1112 SE 41st Avenue
Portland 97214
St. Stephen, like Holy Cross, is located just off a major thoroughfare and yet few people likely know it is there. In St. Stephen's case, it is located in the Richmond neighborhood two blocks east of SE 39th and about two blocks south of SE Belmont.
The building reminds me of St. Andrew in NE Portland with its tan colored brick exterior and cream trim. It is an attractive, medium size building. I went to the 11 am Mass last Sunday. Many parishioners were late and the Mass began about ten minutes late. Reverend Petrus Hoang was the celebrant. Fr. Hoang is a sweet-faced Vietnamese priest with a distinctive accent. What I understood of his sermon was uplifting, but his accent and the church acoustics made following him a challenge. The parishioners were mostly white with maybe two Vietnamese families present.
I'm sorry you had such a negative experience at this beautiful old Church. I'd like to invite you to return for a Saturday evening Mass at 7:30 when Cantores in Ecclesia sing the Mass. The Gregorian chant is exquisite! Here is their website:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cantoresinecclesia.org/pages/main_pages/about_us.html
Hey, I did not have all that negative of an experience. The weather was lousy and I do think it affected everyone. I accept your invitation and will certainly attend a Saturday evening Mass.
ReplyDeleteWe have a new pastor Fr. John Boyle. Daily Mass at 0730. Doors open at 0600 and remain open daily until 8PM. Latin Mass on Monday evenings at 6:45. We are having a Missa Cantata High Mass on Friday June 12 at 7PM. You don't want to miss it. You were onto a great project here and I encourage you to keep going. Portland has some beautiful churches that are not well known.
ReplyDeleteI went to 9 am or 10 am Mass three weeks ago. If Fr Boyle is English, he was celebrant. I very much liked his sermon.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the encouragement but not sure what you mean by keep going, as I have gone to and written about every church is Archdiocese of Portland. (Didn't go to The Grotto as I didn't see it on Archdiocese list of churches.)