About

In 1912, the groundwork for Catholic Charities was laid with the founding of St. Joseph’s Orphanage. In the following years, other institutions were opened to serve children, families and other people in need. Among these were a boardinghouse for young working women, a maternity home and St. Ann’s Home for the Elderly.

In 1927, Catholic Charities expanded its services to include adoption, foster care and pregnancy counseling. Its mission was to make Christ’s love for all human beings a visible and living reality for those in need.

The needs of our society have changed dramatically since the early 1900s. In turn, our work has also changed. In recent years, there has been a national trend away from institutions toward smaller group homes for provision of services to specialized populations. Our Lady of Victory Maternity Home, serving pregnant women and infants, closed in the mid-‘70s. St. Joseph’s Orphanage closed in 1990 due to a lack of adequate funding by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. St. Ann’s Home for the Elderly was operated under Catholic Charities’ umbrella for many years until a new St. Ann’s Nursing Home opened in 1992 under the administration of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

Catholic Charities has adapted to changing times and trends in delivery of social services. We still provides the following direct services:

• pre- and post-adoption services
• pregnancy counseling
• marriage, family and individual counseling
• immigration legal services
• refugee resettlement
• emergency rent and utility assistance
• disaster relief
• homeless services
• faith community nursing
• parish outreach

There is a strong emphasis on providing training and support to parishes so that they may answer their Gospel call to helping the poor and vulnerable. Through the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, we work to eliminate the underlying causes of poverty and injustice.

Catholic Charities has a long history of providing loving care to those in need. With your help we will continue to reach out to others in mercy, charity, and justice.

National Affiliation

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is part of a nationwide network of Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities USA, the parent agency, was founded in 1910 in Washington, D.C., on the campus of Catholic University of America. Originally known as the National Conference of Catholic Charities, CCUSA was formed to promote the creation of diocesan Catholic Charities bureaus, to encourage professional social work practice, to bring a sense of solidarity among those in charitable ministries, and to be the attorney for the poor. Today, Catholic Charities USA is the national office for local Catholic Charities agencies and affiliates nationwide. CCUSA provides strong leadership, advocacy, a national voice, networking opportunities, financial support and training to enhance the work of local Catholic Charities agencies in their efforts to reduce poverty, support families and empower communities. (www.catholiccharitiesusa.org) for more information.

Our Mission

To provide help and hope to all through the Catholic tradition of service.

Who We Serve

Services are available to all persons regardless of race, religion, ability to pay or national origin.

Where We Serve

We serve central and western Oklahoma with offices in Ardmore, Clinton, Enid, Guymon, Lawton and Oklahoma City.

How We Serve

For more than 100 years, we have served as a stabilizing force in the community, providing critical and necessary services to those in need.

Why We Serve

From the Liturgy of St. Basil:

“Remember, O Lord, those who bring offerings and do good in Thy holy churches, and those who remember the poor. … Fill their treasures with every good thing … support the aged; encourage the faint-hearted … free those who are held captive by unclean spirits … defend the widows; protect the orphans; free the captives; heal the sick. Remember, O God, those who are in courts, in mines, in exile, in harsh labor, and those in any kind of affliction, necessity, or distress, and remember each man and his request, his home and his need. Amen.”