Tuesday, February 08, 2011

New OKC archbishop says he's learning about region

Incoming Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley says he's been studying about Oklahoma's history and making plans for his first weeks and months in that position.

The 55-year-old Coakley will become the new archbishop of the Catholic Church's Oklahoma City archdiocese on Friday, replacing retiring Archbishop Eusebius Beltran. Coakley has been the bishop of the Salina, Kan., diocese since 2004.

Coakley tells The Oklahoman he's been reading about the opening of Indian Territory and the background of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City, including the 1995 federal building bombing and how the city rebounded from it.

He says he plans to meet with department heads and archdiocesean staff during his first week in office and wants to quickly visit the archdiocese's 109 parishes and missions, which represent about 108,000 people.