History of Sacred Heart Parish

Written by: Randall McGoffin

In 1833, the Catholic bishops of the United States entrusted missionary responsibility for the region west of the Mississippi River to a small band of Jesuits stationed in the area of St. Louis, Missouri.  In 1847 several of these men established, with some assistance from the federal government, the Osage Manual Labor School in southern Kansas (present Neosho County.)  This was where many Osage lived.

In 1871-72 the Osage tribe moved to what today is Osage County, Oklahoma.  Among the settlements they created was one named Skiatook, after one of Chief Claremore’s two sons (the other son was named Black Dog).  A business man named  W.C. Rogers later established a trading post in the area that eventually became the present town of Skiatook. 

One of the Jesuit priests from Osage Mission, Kansas, was Fr. Paul Ponziglione.  He was a very active and far-ranging missionary.  In 1889 he began visiting the Perrier and Appleby families, whose homes were located where Hillside Cemetery is now.  Later that year, however, he was reassigned. Soon after, control of the Osage Mission passed to another religious order. 

Skiatook became a town in 1904, but nothing was done about a Catholic Church until 1921.

Fr. John Heiring, born in Iowa, was pastor of Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa from 1906 to 1928.  He was ordained in 1901, on the feast of the Sacred Heart (which is the June 28th).  Holy Family covered a much wider area than it does today, and Fr. Heiring, a noted builder, was almost a one-man Catholic development agency.  In 1913-14 he built the church that today is our cathedral. He may have been the first priest to offer Mass within the boundaries of Skiatook, in 1908.  He started parishes in Sapulpa, Sand Springs, and Claremore, as well as Tulsa’s second parish.  Several of these churches were named Sacred Heart.

His way of operating was first to consult with the bishop, who would give him permission to raise money, buy land, and build a church.  When that was done, the bishop would assign a pastor.  This is what happened in Skiatook.  Fr. Heiring oversaw construction of a red brick church which stood across the street from the present church. 

As the first pastor of Sacred Heart parish, the bishop assigned Fr. Joseph Woucters (pronounced "Wooters"), who had just come to Oklahoma straight from Belgium. 

Fr. Woucters was born in Antwerp in 1892 and was ordained a priest in 1914.  He was recruited for Oklahoma by Bishop Theopile Meerschaert, the first Oklahoma Bishop, who was also Belgian. Father Woucters was pastor for six years. In 1925, he built the parish rectory. After lengthy assignments in Hennessey and Enid, he died in 1964.

At Sacred Heart, Fr. Woucters was succeeded by a long line of pastors, so that Skiatook has almost never been without a priest in residence. One of those priests was Fr. Benjamin Forner, a Canadian born in 1899 and ordained in 1924.  He came to Oklahoma in 1937 and became Skiatook’s pastor two years later.  In those days, there were not many highways, but there was a good network of railroads. 

Fr. Forner developed a wide system of missions, including those in Ramona, Collinsville, Pryor and Langley.  He built churches in Collinsville, Pryor and Langley.  He had a nephew, Fr. George Forner, who was ordained in 1945 and when Fr. Ben died in 1949.  Fr. George took over as pastor in Skiatook until 1956.

It was Fr. George who built the second church in 1950, since the first church had deteriorated. Bricks from the first church can be seen in the present church and the Faith Formation Center.  Part of the funding for the new church came from the Catholic Church Extension Society in Chicago, Illinois. A custom Extension was to let the donor of a large gift designate the name of a church that would be built with the money.  Bishop McGuinness had earlier been an officer of Extension, and he was a good friend of Extension’s president, Bishop William O’Brien.  Bishop McGuinness then decided that Skiatook’s new church would be called St. William to honor Bishop O’Brien. Technically the new name applied only to the church, not necessarily to the parish as a whole, but it became easier to call the whole place St. William.  That name remained for more than 40 years.

Until 1954 the Skiatook parish consisted of only a church and a rectory, but in that year a new parish hall was built on the site of the old church.  It was one large room with a kitchen at the west end. 

In the 1960’s the big news for Catholics was the Second Vatican Council.  For Skiatook, the result was a slightly remodeled church, a parish council and increased attention to religious education.

For many years, two Benedictine Sisters visited from Guthrie or Tulsa to teach a two-week Vacation Bible School.  This was the only formal instruction given to parish children.  Soon after, parish teachers began receiving training, and modern textbooks began to replace the Baltimore Catechisms.

A big problem for the parish was where to hold the classes.  The parish acquired several houses adjacent to parish property.  These houses served as classrooms for religious education instruction throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s.  Due to natural deterioration the houses eventually had to be razed and the properties cleared.  This created an immediate problem of where to hold religious education classes. 

Miraculously, the First Baptist Church of Skiatook completed a new church on the west end of town.  This left their former property (which was just two blocks from where we are at this moment) available for purchase.  Under the leadership of then pastor Fr. Larry Courtright, the parish was able to purchase the property and its church building at an amazing price. 

There was an old hotel (The Barrett Hotel) on the property along with the church. The old hotel was so severely damaged by water that it had to be razed and the area cleared.  But the church building was very serviceable, and was converted into a Religious Education Center. That facility served the parish religious education program well for a number of years. 

As the parish grew, the need for a larger parish hall became more and more evident.  At the same time, a local business showed interest in purchasing the Religious Education Center and adjoining lot (site of the former Barrett Hotel). The profit from the sale along with a Diocesan loan, allowed the parish to build a new hall immediately west of the rectory.  At the time the new parish hall was built, the old hall was converted into the Religious Education Center and is still in place to this day.  The parish office on the south end of the hall was added in the early 1990s under the tenure of parish priest Fr. Peter Dally.  

Also in the 1990s, a longtime parishioner, Tom Murray, passed away leaving a large bequest to the parish.  That gift allowed the parish to pay off the parish hall loan, pave two parking lots, remodel the interior of the church (including the addition of a restroom), purchase a new organ and pews, and renovate the rectory. 

Also in the early 1990s, the parish reverted to name Sacred Heart. In June of 2006, parishioners and friends celebrated the 85th anniversary of Sacred Heart Parish with Bishop Slattery. 

Current parish programs and activities include (but are not limited to): two weekend Masses, daily Mass (except Monday), Reconciliation on Saturdays or by appointment, monthly Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, daily recitation of the Rosary, Faith Formation (children, youth, RCIA, and Pastor led classes for adults), Parish Finance Council, Parish Council, Ladies of the Sacred Heart (quilting group), parish food pantry, visitation of the sick and homebound, and frequent special parish dinner socials. 

Sacred Heart currently has 115 registered households. 


Sacred Heart parish in 1921