About Sacred Heart · Konawa, Oklahoma
Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Konawa, Oklahoma, is the historic survivor of the first Catholic mission, monastery, and Potawatomi Indian school founded in Indian Territory, established by the Benedictine monk Father Isidore Robot, O.S.B., on May 13, 1877. The current church building, completed in 1914 after a devastating 1901 fire destroyed the original mission complex, still stands on Abbey Road and is served by Benedictine monks from nearby St. Gregory's Abbey in Shawnee. As a mission within the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Sacred Heart gathers about 65 active families and roughly 150 people in a rural south-central Oklahoma setting, offering Sunday Mass, weekday Mass, and daily confessions.
- Established
- 1877
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Served by Benedictine priests from St. Gregory's Abbey, Shawnee (Rev. Joseph Reddy Duggempudi served as church administrator as of 2022)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
Why belong here
Sacred Heart in Konawa offers something rare: a living parish rooted in the oldest Catholic mission site in Indian Territory, where the same grounds where Potawatomi families first heard the Gospel in 1877 are still tended by Benedictine monks. With about 65 active families and roughly 150 members, it is a close-knit rural community that gathers twice on Sunday and three mornings during the week, with daily confessions before Mass and the steady rhythm of the Benedictine liturgical life passed down from the founders.
Mass times at Sacred Heart
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday 7:30–8:00 AM
- Tuesday 7:30–8:00 AM
- Wednesday 7:30–8:00 AM
- Thursday 7:30–8:00 AM
- Friday 7:30–8:00 AM
Our Story: The First Catholic Mission in Indian Territory
Sacred Heart Mission was founded on May 13, 1877 by the French Benedictine monk Father Isidore Robot, O.S.B., making it the first Catholic mission, monastery, and Potawatomi Indian school in Indian Territory. The land was a square-mile grant from the Citizen Band Potawatomi, signed by Chief Peter the Great, and the mission became the motherhouse from which Benedictine monks went on to found some 40 parishes and missions across what would become Oklahoma.
- Founded May 13, 1877 by Father Isidore Robot, O.S.B.
- Built on a square-mile land grant from the Citizen Band Potawatomi
- Forerunner of St. Gregory's Abbey and St. Gregory's University in Shawnee
- On July 1876, Rome appointed Robot Prefect Apostolic of the entire Indian Territory
The Founders: From France to Indian Territory
Father Isidore Robot, O.S.B., and lay brother Dominic Lambert left their home monastery of Pierre-qui-Vire in France in 1873 when the Laic Laws threatened Catholic institutions there. After missionary work in Louisiana, they traveled to Indian Territory in October 1875 to seek out the Catholic Potawatomi who had no priests or churches in their new home. The first Mass on the Potawatomi reservation was celebrated in the Bourbonnais cabin.
- Dom Isidore Robot, O.S.B. — founder and first Prefect Apostolic of Indian Territory
- Brother Dominic Lambert — lay brother companion
- First Mass on the reservation said in the Bourbonnais cabin
The 1901 Fire and the 1914 Church
On the stormy night of January 14–15, 1901, fire broke out in the dining room of the Indian Boys School and destroyed the monastery, boys' school, college, girls' school, convent, and the 1892 frame church. Only the stone bakery and a few small outbuildings survived. Mass was celebrated in a converted granary while the present church was completed in 1914. The parish marked the church's centennial with a Mass and potluck reception on June 14, 2015.
- Fire of January 14–15, 1901 destroyed nearly the entire mission complex
- Blaze visible as far away as Purcell
- Present church completed in 1914
- Centennial celebrated June 14, 2015
The Move to Shawnee: Birth of St. Gregory's
After the fire, the monks realized that no railroad would reach the rural site to sustain a secondary school. They therefore established St. Gregory's College at Shawnee, which opened for high school and college students in September 1915. Sacred Heart was reduced to priory status in 1929 when the abbey seat transferred to Shawnee, and the priory itself closed in 1955; most surviving buildings were later dismantled, but the 1914 church has continued to serve as the parish church ever since.
- St. Gregory's College opened in Shawnee, September 1915
- Sacred Heart reduced to priory status in 1929
- Sacred Heart Priory closed in 1955
- An elementary school for boys continued at Sacred Heart until 1926
Parish Life & Clergy
Sacred Heart is a small, close-knit rural parish of about 65 active families and roughly 150 members, served by Benedictine priests of St. Gregory's Abbey in Shawnee, the successor community to Sacred Heart Abbey. The parish is part of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
- Approximately 65 active families / ~150 parishioners
- Served by Benedictines of St. Gregory's Abbey
- Parish contact: (580) 925-2145
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
The Historic Mission Site
The Sacred Heart Mission Site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Surviving structures from the 1877–1945 period include the 1883 sandstone bakery — built in a style reminiscent of rural southern France, with arched windows and original oven chimney stacks — and two restored log houses dating to ca. 1878. The site also preserves the foundations of the second monastery, second church, second convent, and second boys' school, plus two historic cemeteries (the Sisters' Cemetery and the Abbey Cemetery). The parish cemetery sits on Bald Hill alongside the 1914 church.
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
- 1883 sandstone bakery with arched windows and original oven stacks
- Two restored ca. 1878 log houses
- Sisters' Cemetery, Abbey Cemetery, and parish cemetery on Bald Hill
- Site open to visitors during daylight hours
Schools at Sacred Heart
From its founding, Sacred Heart was a center of Catholic education for Native Americans. The boys' school opened in November 1877; a boarding school for Indian boys called Sacred Heart Institute opened in 1880; St. Mary's Academy for girls was ready for occupancy on June 13, 1880, staffed first by Sisters from New Orleans and, from the mid-1880s, by Sisters of Mercy from Illinois, who maintained the school until about 1946. Sacred Heart College was established in 1884, and one or more schools operated at Sacred Heart from 1881 to 1946.
- Indian Boys School opened November 1877
- Sacred Heart Institute (boys' boarding school) opened 1880
- St. Mary's Academy (girls' boarding school) opened 1880
- Sacred Heart College established 1884
- Sisters of Mercy operated St. Mary's Academy until about 1946
Visit & Contact
Sacred Heart Catholic Church is located at 47943 Abbey Road, Konawa, OK 74849. The church is reached approximately 9 miles east of Asher on SH-39, then 1 mile north on Sacred Heart Road (or 3 miles west of Konawa on OK-39, then 1 mile north on Sacred Heart Road). For inquiries, the parish can be reached at (580) 925-2145; for directions to the historic mission site, contact St. Gregory's Abbey at 405-878-5491.
- Address: 47943 Abbey Road, Konawa, OK 74849
- Phone: (580) 925-2145
- Email: [email protected]
- Web: https://monksok.org/about-us/sacred-heart
- Historic site inquiries: St. Gregory's Abbey, 405-878-5491
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Isidore Robot, O.S.B.1876–
Founder; French Benedictine from the Abbey of Pierre-qui-Vire; appointed Prefect Apostolic of Indian Territory by Rome in 1876; built the original mission complex and served the Potawatomi.
- Father Felix1877
Celebrated the first Mass at Sacred Heart under the open sky on May 13, 1877.
- Benedictine Father Matthew Brown
Listed by Access Genealogy as a pastor of Sacred Heart.
- Rev. Joseph Reddy Duggempudi2022
Served as church administrator at Sacred Heart; referenced in 2022 coverage of a 'listening session' on Catholic boarding schools.