On Sunday Fr. Borja clarified for us that Fr. Geckle will say three Masses on All Souls Day: one at 7 am, one at 7:30 am, and one at 11 am.
Father also asked for prayers for Bob Coffey, a parishioner who is hospitalized for heart surgery. He came through the surgery fine this morning but still needs prayers.
Below are some pictures from Christ the King Sunday. The altar flowers were especially lovely.
Last Sunday two Congregation Mater Dei Sisters traveled to us from Omaha to teach catechism before mass. They brought two lovely young ladies from Mater Dei Academy with them who joined the sisters in choir. Such sweet pure voices! We were blessed once again also with the presence of seminarian Carlos Zepeda, who served at the altar.
Afterward we had cake and socializing to celebrate our one-year anniversary as Our Lady of Fatima Mission Chapel, under the pastoral care of the CMRI. Our chapel blossomed from the former St. John Fisher chapel in Tulsa when it was abandoned without warning by the SSPX last year.
There is much to celebrate! Not only have we procured our own property, Fr. Geckle told us that the Sisters are planning to come to us every third Sunday to teach catechism! Deo gratias! And Bishop Pivarunas has twice generously sent us seminarians to help remodel our church. In those two visits, they helped put down the flooring, modify the pews, and put up new sheetrock. We feel so loved and cared for. Thank you, Bishop Pivarunas!
We are excited to announce that Fr. Geckle will say three masses for us during this week in addition to our regularly scheduled Sunday mass. So spread the word to all your northeast Oklahoma, northwest Arkansas, southwest Missouri, and southeast Kansas friends that they can come to Chelsea, OK, for the traditional Latin Mass on Thursday and Friday this coming week.
The schedule for next week is:
Thursday, Nov. 1, All Saints Day, at 5:30 pm (All Saints Day is a holy day of obligation.)
Friday, Nov. 2, All Souls Day, at 7:00 am and at 11 am.
Sunday, Nov. 4, at 1:30 pm, as usual.
Fr. Geckle announced last week that two Congregation Mater Dei sisters will teach catechism at Noon tomorrow, Sunday, October 21. They were here this past summer for a class, and we are excited to have them back. This will be the first time to host them at our new chapel in Chelsea, OK. We look forward to visiting with them and showing them around.
Deo Gratias!
Fr. Geckle made the momentous announcement this past Sunday that it would be our last mass in our temporary setting in Tulsa.
On Sunday, September 9, we will have mass in our very own church–same time as usual: 1:00 confessions, 1:30 mass.
The one-acre property is on Oklahoma Hwy. 28-A, off of historic Route 66 near Chelsea, OK. It is also easily accessible from Interstate 44 (Will Rogers Turnpike), Adair exit. It can be found on a GPS under its former name, Good Hope Church. Or if you navigate by landmarks, look for the giant totem pole!
This new location is why we have chosen “4statesfatimachapel” as our url. Northwest Arkansas, southwest Missouri, southeast Kansas, and northeast Oklahoma are within reasonable driving distances for those determined Catholics who are holding fast to the true Faith as it was practiced at the time of Pope Pius XII.
On the other hand, with its rural location 45 minutes from downtown Tulsa, it might be the place you’ve been looking for to raise a large family in the country with easy access to Sunday mass and other Catholic families. Real estate prices are reasonable, and plenty of family recreation opportunities are nearby.
We have a work party scheduled for this Saturday to take up the carpet, install laminate flooring, shorten the pews, and get the altar and confessional set up. We’ll be placing the altar on the wall facing the road.
Father is bringing some seminarians to help, and we will be serving lunch under our wonderful pavilion. There is a hall with a kitchen, but the kitchen will need to be gutted before we can use it because a pipe burst in the wall behind all the appliances. The property has been vacant for about two years, so there is much repair, maintenance, and clean-up to do in addition to Catholic beautification projects inside and out. But we’re so excited to get started and begin enjoying Catholic community.
We hope that our good news encourages our friends to persevere. May God bless each and everyone of you. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
Our Lady of Fatima Mission Chapel 