

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City ( la, Archidioecesis Oclahomensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. Its ecclesiastica ...

1905 establishments in Oklahoma Territory