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 The
Carmelite Sisters of St. Thérèse were founded by Fr.
Eduardo Soler, O.C.D., a Discalced Carmelite Friar of the Oklahoma
Province of St. Thérèse. They are a congregation of
active women religious, entrusted with the mission of living the Carmelite
spirit of prayer while dedicating themselves also to the education
and Christian formation of young people. The Discalced Carmelite Friars
serve as their chaplains. The friars and the Carmelite Sisters of
St. Thérèse also collaborate in various ministries and
support and encourage one another as we all strive to serve the Lord
as members of the Carmelite family.
Once Fr. Edward was able to establish a community of Discalced
Carmelite Friars in Oklahoma City, he brought the Sisters to that
city and helped them build a wooden frame To visit the website of the Carmelite Sisters of St. Thérèse,
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In
1916, Fr. Eduardo Soler, O.C.D., became pastor of the Carmelite
parish in the mining town of Hartshorne, Oklahoma. This parish had
two mission churches in the small towns of Gowen and Pittsburgh.
Fr. Eduardo wanted to start a school in the mission of Gowen. He
found a young woman who expressed some interest in establishing
a mission school. Her name was Marie Loretta Cavanaugh. Edward brought
this “young frail woman from Central Falls, Rhode Island,”
to help him teach the Indian children in that mission. By July 1917
Edward had found three teachers from back East, convinced them to
become Tertiary Carmelite Sisters, and built them a convent and
set up a school in Gowen. During the summer of 1920 these Sisters
were invited to take over the school in Hartshorne from the Incarnate
Word Sisters. Enrollment at that time was over 200 pupils from elementary
to high school.
In
1925 the Sisters community had grown to 12. Soon there were enough
Tertiary Sisters to be formed into a religious order, and on December
27, 1928, Bishop Kelley canonically established the Carmelite Sisters
of St Thérèse as a new congregation. Fr. Edward aided
the process of forming this congregation, and Marie Cavanaugh was
elected their superior. She took the religious name, Mother Agnes
Teresa C.S.T. 
Motherhouse
there in 1926. When they acquired a nice brick mansion on Classen
Drive, the first Villa Theresa School was set up in 1933 in the
daughter-in-law’s house next door.