St. Luke Catholic Church

As the century entered its final decade, the city of Woodburn, with both a stage line and a railroad, had become the center of activity on the French Prairie. The census of 1900 listed the population of Woodburn as 828, and Hubbard as 213.

The 30 to 50 Catholic families in the area were served by priests from Gervais, St. Louis and Mt. Angel with Masses offered in private homes and halls. In 1898 they decided they needed a parish and church on their own.

In 1899 Archbishop Alexander Christi sent Father L.A. LeMiller from New Era to be the first Pastor in charge of the churches in both Woodburn and Hubbard. A total of $1208 had been paid or pledged toward the building of a church in Woodburn and work has begun in 1900.

The Woodburn church was dedicated by Archbishop Christi on October 20, 1901. The church building in Hubbard was completed in 1899 and the first Mass was offered there on January 21, 1900, the feast day of St. Agnes by Father LeMiller.

Father J.A. LeVesque had been appointed Pastor in 1901 and during the summer of 1902, work began on a home for the priests on lots east of the church. That building, twice remodeled, now serves as office space for the Parish staff. A home for the priest one block south was purchased in 1978.

On March 9, 1902 the bell for the church was blessed and christened “Luke Alexander Joseph”. At the ceremony, lectures in English French and German were delivered, reflecting the ethnic make-up of the parish at that time. The bell serves our church to this day.

An addition to the original church was completed in 1904 increasing the seating capacity to 200. The statues of Mary and Joseph in our church today were blessed by Archbishop Christi on the Feast at the Ascension in 1910. The present Stations of the Cross, donated by parishioners, were dedicated in 1917.

A picnic at Woodburn City Park (Legion Park) made its debut in 1912. It was destined to be a tradition for more than 40 years in St. Luke’s Parish and in the community. The picnic featured entertainment, music, speeches, games, food and baseball game. The baseball game was played against a team from the surrounding area. St. Paul was a favorite rival, and the game itself guaranteed a large crowd.

There is no way of proving the 700 to over 1,000 people attendance, but the picnic, along with later Easter Food Sales, by the Ladies of St. Luke’s seems to have built St. Luke’s Community Hall in 1928, and in 1933, the beautiful church we enjoy today.

The unrest in Europe was mildly felt in Woodburn in 1916. The National Guard was mobilized in June, but returned in September. On March 17, 1917, company “I” left Woodburn for Vancouver. St. Luke’s Parish service flag showed 18 stars, one a gold star for Sergeant Leo Bennett. Father Cornelius Maher, who had been Pastor since July of 1915, enlisted as Chaplain and reported for duty in October 1918.

A different sort of war was waiting to be fought in the State of Oregon. On the Ballot in 1922, the compulsory Education Bill seemed to require all children between the ages of 6 and 18 to attend public schools only.

This attempt to close the private, largely church related schools, was carried to the Supreme Court of the nation before being declared unincontitucional. Some recall the white robed Klansmen on parade in Woodburn, but the local press was mostly silent on the matter except for the large ads espousing both sides and printed before the election.

Because a certain amount of dissention remained, the arrival of Father John Rubis as Pastor in 1923 was marked only by small notice. “Easter Sunday at St. Luke’s”, in the Classified section of the paper.

Father Rubis came to St. Luke’s in response to request from many parishioners of Slovakian decent who had come to the area during and after the World War I.

In quiet ways he overcame the prejudice and late in 1928 announced his intention to build a community hall. In 1930 this was cited as one of the highlights of the year of 1929 by the home town newspaper.

It was late in 1930 that Father Rubis revealed plans to build a new church. There would have to be few more summer picnics and Easter Food Sales before enough money was available.

The list of depositors in the failed Bank of Woodburn in 1934 included St. Luke’s new church fund of $ 4087.65. Whether this money was ever recovered is not known, but work to dismantle the old wooden church began on Easter Monday, April 17, 1933.

The cornerstone for the present church was laid on July 2, 1933, and the first Mass in the new church was offered on Christmas Day, 1933. The church was dedicated by Archbishop Howard on September 23, 1934.

Father Rubis was to enjoy the result of his dream for only short time following the annual summer picnic in 1936; he entered a hospital in Portland and died there on November 18, 1936.

The following description of the new St. Luke’s Catholic Church appeared in the Catholic Sentinel of November 18, 1937:

“…The building is 137 feet long, the nave 50 and transepts 78 feet wide, with a double seamed copper roof. The seating capacity is about 800 and the acoustics are perfect. The Narthex is 14X50 and in it is the beautiful circular stairway with oak thread ornament iron railing. The sanctuary is commodious; the pews of dark oak are not merely attractive but comfortable. The windows if stained glass are beautiful in design and very devotional. The bell, Stations of the Cross, and altars were taken from the old church. The painting in the sanctuary and the stained glass windows are the works of Albert Gerlach of Portland.”…

In 1939, a census of the entire state was ordered by Archbishop Howard in preparation for the centennial celebration on the arrival of the first Catholic missionaries in the Oregon Country in 1839. A total of 268 families, 955 adults and children were reported for St. Luke’s Parish. The population of Woodburn had increased to 1,982 people in 1940, up from 1,675 in 1930.

As with much of the nation, Woodburn was never to be quite the small community it was before December 7, 1941 and St. Luke’s Parish was no different. More than 150 men and women of the parish served in various branches of the military. Those at home tended farm, but also found employment in shipyards and other war time industries.

People from around the Country came to the west coast to work or to support those in the service, and many of them remained after the war. It was the Jubilee year in 1949 that St. Agnes Mission in Hubbard became a permanent part of St. Luke’s Parish.

In the next ten years, population in the area continued to rise. Some who came as seasonal farm workers remained as they found year round work. Many were of Hispanic descent and most of these were Catholic. Priest from Mexico came to serve this population during the summer months and the Summer School of Religion at St. Luke’s Parish helped their children prepare for receiving the sacraments of First Eucharist and Confirmation. As many as 300 children attended the two weeks sessions.

In 1968 St. Luke’s Parish along with St. Agnes Mission became the responsibility of the Jesuit Order of the Oregon Province.A Spanish speaking priest on the staff and a weekly Mass in Spanish Brought many Latinos from the surrounding area to St. Luke’s. In 1979, the parish became the center of Mission San Lucas when the Vicariate of San Salvador was established in the Archdiocese.

In 1975 the first members of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps began their work in our area. To date a total of 96 Volunteers have lived and worked in our community. Forty-three have worked in St. Luke’s Parish and school. A large house directly across from the church was acquired in 1979 as their home away from home.

In 1980, St. Luke’s Parish took advantage of an offer by the railroad to acquire the unused Southern Pacific Depot built in 1901 in downtown Woodburn. On May 20, 1981, it was moved to the site of the former St. Benedict’s School beneath the firs north of the church. Originally seen as a youth center, it sees action today as a center for a variety of parish meetings and classes.

In 1933, Father Rubis saw the need for a larger church. There were perhaps 100 families in the parish. Fifty years later the parish roster listed over 1,000 and the need for new facilities was obvious.

A drive or funds for parish expansion (PEP) was opened in September of 1983. As planned, a center combining a full size gymnasium, a dining/meeting hall and kitchen would replace St. Luke’s Hall.

On May 10, 1986, work began with a demolition burn of St. Luke’s Hall under the direction of the Woodburn Fire Department. On July 1 Gene Wellman of Triplett-Wellman Construction drove the first stake at the southeast corner of the new center.

The new facility was sufficiently completed to host the Christmas in the Country Bazaar on December 13, 1986. The center was dedicated by Archbishop Cornelius Power on May 31, 1987. The dinning/meeting room was named in honor of Father John E. Rubis.

St. Agnes Mission Council received permission in 1991 to complete a modified plan for the expansion of St. Agnes Church. The church building was moved to the back of the property and an addition was built onto the west side. The new addition has restrooms, a kitchen and a large meeting room that can be opened up for additional space in the church.

The people, not the building, define a parish. In 1990’s St. Luke’s Parish became a parish in transition. In 1991 Deacon Gerald McKenzie, then one of the two permanent Deacons serving the Archdiocese, began work in St. Luke Parish. Jerry was ordained on June 14, 1978 by Bishop Bernard Topel for the Diocese of Spokane.

José Méndez, a member of St. Luke’s Latino population, was ordained a Deacon on November 19, 1993 by Archbishop William Levada for the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, He was on of nine Deacon ordained, now Méndez works for St. Joseph’s Parish in Salem.

Art Ledezma was installed as Pastoral Administrator of St. Luke’s on May 1, 1994. He was one of three lay people serving in that position in the Portland Archdiocese. The celebration in August of 1993 commemorated 25 years of Jesuit care as well as 90 years of Catholic education in St. Luke’s Parish.

At a farewell in the summer of 1995 the parish hosted a number of Jesuit clergy who had served in our parish over 27 years. A lack of available priest had forced the Society of Jesus to return St. Luke’s Parish to the care of the Archdiocese.

To get ready for the 100th Jubilee year, 1999, a full renovation of the interior of St. Luke’s Church began in 1997. A ramp for handicapped access was built to the modified sanctuary area. A permanent place was developed for the musicians under the east side balcony. A restroom was installed in the church vestibule. The pews were placed in the front of the balconies. New lighting and new speaker system were installed. The interior walls were painted a soft, creamy-yellow.

The congregation worshiped in the parish hall while the church was being renovated as it had done in 1933. The people were able to move back in to the newly remodeled church in December of 1997, and on February 28, 1998, the church was blessed by Archbishop John Vlazny.

... and the story continues.