St. Cecilia Church is a Gothic style of architecture and is built in the shape of a cross. The vaulted ceiling points toward "heaven." The stone material used is Indiana limestone and a German painter created and painted the ceiling symbols. The church building won an award for architecture when it was built (the placard is on the wall in the rear of the church).
Oakley's first Mass was held in 1908 in the Town Hall that was in the 3200 block of Madison Road. At that time, the priest used a sheet as a screen behind the altar to shield the fire engine from the view of the congregation. That building, still standing, was the former Oakley Senior Citizens' Center. Later, a frame church was built in 1913 and used until 1918 when the older part of our school was built (you can still see one of the steps on the edge of the Gilmore Avenue side of the parking lot). The basement room, now our school cafeteria, was used for Mass until our present church was built in 1928.
