2005-2013 - St Francis De Sales, Baker City, OR

The renovated Cathedral at Baker City

My last 8 years were spent at the Baker City Cathedral dedicated to the patron of journalists, Saint Francis De Sales. When I arrived there I instantly thought of the upcoming centennial of the Cathedral church in 2008, and soon I got together a committee to see how best we could celebrate this historic event. I have to say that on my first trip to the Cathedral in April 2003, I was shocked to see the wall or screen behind the main altar, and for three years I wondered who on earth ever thought of such a contraption in an otherwise beautiful sanctuary. There were various renovations done in the 1930s, 1958 and finally in 1980, and so it was decided that we needed to bring back the splendor of the Cathedral, with the tabernacle in a prominent central place. 

The re-dedication Mass October 27, 2007

The Cathedral was re-dedicated on October 27 2007, to coincide with Bishop Connolly's 60th anniversary as a priest, and the dedication Mas was held exactly on the 100th anniversary, April 9, 2008. Many other activities and functions highlighted the 8 years I spent there, and if you go back to three weeks ago and view the posts of October 15 and 16, you can see some of them. And if you go to the parish website, you can still see hundreds of photos of the parish life, celebrations, the entire renovation process and much more in the photo galleries....   www.saintfranciscathedral.com

The Cathedral built with volcanic tuff between 1906 and 1908