Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon - History

History

The origins of the Catholic Church in the Oregon Country derive from a July 3, 1834, petition by French Prairie settlers to priests in Canada. In response to this petition, missionary priests, Rev. Francis Xavier Norbert Blanchet and Rev. Modeste Demers arrived at Fort Vancouver on November 24, 1838. The first Mass was celebrated on January 6, 1839 at St. Paul.

On December 1, 1843, the Vatican established the Vicariate Apostolic of the Oregon Territory with Rev. Msgr. Blanchet as its first Vicar Apostolic. A Vicar Apostolic is a bishop in a territory which has not yet been organized as a diocese. The following year, Rev. Pierre-Jean DeSmet, S.J., and fellow priests and Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur arrived in Astoria from Belgium.

On July 24, 1846, Pope Pius IX divided the existing vicariate apostolic into three dioceses: Oregon City (Oregonopolitanus); Walla Walla (Valle Valliensis); and Vancouver Island (Insula Vancouver). On July 29, 1850, the Diocese of Oregon City was elevated to an archdiocese with Archbishop Blanchet continuing to serve as its first archbishop.

Rapid growth in the Pacific Northwest led to the loss of territory of the Archdiocese of Oregon City from which the Vatican created the Vicariate Apostolic of Idaho and Montana on March 3, 1868, and the Diocese of Baker City on June 19, 1903.

The Archdiocese was renamed by the Vatican as Portland in Oregon on September 26, 1928.