The Bishop Meerschaert Legacy Society honors those who have used gifts in their will and other planned gifts to benefit the Catholic Foundation of Oklahoma, their parish, or other Catholic ministries in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.


The society is named for Theophile Meerschaert, the first Roman Catholic bishop in Oklahoma. A native of Belgium, Meerschaert was ordained into the priesthood in 1871. Twenty years later, Meerschaert was named Vicar Apostolic of Indian Territory, which eventually became Oklahoma.


Meerschaert worked tirelessly to build the Catholic Church in this new territory. He established parishes, appointed pastors and recruited nuns to staff schools and hospitals. He also turned frequently to his homeland of Belgium to find missionaries for his work here.


Meerschaert died in 1924, at age 76, after 32 years of evangelization that placed the Catholic Church in Oklahoma on firm footing. Your planned gifts to the Church help to build on that wonderful legacy.