The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is a particular church

Particular Church

In Catholic canon law, a Particular Church is an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone recognised as the equivalent of a bishop.There are two kinds of particular Churches:# Local particular Churches ...

 of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 in the midwestern region of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Its ecclesiastical territory includes 46 counties in western Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

. The Most Reverend Paul Stagg Coakley

Paul Stagg Coakley

Paul Stagg Coakley is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.-Early life and education:...

 is the current archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

. As such, he is the metropolitan

Metropolitan bishop

In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...

 of the ecclesiastical province

Ecclesiastical Province

An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government, so named by analogy with a secular province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian churches, especially in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches and in the Anglican Communion...

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

Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the eastern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its ecclesiastical territory includes all of 31 counties in eastern Oklahoma, including the most populous county of the group, Tulsa County...

 and the Diocese of Little Rock

Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock is a Roman Catholic diocese in Arkansas. It was founded on November 28, 1843.-History:A dozen Catholic priests accompanied Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto down the Mississippi River in 1541 to a Quapaw Indian village near present-day Helena-West Helena,...

. Previously the bishop of the Diocese of Salina

Roman Catholic Diocese of Salina

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Salina is a Roman Catholic diocese covering thirty-one counties in Kansas. The episcopal see is in Salina, Kansas...

 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

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Benedictine

Benedictine

Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

 monks who entered Indian Territory

Indian Territory

The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

 in 1875 to establish a Catholic presence. The Diocese of Oklahoma City was established in 1905 with Belgian Theophile Meerschaert as its first bishop. St. Joseph's Church

St. Joseph Old Cathedral (Oklahoma City)

St. Joseph Old Cathedral is a parish church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. It was the seat of the Diocese of Oklahoma City from 1905-1931, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978...

 in downtown Oklahoma City served the diocese as its first cathedral until Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Oklahoma City)

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a Catholic cathedral in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.-History:...

 replaced it in 1931. In the 1930s the name was changed to the Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa to reflect shifting population trends in Oklahoma. It first achieved international attention when, in 1949, it became home to the National Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague

Infant Jesus of Prague

Infant Jesus of Prague is a famous statue of infant Jesus located in the Church of Our Lady Victorious in Malá Strana, Prague.- History :Its earliest history can be traced back to Prague in the year 1628 when the small, 19-inch high, wax statue of the Infant Jesus was given by Princess Polyxena...

. On December 13, 1972, Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI

Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...

 split the diocese into two, creating the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, which ministers to Catholics in the western part of Oklahoma, and the Diocese of Tulsa

Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the eastern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its ecclesiastical territory includes all of 31 counties in eastern Oklahoma, including the most populous county of the group, Tulsa County...

, which ministers to those in the east.

List of Ordinaries

1. † Isidore Robot
   Isidore Robot
   -Early life:Born July 18, 1837, at Thoriseau, France, Isidore Robot entered the Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery of Saint Marie de la Pierre-qui-Vire, in central France. He was professed as a monk in 1859 and ordained a priest in 1862...
   
   , OSB
   Order of Saint Benedict
   The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
   
   , Prefect of Indian Territory (1876–1887)
2. † Ignatius Jean, OSB
   Order of Saint Benedict
   The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
   
   , Prefect of Indian Territory (1887–1890)
3. † Theophile Meerschaert
   Theophile Meerschaert
   Theophile Meerschaert was a Belgian-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Oklahoma in the United States from 1891 until his death in 1924.-Biography:...
   
   , Vicar Apostolic of Indian Territory in Oklahoma (1891-1905), Bishop (August 23, 1905–February 21, 1924); died in office.
4. † Francis Kelley
   Francis Kelley
   Francis Clement Kelley was the second Roman Catholic Bishop of Oklahoma. He was a Catholic Priest for 54 years, and Bishop for 23 years.-Early life:...
   
   , Bishop (June 25, 1924–February 1, 1948); died in office.
5. † Eugene J. McGuinness
   Eugene J. McGuinness
   Eugene Joseph McGuinness was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Raleigh and Bishop of Oklahoma City-Tulsa .-Biography:...
   
   , Bishop of Oklahoma City-Tulsa (February 1, 1948—December 27, 1957); died in office. Named coadjutor bishop of Oklahoma City-Tulsa on November 11, 1944.
6. † Victor Reed
   Victor Joseph Reed
   Victor Joseph Reed was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Oklahoma City-Tulsa from 1958 until his death in 1971.-Early life and education:...
   
   , Bishop of Oklahoma City-Tulsa (January 21, 1958–September 7, 1971); died in office. Was consecrated a bishop on March 5, 1958.
7. John R. Quinn
   John R. Quinn
   John Raphael Quinn is a Roman Catholic bishop, currently the Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of San Francisco; he served as the archdiocese's sixth archbishop from 1977 to 1995...
   
   , Bishop of Oklahoma City-Tulsa (1971–1972), Archbishop of Oklahoma City (1972–1977); appointed archbishop of San Francisco on February 16, 1977; installed on April 26; resigned on December 27, 1995.
8. † Charles Salatka
   Charles Salatka
   Charles Alexander K. Salatka was the second Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the ninth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette, Michigan....
   
   , Archbishop (October 11, 1977–November 24, 1992); retired. Died on March 17, 2003.
9. Eusebius Beltran
   Eusebius J. Beltran
   Eusebius Joseph Beltran is an American prelate. He was the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City from 1993 until 2010. Before his appointment to Oklahoma City, Beltran was bishop of the Diocese of Tulsa from 1978 to 1992....
   
   , Archbishop (January 22, 1993–December 16, 2010); retired.
10. Paul Stagg Coakley
    Paul Stagg Coakley
    Paul Stagg Coakley is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.-Early life and education:...
    
    , Archbishop (2011– )

† = deceased

Newspaper

The official news

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 and information publication of the diocese is the Sooner Catholic

Sooner Catholic

The Sooner Catholic is a bi-monthly newspaper published by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. There is no subscription charge for Catholics in Oklahoma who request the newspaper; a subscription rate of $20 a year is requested for those persons who are not members of the...

.

High schools

• Bishop McGuinness High School
  Bishop McGuinness High School (Oklahoma)
  Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School is a college-preparatory secondary school located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It has an enrollment of 720 students in grades 9 through 12, is co-educational, and serves as part of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City in the Roman Catholic Church.-History:The...
  
  , Oklahoma City
• Mount St. Mary High School
  Mount St. Mary High School (Oklahoma)
  Mount Saint Mary High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.-Early History:...
  
  , Oklahoma City

Ecclesiastical province

See: List of the Catholic bishops of the United States #Province of Oklahoma City

External links

• Archdiocese of Oklahoma City official website
• Sooner Catholic Online website
• St. Gregory's University official website