About St. Stephen · Holdenville, Oklahoma
St. Stephen Catholic Church is a small mission parish in Holdenville, Oklahoma, that has served the Catholic faithful of Hughes County for more than a century. It is currently a satellite parish of St. Michael Catholic Church in Henryetta, sharing pastoral care with the nearby mission of St. Teresa in Okemah within the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma. The parish holds Sunday and Thursday Masses in English and is supported by a religious education coordinator and a lay parish contact. Its story is intertwined with the early-twentieth-century settlement of eastern Oklahoma and the missionary Benedictine monks of St. Gregory's Abbey in Shawnee.
- Patron
- St. Stephen
- Rector
- Very Rev. Robert Duck
- Diocese
- Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma
Why belong here
St. Stephen offers the small-town, family-scale Catholic community that is hard to find elsewhere in rural eastern Oklahoma, where Catholics are a minority. As a mission of St. Michael in Henryetta, it brings regular weekly Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation to Hughes County, supported by a lay parish contact and a religious education coordinator. It is a place where multiple generations gather for the sacraments and where the faith planted by early settlers and Benedictine monks of St. Gregory's Abbey continues to be handed on.
Mass times at St. Stephen
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 7:15 AM – 7:45 AM
- Thursday 5:00 PM – 5:15 PM
Parish History
St. Stephen Catholic Church has served the Catholic faithful of Hughes County for more than a century, growing up alongside the early-twentieth-century settlement of Holdenville by railroad workers, farmers, and settlers. In its formative decades the parish was served by Benedictine monks from St. Gregory's Abbey in Shawnee, who traveled the long distances of eastern Oklahoma to bring Mass and the sacraments to the small Catholic population. The church became a center for baptisms, weddings, funerals, and religious education for Catholic families scattered across the county.
Benedictine Heritage from St. Gregory's Abbey
For many years the spiritual needs of Holdenville's Catholics were met by monks of nearby St. Gregory's Abbey in Shawnee. Their missionary dedication established and sustained the Catholic presence in Holdenville during the parish's early years. This monastic link continued for decades and is reflected in the long pastorate of Father Matthew (Joseph) Brown, O.S.B.
- Benedictine monks of St. Gregory's Abbey, Shawnee, traveled to Holdenville to celebrate Mass and sacraments.
- Fr. Matthew (Joseph) Brown, O.S.B., served as pastor 1979–1998.
- Fr. Matthew also served as Catholic chaplain at the John H. Lilley Correction Center for nine years.
Mission Status and Cluster with St. Michael and St. Teresa
Today St. Stephen is part of the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma and serves as a satellite parish of St. Michael Catholic Church in Henryetta, alongside St. Teresa in Okemah. The three communities share one pastor and continue the mission begun by the early Catholics of the region — proclaiming the Gospel, celebrating the sacraments, and strengthening the faith of the people of Hughes County and the surrounding area.
- Satellite of St. Michael Catholic Church, Henryetta.
- Partnered with St. Teresa Parish, Okemah.
- Cluster covers the eastern part of the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma.
Clergy and Staff
St. Stephen is shepherded by the Very Rev. Robert Duck, who also serves as pastor of St. Michael in Henryetta and St. Teresa in Okemah, and as Vicar Forane for the Eastern Vicariate. A religious education coordinator and a lay parish contact support the day-to-day life of the mission.
- Very Rev. Robert Duck — Pastor (ordained June 30, 2018); also Vicar Forane for the Eastern Vicariate, effective July 1, 2025.
- Jumper Ingram — Religious Education (405-379-5954).
- Mike Comb — Parish Contact (405-592-9767).
Faith Formation and Religious Education
Religious education at St. Stephen is coordinated by Jumper Ingram, who serves the parish's faith-formation needs in collaboration with the pastor and the St. Michael–St. Teresa cluster.
- Coordinator: Jumper Ingram — 405-379-5954.
Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma
St. Stephen belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma. The diocese's parish finder lists the mission at 515 E. Highway St., Holdenville, with contact information for the pastor, religious education coordinator, and parish contact.
- Diocese: Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma.
- Type: Mission / satellite parish.
- Listed on the Diocese of Tulsa Parish Finder.
Visiting and Contact
St. Stephen's mission church is located at 515 E. Highway St. in Holdenville, Oklahoma. Visitors and parishioners can reach the parish through the cluster office or the listed parish contact.
- Address: 515 E. Highway St., Holdenville, OK 74848.
- Parish office phone: (918) 652-3445.
- Pastor email: [email protected].
- Cluster website: https://mstok.org.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Matthew (Joseph) Brown, O.S.B.1979–1998
Benedictine priest of St. Gregory's Abbey in Shawnee; simultaneously pastored St. Teresa in Okemah and other missions, and served as Catholic chaplain at the John H. Lilley Correction Center for nine years.