On the corner of Seventh Street and Kansas, you will find the Holy Name Catholic Church, a building that has served the people of Chickasha for over 80 years While much has changed on both the inside and outside, the church has continued to offer its parish with a comfortable place to worship.

“For a lot of us, it has been a way of life for so long,” said Frances Doak, a member of Holy Name who has been with the church for over 70 years now.

The present church building opened in May of 1926 during Father Frank Van Wees’s time as priest. It replaced the old Catholic Church, which stood in the same place as Holy Name, before being torn down.

Father James Goins, the current priest at Holy Name, said the church is similar in its style to many of the Catholic Churches in the Midwest.

“It’s a really good example of what is called prairie gothic architecture,” he said. “A lot of the Catholic Churches throughout the Midwest sort of have a very similar look. They look very much like this church.”

Architect Harold Gimeno, who received his degree from Harvard University and began his work in Norman, designed the church and many view it as his most beautiful design.

The building was constructed with red brick and limestone highlights. There is a huge tower in the front which houses a bell that goes off once in the morning, at noon, and once in the evening.

“This red brick architecture was very common in the 1920’s,” said Goins about the exterior of the church. “If you look at the bell tower, they were looking to replicate a European look, a church you might find in the English country side.”

On the inside, the sanctuary is large with symbols of its tradition all over. Most notable in the sanctuary are the stain-glass windows with the names of families who gave to the church when it was first built.

“They are really the most remarkable thing about the church,” said Goins, referring to the windows.

Another interesting part of the building is that it has the coats of arms of the different Bishops who have served in Oklahoma.

“Every time a Bishop is chosen, he has somebody design a coat of arms for him,” said Goins. “We have those shields and that is very interesting.”

Goins also said that Holy Name is unique because of all the nice things in it. It is something that isn’t typical of a Catholic Church in Oklahoma, according to him.

“What’s interesting is that this church has lots of very very nice things so when it was built, obviously the people who contributed to it gave a lot of money,” he said.

“It’s a nicer Catholic Church than you would usually see in Oklahoma.”