OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Our Lady of Perpetual Help is the heartbeat of the Catholic Church in Oklahoma City, a community that has overcome great obstacles in a century of faith. 100 years after its construction, the church that was the center of people's lives remembers Very Reverend Rick Stansberry, the Rector at the Cathedral. "In a sense, all Catholics of the Archdiocese belong here," said Archdiosesan Archivist, George Rigazzi. "This is their church. It's the bishop's church." In the 1920s, Our Lady's was a vision for a new 20th century church to meet the needs of a growing Catholic population on the north side of Oklahoma City. Construction began in 1923. To be clear, it was a bold move to invest $122,000 ($2.1M today) to construct a towering house of worship at a time when the Catholic population in Oklahoma City was a mere three percent. Post-war hostility against Catholics was surging and discrimination was on the rise. "One hundred years ago, there was a lot of prejudice," said Father Stansberry. "Catholics were not well accepted. They were looked down upon. They couldn't join civic clubs and things. The Klan burned a cross once, I think, in front of this church and others." Resolve this faith community would draw on amid a litany of setbacks. "We had all kinds of problems," Rigazzi remembers. "A tornado came through and basically twisted the steel into a knot. It fell. So, because steel was precious after WWI, they had to basically knock it together again and put it back up. They had to re-use it." Wreaths Across America comes to Guthrie after Eagle Scout’s project In 1930, with the geographical split of the Oklahoma Diocese, this vibrant church became the Cathedral for the majority of the state's Catholics. The decades that followed would bring an expansion to campus, several restorations to the sanctuary and ornate adjustments; all made amid the daily business of the church which included countless baptisms, confirmations, weddings and funerals. Initial membership here was 68 families. Today, the congregation is 1,100 strong and diverse. "We were very fortunate in 1975 that refugees from Vietnam came to Oklahoma City," Rigazzi said. "Many of the Vietnamese refugees settled around the Cathedral, and they were Catholic." The mid-century mark brought an influx of asylum seekers who found a home at the Cathedral. This month, Archbishop Paul Coakley marked the centennial with a special mass, a celebration of faith and endurance. Our Lady's was built on a foundation of faith, a magnet for believers with ties that bind. They have a common heart, beating toward compassion and generosity. "We hope the next 100 years is just as fruitful. Obviously the world will be very different 100 years from now than it is today, but this this church will still be here," said Father Stansberry. Outside these walls, so much has changed in 100 years. Inside, it is today as it has always been—an experience where the sacred is profoundly felt.