A HISTORY

Saint Joseph's Industrial School and Orphanage, and later Home for the Aged, Bethany, Oklahoma.

It opened in 1912 and by the time it closed in the 1965 several thousand children, and aged, had been cared for by the facility.


Friday, December 21, 2012

Bishop Theophile Meerschaert

On October 6, 1912, Bishop Meerschaert, assisted by many clergy, provided a solemn blessing on the new facility.   Meerschaert (1847-1924) was the historic first Bishop of the Oklahoma Territory. "On August 17, 1905 the Diocese of Oklahoma was erected by Pope Pius X. Bishop Meerschaert was appointed as first incumbent of the new Episcopal See of Oklahoma on August 23, 1905." (Chronicles of Oklahoma, Volume 11, No. 1; March, 1933, pg 739) He had previously served as pastor at St. Mary Basilica in Natchez. His online biography can be read here.

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