Diocese to Welcome 681 Converts, a 46 Percent Increase from Last Year

  Based on the most current reported numbers, the Diocese anticipates 317 catechumens and 364 candidates to be fully initiated into the Church this Saturday night during Easter Vigil Mass taking place at parishes across eastern Oklahoma. The numbers are comprised of OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) catechumens and candidates who participated in the recent Rite of Election. Combined with their accompanying sponsors and family members, the numbers were so great this year that it led Bishop David Konderla to split the Rite of Election into two separate ceremonies so that Holy Family Cathedral could comfortably accommodate everyone.
  Catechumens are unbaptized individuals preparing for all three Sacraments of Initiation including Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist. Candidates are baptized Christians seeking to complete their Catholic Initiation through Confirmation and the Eucharist.
  Last year, 229 catechumens and 236 candidates for a total of 465 OCIA participants entered the Church at Easter. The significant year-over-year increase in local numbers appears to mirror a nationwide growth trend that has been recently reported in national Catholic media and even secular media like the New York Times.

Photo courtesy of St. John University Parish

Father Kerry Wakulich, pastor of St. John University Parish at Oklahoma State University, baptizes an OCIA catechumen during Easter Vigil Mass in 2025.

EOC Photos by Daniel McCay

Priests and lay representatives from multiple parishes within the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma met last week at St. Bernard of Clarivaux in south Tulsa to discuss implementation of Next Generation Parish.

Why I Attend Frequent Mass...

  BROKEN ARROW — Last Fall, with the encouragement and assistance of lay volunteer Cathy Miller, Eastern Oklahoma Catholic solicited and received dozens of testimonials from both laypeople and clergy sharing their personal observations about the impact of attending frequent or daily Mass.  
  We asked willing participants to tell us what motivates them to attend frequent or daily Mass, the spiritual benefits they have experienced, and the positive impacts it has had not only on them personally, but also on their families and their faith communities.
  We have published several of these first-hand accounts in the April/May print edition of Eastern Oklahoma Catholic. But there were so many more! What follows here, and over the next few weeks in the EOCextra, are more of these personal reflections on the Mass from parishioners across the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma.   “For me, daily Mass is a more intimate prayer experience of the holy Mass. With fewer distractions, allowing me a quieter and more personal encounter with Jesus. My spiritual growth has increased with the more frequent homilies (insights and reflections). Plus, the grace from receiving the holy Eucharist, the real presence of Christ, the Bread of Life, the Source and Summit of our faith.”

—Harry Hanig

Parishioner at St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Tulsa

  “I have attended daily Mass most everyday (Tuesday-Friday) since the churches opened up after being closed for Covid. I really missed my parish family during that time and even though we had to wear masks and keep distance from each other, it was so nice seeing my parish family for daily Mass.  I’ve enjoyed getting to know more personally fellow attendees of daily Mass. (We usually have coffee and treats after Mass).”

—Janet Kessler
Parishioner at St. Cecelia, Claremore

  “I met my husband Jim at daily Mass about 50 years ago at St. Therese in Collinsville. Our Mass is the most powerful part of our faith. We are blessed to be able to offer our Mass and Communion both for the general intentions and for our personal ones. My prayers now are for our Pope and prelates, and my pastors and church families. No one prays alone. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, praying for and with us."

—Kay Limke
Parishioner at St. Therese in Collinsville

  “Almighty God bestows innumerable blessings on me every day, blessings for which I haven’t even asked. What is an appropriate way for me to show my gratitude? I choose to worship Him at daily Mass because I owe Him that, and more.
  Participating in daily Mass provides the perfect occasion to fulfil part of my duty to God. Each Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated for four purposes: Adoration, Thanksgiving, Reparation, and Petition. Every time we participate at daily Mass, we offer all of these and more. I am grateful for the opportunity.”

—Annie Kirchner
Parishioner at Most Precious Blood, Tulsa

EOC File Photo

The faithful gather for Mass at St. John University Parish & Student Center on the Oklahoma State University campus in Stillwater.

Meet a Seminarian...

April Saint of the Month: 

St. Teresa of the Andes

1900-20 | Feast: April 12

Chile’s first saint

BY CANDACE BRYANT-LESTER/FAITH Catholic

  “I am God’s. He created me and is my beginning and end.”
  Although St. Teresa of the Andes died at the age of 19, this quote speaks volumes about her short life that more than 100 years later still inspires so many.
Born at the turn of the 20th century in Chile, Juana – referred to as Juanita – was surrounded by a large, faithful family. She knew at a young age that her soul belonged to Christ; she wrote in her diary that she was six years old when Jesus claimed her heart for himself.
  She kept close to the faith, receiving her education from the French nuns of the Sacred Heart, gradually chipping away at her stubborn attributes that were keeping her apart from Jesus. The closer she drew to Jesus, the more she found herself making small sacrifices, purifying her heart and soul with the intercession of the Blessed Virgin leading up to receiving her first Communion at age 10. Just four years later she made the decision to consecrate herself to God as a Discalced Carmelite nun.
  Juanita entered the Carmel of Los Andes in May of 1919, adopting the name Teresa of Jesus. She joyously renounced the wealth of her family to serve God and sought out all she could as a novice to show Christ’s love. Yet, just 10 months later, she fell severely ill with typhus. Despite the illness, Teresa dedicated herself to the Church, serving Christ until exhaustion, and passing from this life into the arms of her Savior only a month and a half later.
  Teresa was canonized by St. John Paul II in 1993. Each year in October there is a pilgrimage to her shrine in Los Andes, Chile. In 2024, more than 50,000 young Chileans walked a path of 17 miles to the shrine where the auxiliary bishops of Santiago presided at an outdoor Mass. The theme of the pilgrimage was “With Teresa, Pilgrims of Hope.”