About Saint Thomas Apostle · Seiling, Oklahoma
St. Thomas Apostle Church is a small Roman Catholic mission parish serving the rural community of Seiling in Dewey County, Oklahoma. It is a mission of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in nearby Okeene, which itself is one of the oldest Catholic parishes in western Oklahoma. The mission falls under the care of the pastor of St. Anthony of Padua and is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. St. Thomas Apostle serves Seiling and the surrounding farming and ranching region with Sunday and weekday Mass, carried on a tradition of Catholic presence in Dewey County that traces back to a Native American (Cheyenne and Arapaho) station established in the area in the late 1940s.
- Established
- 1948
- Patron
- St. Thomas the Apostle
- Rector
- Fr. Damian Okoye
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
Why belong here
St. Thomas Apostle brings the Eucharist and the sacramental life of the Catholic Church to Catholics across Dewey County who would otherwise have to travel a great distance to attend Mass. As part of the St. Anthony of Padua pastoral family in Okeene, the Seiling mission offers both Sunday and weekday Mass in a faithful, hard-working rural community. Visitors, travelers, and area Catholics are warmly welcomed to join this small but enduring Catholic presence in Seiling.
Mass times at Saint Thomas Apostle
Weekly Mass schedule
About St. Thomas Apostle Mission
St. Thomas Apostle Church is a Catholic mission parish in Seiling, Oklahoma, that serves the Catholics of Seiling and rural Dewey County. As a mission of St. Anthony of Padua in Okeene, the church is cared for by the pastor of that parish and is one of three worship sites in the Okeene-area pastoral family (Okeene, Seiling, and Fairview). The mission is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
- Type: Mission
- Parent parish: St. Anthony of Padua, Okeene
- Address: 105 W McAlister St, Seiling, OK 73663
- Phone: (580) 822-3544
Parish History
The Catholic presence in Seiling grew out of mid-twentieth-century missionary work among the Cheyenne and Arapaho communities of Dewey County. Priests from St. Peter Church in Woodward, then a non-Native parish in the Diocese of Tulsa, kept sacramental registers for these families from 1948 onward. By 1950 the community was formally noted as 'Seiling station, Dewey County.' The mission itself — recorded as 'St. Thomas Mission, Seiling, Dewey County' — was transferred in 1969 to the pastoral care of St. Anthony of Padua in Okeene, and it has remained a mission of that parish ever since.
- 1948: Sacramental records begin for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Catholics of Dewey County.
- 1950: Community of Seiling recognized as a mission station.
- 1969: Mission transferred from St. Peter, Woodward, to St. Anthony of Padua, Okeene.
St. Anthony of Padua, Okeene — the Mother Parish
St. Thomas Apostle is one of two missions served from St. Anthony of Padua in Okeene. The Okeene parish itself has a remarkable history of perseverance: its first church was built in May 1900, destroyed in 1905, rebuilt and destroyed again the same year, and the third building was struck in 1907. The present church, begun December 20, 1921 and completed in 1924 at a cost of $85,000, is considered one of the oldest Catholic churches in Oklahoma. From this parish, the pastor serves three Mass locations each Sunday and on weekdays throughout the week.
- Mother parish: St. Anthony of Padua, 211 S 5th St., Okeene, OK 73763
- Sister mission: St. Ann, Fairview
- Sunday Spanish Mass: 4:00 PM in Okeene
Visiting and Contact
Travelers passing through western Oklahoma, vacationers, and area Catholics are warmly welcomed at Mass. The mission shares its phone number and contact email with the rectory at St. Anthony of Padua in Okeene, which manages all three worship sites. Office inquiries and sacramental requests should be directed to that parish office.
- Phone (St. Anthony of Padua rectory): (580) 822-3544
- Email: [email protected]
- Mailing reference: 105 W McAlister St, Seiling, OK 73663
St. Thomas the Apostle
The mission is named after St. Thomas the Apostle, sometimes called 'Doubting Thomas,' who is remembered above all for his confession 'My Lord and my God' after meeting the risen Christ. According to tradition, Thomas went on to evangelize the Persian Empire and the Malabar Coast of India, where the 'St. Thomas Christians' trace their origins. He is venerated as the patron of India and of Christian missionaries; his feast is celebrated on July 3.
- Patron of India
- Confessed 'My Lord and my God' (John 20:28)
- Feast day: July 3