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Placed on the National Register September 15,
1983
The Sacred Heart Mission is described as "the birthplace
of the
Catholic church in Oklahoma" in
an article published in the NEWS-STAR on
Sept. 24, 2004. "Today an active
parish sits up the hill from relics
of
an elaborate monastery and school begun in 1877." In
1876, the
Potawatomie Nation gave 640
acres of fertile land, including bountiful
springs for water, to the Benedictine
Order so that a school and church
could
be established for Indian children. The Rev. Isidore
Robot, a
French Benedictine priest, came
to the area and was later designated
Prefect Apostolic of Indian
Territory. Structures built on the
grounds included St. Mary's Academy (a
school for girls headed by the
Sisters
of Mercy); a bakery, pictured below; a boys' dorm; the abbey
and
monastery; a granary; carriage
house; log cabins; along with elaborate
gardens. A fire broke out in the
dining room of the boys' school
the
night of January 15, 1901 resulting in the loss of of the
monastery,
boys' school, college, girls'
school, convent and the church. A few
of the structures were rebuilt,
including the Sacred Heart Church
which was finished in 1914. It is
an active parish at this time.
After the fire the Benedictine
community made the decision to build
closer to a more populated area and they
built in Shawnee. The first
building they erected was begun by 1913
and is the present day
administration
building on the campus of St. Gregory's University.
(Information taken from the SHAWNEE
NEWS-STAR, "Sacred History,
Mission
grounds hold years of tradition." by April Wilkerson, SNS
Staff
Writer, Friday, Sept. 24,
2004--used by permission.)
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