Major decision: When and how to pick your field of study

When Danielle Teague enrolled in college, she had a plan. She was going to be a doctor.

A few premed classes in, however, and physical therapy seemed like a better fit. So, she changed her major to kinesiology. Not long into an internship, she had another revelation.
Western Catholic colleges

Interested in attending a Catholic college in the west? We've got the facts for you.
Volleyball season comes to close

Catholic Youth Organization wrapped up the 2018 volleyball season Nov. 17. The final day included amazing games that showcased hard work from coaches and players. The Spike Championship games were held at Valley Catholic School in Beaverton.
Money magazine says UP tops for value in Oregon

The University of Portland was named the best college in Oregon for value in an annual ranking by Money magazine.

U.P. ranked 115th nationally for value, up from 173th two years ago. Other Oregon schools featured in the rankings include Oregon State University, ranked at 312th; Lewis and Clark College, 441th; Reed College, 565th; and George Fox, 570th.
Table of remembrance

When Father Rodel de Mesa came to Holy Family Parish in Southeast Portland five years ago, he brought a longstanding Filipino tradition with him — a table of remembrance.
Singing Marian prayers

Men and women sat and kneeled in the pews surrounding the altar at St. Juan Diego Parish in Northwest Portland as Aaron Thompson brushed the keys of the piano, creating the notes for his song. Thompson, a parishioner at the parish, sang an arrangement of the rosary, which he’d composed himself for the bimonthly sung rosary here.
Hot Shots hoops: Learning and fun

Catholic Youth Organization completed another fall Hot Shots season on Nov. 10. Hot Shots is the CYO basketball program for first- and second-graders.

Eight of the nine teams chose to play in the end-of-season tournament. There were two tournament pools, one at Holy Family Parish in Southeast Portland and the other at Holy Redeemer Parish in North Portland.
Making a difference one sandwich at a time

The Holy Family cafeteria was abuzz with activity Nov. 20 as third- and seventh-grade students packed 120 sack lunches for Willamette Women’s Shelter. Each month, two grades at the Southeast Portland school work together to make the sandwiches, which they then place in brown bags along with fresh fruit, granola bars and bottled water.
Catholic schools out in football

Top-ranked Lake Oswego High knocked both Central Catholic and Jesuit out of the Oregon 6A prep football bracket. Central Catholic went down to the Lakers 35-24 on Nov. 16 and Jesuit lost 24-14 in the Nov. 23 semifinal.
Regis St. Mary community prepares meals for the hungry

STAYTON — On Oct. 26, the Regis St. Mary community gathered to help feed hungry children. Teachers, administrators, parents, grandparents and students ranging from kindergarten to high school took part in two-hour packing sessions to prepare meals for children around the world.
The power of mercy

Charlotte Dorsey, a longtime volunteer with the St. Vincent de Paul Society through Our Lady of the Mountain Parish in Ashland, works to see Christ in the people she helps. “And as we go out, we’re being Christ to others, at least the best we know how. I like thinking about that going on around the world.”
Smiling saints

After the All Saints’ Day Mass, Fr. Maxy D’Costa, pastor of St. John the Apostle Parish in Oregon City, poses with the parish school’s kindergarten students, who dressed as an array of saints.
O’Hara music teacher honored

EUGENE — Kathryn Leonard, a full-time music specialist at O’Hara School here, was named September’s recipient of the Excellence in Education Award presented by radio station New Country 93.3 and Northwest Community Credit Union.
Marylhurst auctioned off items

An Oregon Catholic college that closed its doors this summer auctioned off assets starting this month

Marylhurst University, eight miles south of Portland, sold furniture, equipment and other property during an online auction.
Inspired at 105

BEAVERTON — At 105, Rose Hutchinson talks sweetly about her faith as she sits just outside the nave at Holy Trinity Parish here. With so many years behind her, and so much wisdom, she still goes to Mass.
Byzantine bishop visits Portland

St. Irene Virgin and Great Martyr Byzantine Parish in North Portland welcomed the mission’s bishop, Bishop John Pazak, last month.
‘I never knew that’

ASHLAND — After adult faith formation sessions at Our Lady of the Mountain Parish here, Dr. Paul Arnold often hears parishioners say something like: “I have been a Catholic my whole life and I never knew that.”
‘I can sense the Lord walking around’

St. Vincent de Paul Society volunteers from Sacred Heart Parish in Southeast Portland lug heavy bundles of food down steep stairs to the church pantry. To organize the supplies, they scuttle like a submarine crew in the narrow basement passages of the century-old rectory. They pack boxes and then head out into the neighborhood every weekday, two by two.
Remembering the dead
Giving thanks for the graces

ALOHA — Mike Tran remembers the beginning, sitting beside his parents as they silently prayed the rosary, not understanding the English Mass.

There was a pastoral need for a Vietnamese Mass on the west side of Portland, says Deacon Michael Chau Pham. Tran points to the deacon as one of the founding members of the mission church of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, which celebrated its 25th anniversary Oct. 27.
Leonetti to speak in Stayton

STAYTON — Immaculate Conception Parish here will be hosting “Surge of the Heart Parish Mission” Nov. 25-27 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:40 p.m.

The event, which will feature Catholic speaker and author Jon Leonetti, has been called “one of the most inspiring parish missions available in America today” by Matthew Kelly, founder of Dynamic Catholic.
Parish to hold Thanksgiving dinner

LINCOLN CITY — St. Augustine Parish will host a free Thanksgiving dinner Nov. 22 from noon to 4 p.m. in the church community room.

Event coordinator Pat Bauer said that more than 500 meals were served last year, including takeout and dinners delivered to homebound people. The dinner is open to the entire north Lincoln County community, said Bauer.
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.