Today we’d like to introduce you to Our Lady Of Perpetual Help St Mary’s Catholic Church.
Hi Our Lady of Perpetual Help, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, St Mary’s Catholic Church was established in 1885 by Father Louis Metayer. Our first building was an old school house. St Mary’s Academy was built and opened just a year later. In 1906, under Fr. Arthur Lane, the parish set up a hospital, which they ran for 16 months until they turned it over to the Sisters of Mercy. In 1927 the new General Hospital was opened and the St Mary’s Hospital was closed.
During World War II the population grew rapidly. There were changes made to accomodate more children at the school and greater numbers attending church. Community services were and are provided to people in Albany by parishioners in varying ways and by a number of groups, like the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, but also the St Vincent de Paul Society, FootSteps, the Soup Kitchen and Visitors to the Sick or Homebound.
October 1989 saw a fire that burned down our old church. United Presbyterian, Linn Benton Community College and others allowed us to hold services in their facilities until we had our new church built. Chris Jeppersen was the architect, Dale Ramsey Construction Co. did the build, Gerry Veley did the stained glass windows and some art was created by Lynn Kiefer. We were open again on September 13, 1992.
We have fun events throughout the year, but, some annual events are the Auction, Parish Picnic, Mardi Gras, Arts & Crafts Bazaar, Advent and Lenten events, Vacation Bible School for the kids and a pet blessing. We have been excited to see an upswing in young adults joining the church. We love seeing the families!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Catholic Church – We seek to inspire people to a greater relationship with God through the Gospel
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
We have had tremendous luck in keeping our Soup Kitchen going for over 45 years. Linn Benton Food Share has been an incredible resource for us in both making other contacts and what they are able to share with us to keep food available for those who need it.
We also have a number of parishioners who support our many community services, seminarians and parish projects. We absolutely could not do without them!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://stmarysalbany.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/St-Marys-Albany/
- Twitter: @lady_perpetual
- Youtube: @st.marysalbany2679
