OUR CHURCH

Our mission is to save lives by the grace and truth of Jesus Christ and helping believers grow through faith, community formation, and social justice.

The oldest parish in Oklahoma, St. Patrick, dates to 1872, when Irish railroad workers built a small church at Atoka while they were building the Kansas, Missouri, and Texas line (generally known today as The Katy) through the Indian Territory. The church stood until 1924, when it was damaged in a windstorm. A second church, named St. Francis was dedicated in 1952. In 1980 Bishop Beltran, at the request of the parishioners, restored St. Patrick as patron of the parish. At the same time, a third church was built south of town on a hill overlooking the highway.

Message from Fr. Carl Kerkemeyer:

Effective August 2019 Bishop David Konderla appointed me, Rev. Carl Kerkemeyer, as Pastor for St. Patrick, Atoka and St. Wiliam, Durant Parishes. In addition to parish life are MacAlford prison and SOSU campus ministries within Atoka and Bryan Counties. As a seminarian during the later 1990s, I enjoyed a summer in Durant. Two decades plus later I'm glad to be back and living among an expanding community with families of growing children, area employment, and community enhancements.

What an experience we have had with the pandemic. The ecumenical, volunteer, humanitarian USDA Farmers to Families food box program was a beautiful manifestation of community family cooperation. I'm excited by our U.S. bishops' three-year plan to set us ablaze with Eucharistic revival. I pray that many take advantage of this evangelization and rejuvenation.