The original St. Mary Catholic Church was built in 1889 under the direction of Rev. Fr. Felix De Grasse.  In 1891 Bishop Theophile Meerschaert was assigned Vicar Apostolic of Indian Territory in what would years later become the State of Oklahoma.  Bishop Meerschaert resided at St. Mary Church here in Guthrie.  St. Mary in this time was known as the Pro-Cathedral.  This is a church that functions as a cathedral before there is a diocese.  Until 1906 Bishop Meerschaert resided at St. Mary.  For years prior Oklahoma City had been growing at a rapidly faster pace than Guthrie.  When the Diocese of Oklahoma City was established in 1905 the writing was on the wall that Oklahoma City would soon become the home of the bishop.  For about 15 years St. Mary in Guthrie was the home of Oklahoma’s first bishop!

The present St. Mary Church building was constructed by Rev. Fr. John Van Gastel and was dedicated on December 27, 1920.  The style is predominantly Gothic with rounded arches adding a Romanesque influence.  Many have called this combination of styles and Oklahoma red brick “Prairie Gothic.”  Upon completion of the current 1920 church the original 1889 church was demolished.

The altars, baptismal font, stations of the cross, and all the statues were made by the DaPrato Statuary Company of Chicago, Illinois.  Although the altars appear to be marble, they are steel and iron with 24 karat gold mosaic panels, and air brushed to create a faux marble appearance.  The altar was made in sections in Chicago and then shipped to Guthrie to be constructed into the high altar we know and love today.  The cost for hte high altar in 1920 was $25,000.

The statues, angels, and corpus on the crucifix were made of hydro-stone, which is a mixture of plaster and straw.  Steel wires were used to reinforce the hands, neck, and feet.  After the plaster was sealed, five coats of lacquer were applied, and then each color is air brushed.  To create flesh tones and life like appearance essence of pearl was used on all the statues.  The final touch is that the statues have glass eyes to make them look realistic.

The parishioners of St. Mary are very proud of their church and all that is in it.  Besides preserving the high altars and statues all these years, a restoration process has begun under the direction of a local artist to fully restore the high altar and side altars.  A similar process of restoration was undertaken years ago to restore the stations of the cross.  While there are likely many duplicate high altar and side altars similar to St. Mary, it is impossible to duplicate these altars.  Sadly during the 1960s, at a time when building churches in a traditional style was on the wane, super-modern church architecture was pushing a minimalism.  Churches in this time were mostly built of concrete and a minimal of interior decoration was the trend.  In 1962, facing declining revenue due to these super-modern trends, the DaPrato Company went out of business and the molds for all the statues and altars were destroyed.

It is the current dream of the parish to continue the restoration of all that is in the church.  Early plans are afoot to paint the church.  A striking feature of these plans are to paint the upper apse ceiling (the rounded area of the ceiling behind the high altar) a blue color with gold stars.  When visitors depart from Mass at St. Mary they comment on what a beautiful choir and church we have.  We are truly blessed and continue to focus on what this parish was made for:  the worship of God!  

Rather than take our word for it we invite you to come to St. Mary and see for yourself what an amazing and welcoming parish we have.  We hope to see you soon!