MEET PARISHIONERS HELEN AND MARTIN REIDY: Blessed to Serve God and Community Together

Every Sunday at 8 a.m. Mass, longtime parishioners Helen and Martin Reidy occupy the same pew as they have for the last 48 years. For Martin, memories of attending Mass at the Cathedral go back to when he was a young boy.

“My parents took me there to get baptized 84 years ago,” he says. “I was born in 1938, I was baptized in 1939. I’ve been there ever since.”

Martin and Helen met through mutual friends as young adults, although they weren’t married until 13 years after initially meeting. The two married in 1974 and have two children.

Over the years, they have been involved in many efforts at the Cathedral and in the local community and attend Mass every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at the Cathedral.

“For almost 20 years, Martin used to lead the Rosary before Mass,” says Helen, adding that they also have frequented the Adoration Chapel every Friday for many years.

Martin and Helen have a strong commitment to helping the poor. They have demonstrated this in many different ways throughout their lives. This started for Martin more than 50 years ago, when he heard through a priest friend about migrant farmworkers who were in need.

“On Sundays, we’d take food to the Mexicans who lived and worked for the farmers,” Martin says. “We would go down there and visit with them. The kids, we would take out to see some of Tulsa. We enjoyed it, too.”

From there, Martin and Helen have volunteered and helped the poor in their community through various projects and efforts. A few times per month, the Reidys’ neighbor gives them leftover food, which they then transport to the homeless after Sunday Mass.

When he joined the Knights of Columbus, Martin also began enlisting the Knights’ help in serving breakfast at the homeless center on Archer Street on the first Saturday of every month.

“We’re there no matter what time of the year,” Martin says.

Having come from backgrounds where they didn’t have much, both Helen and Martin hold those in poverty close to their hearts. Helen says that providing assistance to the poor reminds her that there are people who need help, and she is grateful they have been able to fill that need in different ways. Beyond assisting in-person, Helen says they also pray every day for those in need.

Helen is also actively involved with the Women’s Club here at the cathedral. While she is now retired from her work as a nurse, she still volunteers at the hospital, delivering flowers and other items to patients and working nurses. She says it’s a blessing to be able to serve others in this and other capacities.

“I’d miss it if I didn’t volunteer,” she says. “I don’t know why I’ve been so blessed, but God must have some big plans for me.”

Both Helen and Martin agree that service has helped them grow together in their marriage. Helen says Martin is the one who has inspired her to be so actively involved throughout the years. Martin, on the other hand, is quick to acknowledge how much his wife has served in her role as a nurse, particularly when she went abroad for a six-month tour in Algeria working with the Red Cross. Helen says it’s their faith that inspires them to serve.

“When Jesus was on earth, He did kind things,” she says. “He wanted everybody to follow His example, that’s why we do it. If it wasn’t for my faith, I would be lost. God keeps making plans for me, I just go ahead and do them.”

Martin and Helen Reidy have a strong commitment to helping the poor. They have demonstrated this in many different ways throughout their lives.