Oregon’s long history of ethnic-rooted parishes

For more than 100 years, immigrant communities in Oregon have raised up parish communities to minister to their needs. In Southeast Portland, St. Philip Neri Parish was built to serve Italian immigrants. In Roy, St. Francis was built by early Dutch settlers. Along Highway 30, St. Wenceslaus in Scappose was born out of the needs of a Czech community. In North Portland, St. Stanislaus Parish remains today the destination for Polish Mass and community.
Bridging the future and the past

For young seminarians, it was chance to meet retired priests who themselves once were young students. For older priests, it was a night to witness the future leaders of the church. For supporters of the church at St. Pius X Parish in Northwest Portland, the Shephard’s Legacy Seminarian and Retired Priest dinner Sept. 29 was a night to witness both.
Hundreds gather for Rosary Bowl

SALEM — “Hail Mary, full of Grace. The Lord is with thee.” The phrase is one often heard as part of the Hail Mary prayer and the rosary, but hundreds of people saying it in unison is rare. The beauty of the sound can be found at the Rosary Bowl held each fall in Salem.
Discerning spirits

The priest walks into the room. Outside the door, he breaths in and out — his breath clearly visible in the perceived chill surrounding him. He walks into the room where his brother priest is kneeling dead against the bed.
Valley Catholic wins fifth Oregonian Cup

BEAVERTON — Early last month, Valley Catholic kicked off the school year with an all-school Mass followed by a special presentation by Kyle Stanfield of the Oregon School Activities Association in honor of Valley Catholic’s fifth Oregonian Cup.
Threats made at St. Mary Parish

EUGENE — When a man who’d been attending 9 a.m. Mass at St. Mary here came forward for Communion, few might have suspected the man would later be in jail after making numerous threats to the parish.
Regis St. Mary upgrades facilities, creates new position

STAYTON — Major updates to Regis St. Mary School’s academic building took place this summer thanks to significant donations from four local businesses. In three months, Principal Rick Schindler oversaw the renovation project from conception to reality.
Explore a new church

GRANTS PASS — St. Anne Parish here is opening its doors for public tours Saturday, Nov. 3, and Saturday, Dec. 15, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. There’s no cost for admission and all are welcome.
Central Catholic students empower girls in the Dominican Republic

For the last five summers, nearly 100 young women from Central Catholic High School in Portland have traveled to the Dominican Republic for a weeklong service learning experience.
St. Joseph the Worker adds Masses

The Southeast Portland parish of St. Joseph the Worker has added two new Masses to the weekend liturgy.
Molalla youth gear up to learn faith

MOLALLA — Making proactive strides to engage all the baptized, in conjunction with the pastoral priorities of the Archdiocese of Portland, St. James Parish here gathered 14 youths who responded to the invitation for a day of retreat entitled Live Christ Share Christ.
Developing reading ministry

All Saints Parish in Northeast Portland will be hosting a workshop for current and future lectors to develop their skills for the ministry. The free event, which doesn’t require an RSVP, will be Thursday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. in the parish hall.
Marylhurst auctioning off items

An Oregon college that closed its doors this summer will auction off many of its assets on Nov. 1.
Peace prayer set

On Friday, Nov. 9, at 2 p.m. at the Peace Garden near Buckley Auditorium at University of Portland, international students and others from the U.P. community will offer public calls for peace in their native language.
UP master’s grad is now a chancellor

A graduate of the Master of Arts of Pastoral Ministry program at the University of Portland has been promoted to chancellor of the Diocese of Sacramento.
St. Matthew students memorialize Fr. Jose Ortega

HILLSBORO — The students, staff and families of St. Matthew School here remembered their beloved priest, Father Jose Ortega, by celebrating his life during the St. Matthew School Mass last month. Father Jose died Aug. 23 after fighting a lengthy battle with cancer.
‘I will forever be blessed’

GERVAIS — Marissa Casanova joined the faculty of Sacred Heart School here in the fall of 2016. Her third- and fourth-grade classes “thrived under her tutelage and her coworkers found themselves impressed with her love for her profession, the children, her faith, and her strong work ethic,” said a press release from the school.
Visiting bishop to migrants: Get involved in parishes

A bishop from Micronesia visited Portland in September, urging Catholic migrants from his Pacific island nation to get involved in Oregon parishes, especially by enrolling their children in religious education.
Beware scam requests

Email accounts of priests and religious around the archdiocese are being “ghosted” in attempts of provoking money from the Catholic faithfu
Haitian school, with Oregon support, seeks to expand into a network

A Catholic nonprofit that educates Haitian children is set to expand from one school to 10. The Haitian Project gets regular support from Oregon Catholics, including a team at The Madeleine Parish that organizes an annual Northeast Portland garage sale for the cause.
WATCH: Traditional confirmation rite celebrated

Twenty Catholic youths from around western Oregon gathered Sept. 18 for a confirmation rite that pre-dates liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
The intercession of St. Michael the Archangel

ROSEBURG — When Father José Manuel Campos Garcia first arrived at St. Joseph Parish here, surrounded by the green hills of the area, he felt what he calls a shadowiness. Not long after the priest was assigned to serve the Willamette Valley parish, 10 students at Umpqua Community College were killed when a shooter opened fire at the school. It was around this time Father Campos started praying the St. Michael prayer after daily Mass.
Success in his wake: La Salle Prep student Johnny Maitland is a skiing champ

Johnny Maitland might not walk on water, but he comes pretty close. The 14-year-old La Salle Prep student was for a time ranked No. 1 in the world for slalom waterskiing, a sport requiring athletes to zigzag across a boat’s wake navigating six buoys — all on one ski going about 35 miles per hour.
For 25 years, Polish festival has offered ‘witamy’

Joseph Bylina, a musclebound Polish fisherman who immigrated to the United States in 1982, donned his best white suit and a bold red-and-white tie for North Portland’s annual Polish festival Sept. 22-23.
Faustina performances set

Several Oregon and southwest Washington parishes are hosting St. Luke Production performances in October.
The transitus of St. Francis

MILWAUKIE — Franciscans are meeting at St. John the Baptist Parish Oct. 3 to commemorate the birth of St. Francis into eternal life. The event will begin at the church at 7 p.m. with light refreshments to follow.
Playground blessing

There’s a reason to rejoice for children at Holy Cross parish and school in North Portland. After years of fundraising, a new playground will be blessed at the parish Sept. 28 at 4:45 p.m. with a barbeque to follow.
Coastal icon writing

BROOKINGS — Parishioners at Star of the Sea Parish here danced through delicate brush strokes Aug. 14-18, writing icons with a visiting iconographer from Olympia, Washington.
Scholarship offered in memory of Newman worker

EUGENE — On June 15, 2016, Bernie Conklin died and left a hole in the University of Oregon Newman Center community. A UO graduate and football player in the 1970s, he became the Newman Center’s beloved development director.
$1 million humanitarian award to be presented at UP

Three finalists for the 2018 Opus Prize, a $1 million award that recognizes individuals or organizations who address critical social issues within their communities, recently were announced by the Opus Prize Foundation and the University of Portland.
A new church for St. Anne

GRANTS PASS — It was a moving moment as Archbishop Alexander Sample took to the new ambo at St. Anne Parish — with joy in his eyes — looked at Father Bill Holtzinger in the crowd and spoke of the pastor’s work in building a new church for the faith community here.
Seven new principals step into their roles at archdiocesan schools

Seven archdiocesan Catholic schools will welcome new principals this September. Some, like Jon Myers at All Saints, are already fixtures in their school communities — Myers has worked at All Saints for 24 years — while others, like Lesley Lindell, the new principal at St. Matthew School in Hillsboro — are new to the families and teachers they will lead.
Catholic schools plan

A strategic plan for the future of Catholic schools in western Oregon is moving from ideas to action. But the process will go deliberately.
Teens receive healing of Holy Spirit

SPOKANE — Teenagers from Resurrection Parish in Tualatin were part of the large community of Northwest adolescents who gathered for the Steubenville Northwest Catholic Youth Conference in July.
A new pastor

Flanked by seven Knights of Columbus honor guard members, Fr. Joseph Hoang stands beside Fr. Ignacio Llorente Aug. 21. Fr. Hoang was officially installed as pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Waldport by Fr. Llorente, who represented Archbishop Sample and the Archdiocese of Portland during the ceremon
From tending flowers to earning trophies: Highlights from Valley Catholic School

BEAVERTON — Located on the campus of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon, Valley Catholic is a close-knit community of students, families and educators.
UP welcomes one of largest classes in school history

The University of Portland welcomed the class of 2022 as first-year students arrived on campus and moved into residence halls Aug. 23. At approximately 1,000 students, the new freshman class is one of the top three largest classes in university history.
New faces and new places at The Madeleine School

When students at The Madeleine School in Northeast Portland returned from summer vacation, they found two new teachers and many new spaces in the process of being upgraded — thanks to The Madeleine’s ongoing capital campaign.
St. Paul School makes improvements to front office

EUGENE — To increase safety and security, St. Paul School has updated its front office. With help from the Archdiocese of Portland’s Safety First grant program, St. Paul was able to bring not just safety, but also a more welcoming entrance to the school.
New school year, new principal at St. Rose

Last year was an eventful one for an Oregon native who married, moved to the Hollywood district and became St. Rose School’s vice principal shortly after. But the excitement wasn’t over yet for Christine Penwell.
New staff, saint-focused theme at St. Matthew

HILLSBORO — As the children return to campus at St. Matthew School here, they will be greeted by new additions to the staff for the 2018-19 academic year.
New teachers share love of sports, learning

St. John Fisher School in Southwest Portland welcomes two new teachers: Inga Mannion in sixth grade and Michael Rittman for physical education and health.
Spick-and-span for school

MCMINNVILLE — In preparation for the school year, St. James School here collaborated with members of St. James Parish to clean and spruce up church and school grounds.
St. Ignatius students are citizens of the world

“Being able to collaborate with international partners is going to create better awareness of the world,” says Kristin Jost, third-grade teacher at St. Ignatius in Southeast Portland.
Staff changes at St. Clare bring new faces, goodbyes

St. Clare School in Southwest Portland welcomes three new teachers to the staff this fall and says goodbye to a longtime friend.
‘Everyday blessings’ at St. Cecilia School

BEAVERTON — “Everyday blessings” is St. Cecilia School’s theme for the 2018-19 school year. Blessing can be defined as “a beneficial thing for which one is grateful; something that brings well-being.”
St. Mary’s Academy opens women’s leadership center

In September, St. Mary’s Academy in Southwest Portland opens the doors to a Center for Women’s Leadership, which will offer advanced leadership courses and challenge students to explore leadership styles and methods.
Doing ‘small things with great love’

MILWAUKIE — Members of the St. John the Baptist School community here say the school is committed to helping create leaders who are confident, compassionate, connected in faith and who will put their service into action within their communities. That is why, for the 2018-19 school year, the school adopted the theme “Do small things with great love,” a motto of St. Teresa of Kolkata.
O’Hara teacher receives leadership training at Notre Dame

EUGENE — Angi Meyer, the physical education teacher at O’Hara School here, spent the summer at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, working on her master’s in educational leadership. The Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program of the University of Notre Dame prepares future leaders of Catholic schools “to lead with zeal,” according to the university’s website.
New Nativity teacher has previous ties to parish community

Emily Ruef is the new theology teacher at St. Andrew Nativity School in Northeast Portland, but she is not new to the parish community.
Service on everyone’s schedule at La Salle Prep

MILWAUKIE — No matter how many science, math and religion courses they take, La Salle Prep students’ education isn’t complete unless everybody does a good deed or two.
Jesuit celebrates 25 years of coeducation

Twenty-five years ago, the course of Jesuit’s legacy was changed when the school opened its doors to 260 pioneering young women on the sunny morning of Sept. 1, 1993. After nearly four decades as an all-male institution, the voices of young men and women filled the classrooms and bubbled into the halls — a full chorus of sounds hinting at the bright future ahead.
For everything there is a season

As Ecclesiastes prophetically declares, “For every thing there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” For Holy Redeemer School in North Portland, this back-to-school season witnesses a confluence of firsts and lasts, hellos and goodbyes.
Camp Howard lodge blessed

Father Dave Gutmann led a crowd in prayer Aug. 11 during a blessing of the new Mary’s Lodge at Camp Howard. Donors came forward to pay for the building in the Mount Hood foothills, which replaces a dining hall that had structural problems.
Family on way to mission life

STAYTON — A Catholic family of seven from Stayton has just begun missionary life.

Nick and Millie Hennemann and their five children, ages 1 to 7, left for Louisiana Aug. 25 to train as part of the Family Missions Company.
Holy Family celebrates its 70th anniversary

Holy Family School in Southeast Portland opened its doors Sept. 8, 1948. Enrollment was 27 students. In the ensuing 70 years, enrollment has increased substantially, but the mission of the school remains the same: guiding students to become self-aware and engaged learners, responsible decision makers, and faith-filled learners.
Holy Cross welcomes students with learning differences

At least six students with varying special needs (including Trisomy 21 and communication disorders) will be joining the Holy Cross community.
Ongoing building renovations at Franciscan Montessori school

The history of Franciscan Montessori Earth School in Southeast Portland begins in 1954, when the school structure was built.
De La Salle focuses on equity

De La Salle North Catholic is the most racially diverse private high school in Oregon, according to Niche, an education analytics researcher. The De La Salle student body comprises a racial and cultural mix of capable yet underserved students. The school is 40 percent Latino, 35 percent African-American, 13 percent Caucasian, 9 percent multiracial and 3 percent Asian/Pacific Islander.