About St. Elizabeth Ann Seton · Spiro, Oklahoma
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is a Roman Catholic mission parish in Spiro, Oklahoma, situated along US Highway 271 in the Arkansas River valley of LeFlore County. It belongs to the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma and is pastored together with the nearby Immaculate Conception Church in Poteau and St. Joseph in Stigler as a three-parish cluster under one pastor. The parish's stated mission is to 'save lives by the grace and truth of Jesus Christ and helping believers grow through faith, community formation, and social justice.' Worship is centered on a single weekly Sunday Mass, with confessions offered before Mass or by appointment.
- Patron
- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
- Rector
- Rev. Sean O'Brien
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma
Why belong here
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton offers a welcoming, small-community Catholic home in rural eastern Oklahoma, where Sunday Mass and the sacraments are celebrated with personal attention from a pastor who also serves the neighboring parishes. The parish reaches beyond Sunday worship with a lay formation program called 'The Beauty of Our Faith,' which meets every other Wednesday for Adoration, dinner, and a Bible- and Catechism-based lesson, and it openly invites new and visiting Catholics to register and join the congregation.
Mass times at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 12:30 PM (30 minutes before Mass)
- By appointment with Fr. Sean O'Brien
Adoration times
- Every other Wednesday at 5:30 PM (paired with 'The Beauty of Our Faith' Bible & Catechism lesson)
Welcome from the Pastor
The parish homepage opens with a personal greeting signed by Father Sean O'Brien, pastor, welcoming 'the Catholic communities of Spiro & Pocola and the surrounding area' and inviting newcomers, visitors, and long-time parishioners to attend Mass. The greeting closes with a blessing: 'In the love of Jesus, our Lord… May the Lord bless you!' The same page extends a direct invitation to register with the parish through an online link.
- Welcome message signed by Father Sean O'Brien
- Online parish registration link
- Invitation directed to newcomers, visitors, and returning Catholics
Cluster Parishes: Three Churches, One Pastor
The official parish site serves both St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Spiro and the nearby Immaculate Conception community, and diocesan records show the same pastor also ministers to St. Joseph in Stigler. The Poteau-based Immaculate Conception site lists both an 9:00 AM English and an 11:00 AM Spanish Sunday Mass, with weekday Masses Tuesday through Friday at 8:30 AM, indicating the broader regional footprint of the cluster.
- Immaculate Conception — Poteau (also serves Spanish-speaking Catholics)
- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton — Spiro (English)
- St. Joseph — Stigler (Saturday Vigil Mass at 5:00 PM)
Faith Formation: 'The Beauty of Our Faith'
The Spiro parish website lists an ongoing formation program titled 'The Beauty of Our Faith,' a recurring Wednesday-evening series that brings parishioners together around the Eucharist and the teaching of the Church. Each session begins with Eucharistic Adoration at 5:30 PM, followed by a shared dinner at 6:00 PM and the main catechetical lesson at 6:30 PM. The lesson employs both Sacred Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church and meets every other week.
- Meets every other Wednesday
- 5:30 PM — Eucharistic Adoration
- 6:00 PM — shared dinner
- 6:30 PM — Bible & Catechism lesson
Parish Mission Statement
The website's mission page states the parish's purpose as: 'To save lives by the grace and truth of Jesus Christ and helping believers grow through faith, community formation, and social justice.' This statement reflects the parish's dual focus on evangelization and on accompanying members in the journey of faith, while also emphasizing outreach beyond the parish's own walls.
- Faith formation for believers
- Community formation
- Social justice outreach
Clergy and Staff
The parish is currently led by Rev. Sean O'Brien, assisted by Deacon John Burns. Both names appear on the Diocese of Tulsa parish finder listing for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and on the parish homepage. The same pastor also serves Immaculate Conception in Poteau and St. Joseph in Stigler, so parishioners may encounter him at any of the three locations in the cluster.
- Pastor: Rev. Sean O'Brien ([email protected])
- Deacon: John Burns ([email protected])
Visit, Register, and Contact
The parish encourages newcomers and visitors to attend a Sunday Mass and to register formally through a link on the website. The contact details (address, phone, and parish office email) are repeated across the homepage, contact page, and bulletin page, and the parish shares its contact route with the broader cluster, including a phone number reachable at the Immaculate Conception parish office in nearby Poteau.
- Address: 16526 US Highway 271, Spiro, OK 74959
- Phone: (918) 647-3475
- Email: [email protected]
- Online registration link on the homepage
Diocese and Catholic Identity
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, which is led by Bishop David A. Konderla. The parish is listed on the diocesan parish finder and is identified there as a Roman-Rite mission in the Spiro area, sharing clergy and resources with neighboring parishes. The diocese's 2021 reassignment announcement records the pastoral transition from Fr. James Caldwell to Fr. Sean O'Brien as pastor of the Spiro mission and its sister parishes.
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma
- Bishop: Most Rev. David A. Konderla
- Rite: Roman (Latin) Rite
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. James Caldwellthrough July 2021
Served the three-church cluster of Immaculate Conception (Poteau), St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (Spiro), and St. Joseph (Stigler); reassigned as resident chaplain at Saint Francis Health System, Tulsa, effective July 5, 2021.
- Rev. Sean O'Brienfrom July 5, 2021
Appointed by Bishop Konderla from St. Pius X, Tulsa, as pastor of the same three-parish cluster (Immaculate Conception, Poteau; St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Spiro; St. Joseph, Stigler).