Welcome - St. Francis De Sales Cathedral Parish
2235 First Street, Baker City - OREGON 97814
Tel:541-523-4521 Fax:541-523-8362
Parish E-Mail: sfc@uci.net Fr Julian: julianmlt@uci.net
The Cathedral during an Ordination, May 22, 2009
Check a new feature: PHOTO OF THE WEEK (further down, after the recent updates.) All photos are by Father Julian.
RECENT UPDATES______________________
2009 Updates
(July 8) Newly found paintings of Sr Rigoberta and Sr Rose de Lima (in "Our Communtiy" link)
(June 15) New historical photos from Esther Monk (in "Parish History" link)
(June 14) Ordination in the Cathedral on May 22, 2009 (in "Cathedral Events")
(May 29) Photos from the Stations around Town held April 1 (in "Photo Album")
(May 2) First Holy Communion photo (in "Cathedral Events")
(April 27) Photos from Mount Angel and Tulip Farm (further down)
(April 19) Photos of the Cathedral on Easter (further down)
(April 7) Photos from the Palm Sunday donkey procession ( in "Cathedral Events")
(April 7) Photos from the Chrism Mass (in "Cathedral Events")
(March 24) Spring and scenic photos from Eastern Oregon (futher down)
(March 3) Confirmation photos and Rite of Election (in "Cathedral Events" link)
(February 16) Photos of Jessica Ellis Memorial in Kentucky (in "Community Services" link)
(January 16) Frost hits Baker City - beautiful photos by Fr Julian (further down)
(January 10, 2009) Statues in the attic (further down)
2008 Updates
(December 27) More scenes from around the Cathedral + Nativity play (further down)
(December 24) Scenes from Baker City in winter and Christmas time ( further down)
(November 26) Centennial Concert photos (in "Cathedral Events" link)
(November 8) Photos honoring Jessica Ellis (in "Community Srrvices" link)
(November 4) All Saints Parade (in "Photo Album")
(November 4) Turkey Dinner photos (in "Photo Album")
(October 7) A rainbow from heaven (further down)
(October 7) Blessing of animals (in" photo-album")
(September 30) Photo of the Halfway retreat participants (in "Photo Album")
(September 24) New feature - Photo of the week (further down)
(September 23) Photos from the Parish Picnic ( in Photo Album)
(August 22) Jessica Ellis memorial service at Arlington Cemetery ("Community Services" link)
(August 9) Photos from the northwest country roads (further down)
(July 14) First Holy Communion at Halfway ( see "Photo Album")
(July 11) The Pauline Jubilee Year with photos (in "Our Community" link)
(July 10) From spring into winter (further down)
(June 23) Photos from my visit to Malta (further down)
(June 22) Remembering Jessica Ellis, killed in Iraq (in "Community Services" link)
(June 21) The crucifix is installed ( see more photos in "The Cathedral" link)
(June 9) First Communion at North Powder mission (in "Photo Album")
(May 10) New spring photos from Eastern Oregon (further down)
(May 5) May Crowning photos (in "Photo Album")
(May 1) Picture from the Religious Ed children's carnival (in "Parish organizations" link)
(April 30) First Communion photo (in "Photo Album")
(April 28) Smokin' Joe Chili Feed by Knights of Columbus (in "Photo Album")
(April 11) Pictures of the Centennial Mass (in "Cathedral Events")
(April 7) 40 Photos which I took mostly at Mount Angel Abbey (Further down)
(March 24) Photos of the Easter Vigil Mass ("Cathedral Events")
Photo of the Week
The Cathedral in the 1940s
recently donated photo, taken by Esther Monk
Who still says God doesn't exist?
During our annual Retreat at Mount Angel, I was able to take a few more photos to share with you. The first few are of the Abbey Church, inside and outside, plus a few Icons they have displayed around the Abbey.
The rest is a spectacular display of God's beauty in the forms of sparrows, finches, warblers and hummingbirds, plus a colorful heaven of tulips at the Monitor Wooden Shoe Tulip farm. Enjoy!
(click on each thumbprint to enlarge)
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Holy Week and Easter at the Cathedral
These are some photos of the decorated Cathedral, the first one on Holy Thursday, the others on Easter Sunday. The last one shows the team that helped in the decorating with flowers and other decorative items. From left to right are: Claire Duncan, Catalina Corona, Judy Schroeder, Tay Mohr and Marilyn Bloom. Thanks also to all those who brought flowers for the altar.
(click on each photo to enlarge)
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Spring 2009 photos
I share with you a new set of photos I took during March, from the Owyhee River to some elk grazing in Halfway, from a newborn cow at the Colton ranch to swans flying away in the Baker Valley, from snow geese passing over Vale to new lambs in Pilot Rock, from antelope near Brothers on Route 20 to rocky formations in the John Day Fossil Beds Monument.
All photos by Father Julian.
(click on each to enlarge and enjoy)
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Who says God doesn't exist?
Whoever says that God does not exist, encourage them to see some of these photos, and let them decide for themselves. Between Wednesday January 14 and Friday January 16, a blanket of fog covered the entire Baker Valley, and frost started to form on trees, branches and anything that was exposed. A winter wonderland slowly but surely descended on the entire area. These are some pictures I took in my free time, covering every corner and every field in Baker County to capture the best shot and find the best angle. After taking 400 photos, I chose the very, very best for you to admire here. These are just 50 of the best, but the other 350 photos are just as beautiful. There is no order in which these are pasted - I have a few around the Cathedral, in the local Golf Course and out in the country, besides some close-ups of frosted branches.
(click on each photo to enlarge)
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Statues in the Rectory attic
Attics and basements are usually ignored and mistreated. In the Rectory attic we store all the decorations for Christmas and other items we don't usually use regularly. In one of the rooms there is an altar, which I was told was used by one of our past Bishops to say private Mass. It is not used anymore, but a few statues and crucifixes are placed on top of the altar, and on an occasional morning with a colorful sunrise, I usually go up there and see something like this. Enjoy these inspirational photos, which I took on the early morning of January 10, 2009. (click on each photo to enlarge)
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More Scenes from around the Cathedral + Nativity Play
Here are some scenes from around the Cathedral at Christmas time, including 4 photos of the Nativity play presented by our pre-school children. You will some photos with icicles framing our Cathedral, and a hand made paper-mache presepio from Malta.
All photos by Fr Julian....more to come soon.
(click on each photo to enlarge)
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Winter and Christmas around Baker City
These are some scenes of the neighborhood of Baker County during the harsh December we all experienced this year, 2008.
(click on each photo to enlarge)
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A Rainbow from heaven
On Saturday October 4th, the feast of St Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of nature, as I was driving towards my mission church in North Powder, a beautiful rainbow appeared after a rain storm, and here are some pictures I was able to take within 10 minutes. It was the sharpest rainbow I've ever seen, especially made more striking with the dark gray sky behind it.
(click on each photo to enlarge)
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Photos from the Northwest country roads and rivers
In early August I took a brief trip to take some more photos to share with you. There is no particular order in these photos. Just click and enjoy. They were taken in Eastern Washington, around Pend Oreille Lake in Sandpoint, along the Mission and Bitterroot mountains in Montana, along the Lochsa river in Idaho, through the Lolo pass, in south-eastern Washington, through the Rattlesanke grade, some horses, some fish in an aquarium, a sunflower farm, some bucks' heads in country stores, and wherever the opportunity for a scenic photo presented itself to me.
(click on each photo to enlarge)
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Summer photos from around Baker County
As I drive around to my mission churches, I always come across nature scenes at their very best. Of course you always have to be on the lookout for the unexpected and the unpredictable, like swallowtail butterflies, bleeding hearts, lupines growing in the wild and other flowers that reflect God's beauty when you look up close.
(click on each photo to enlarge)
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Photos from my homeland, Malta
While visiting my family in Malta this past May, I was able to take a few photos (around 1352) and here I share with you a few of them, covering flowers, street scenes, some churches, religious artwork and other shots that show the colorful aspect of this small island, rich in history and religious culture.
(click on each photo to enlarge)
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Spring photos from Eastern Oregon
As I drive by to my missions and around the parish and for meetings, I'm always on the lookout for anything that speaks of nature. Enjoy these recently taken photos of geese and goslins, llamas and a northern harrier, elk, quarter horses and their colts as well as yellow-headed blackbirds.
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To Mount Angel and back
As is customary, the priests of the Baker Diocese gather each year in Mount Angel Abbey and Retreat house. These pictures show some of my memories I captured on film during this week, including two of the Cathedral as it was decorated on the weekend of March 29-30.
(click on each photo to enlarge)
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Holy Week and Easter at the Cathedral
(Click on each photo to enlarge)
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The Cross of suffering on Good Friday leads to the Joy, Hope and Light of Easter Morning
(click on each photo to enlarge)
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Palm Sunday 2008
The celebration of Palm Sunday this year started on the snow as the ground was still covered with snow that fell earlier in the day, but this did not let us down. Even our 'resident' donkey Zack, was here in time for his annual trek around the Cathedral after the blessing of the palms.
(photos by Chuck Staten - click to enlarge)
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Winter into Spring
Here are a few more pictures I took recently as we head into the spring, all photos taken in Eastern Oregon mostly between Baker City and Halfway on my weekly mission trip to celebrate Mass there on the weekend.
(click on each photo to enlarge)
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Winter scenes around Eastern Oregon
With the abundant snow we received since November, Eastern Oregon has turned into a winter wonderland. Here are some scenes from around our area, showing wild-life, deer and bald-eagles, cattle and horses, and simply spectacular scenery all around. Of course it always helps if you're carrying the camera with you, and you are patient enough to wait for the right shot!
(Photos by Fr Julian - click to enlarge)
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Christmas Day while driving to my Missions
These are some winter scenes I came across while driving to my mission Churches in North Powder and Halfway on Christmas Day -
a true gift from God which comes unwrapped but with a lot of Love.
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The Cathedral during a snow-storm
In early December, Baker City was hit with a big snow-storm which dumped 7 inches of snow, most of it stayed with us for a long time, turning into ice and very slippery conditions wherever you went. Here are some photos of our Cathedral during the storm. (click to enlarge)
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November and December scenes in Baker County
During my travels, especially to my Mission churches in North Powder and Halfway, I'm always on the lookout for wild-life and other nature scenes which I try to record with my camera, which is my ever faithful companion. Here are some photos taken in November and December 2007. (click to enlarge)
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A special Rosary on the 90th Anniversary of the apparaition of Our Lady at Fatima
This was a very special occasion for children and their parents as well as otherparishioners, who came to remember the apparition of the Blessed Mother at Fatima on October 13, 1917. A living Rosary beads was formed with colored balloons, representing the five continents, as these pictures show.
(click to enlarge)
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Photos from around Baker City in June 2007
Click to enlarge each of these 15 photos
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all photos by Father Julian (May - June 2007)
The Cathedral in May
Here are two new photos of the Cathedral I took in mid-May 2007. Various colorful shrubs, trees and flowers create a different perspective of the Cathedral in the spring. (click on images to enlarge)
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Occasionally we have some special visitors around our county, and these are some photos I took on Sunday March 11 of a beautiful bald eagle, perched on a tree on Old Wingville Road
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And here are a few other scenes from the neighborhood, and a few friends I met on my Mission trips.
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Sometimes I feel lucky that I am in a certain place at a certain time, as was the case on Sunday July 23. Just as I arrived from my mission Church at Unity, I see the sky becoming more and more impressive with a variety of cloud formation. Then, all of a sudden, the sky turned pink, and I stopped my car in front of the Cathedral, and this is the result....
Again on November 26, another herd of deer with one big buck were pasturing in a Hereford field, and here are some pictures from that encounter.....stay tuned, because I'm sure I'll encounter more deer and share the phots with you...
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On November 12, as I was driving to my Mission in Unity,
I came across a big 5-point buck with a harem of deer,
grazing in a field. Armed with my camera, I went to work quickly,
and here are some of the results.........he is one lucky buck,.......
with plenty of girlfriends to choose from......
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Some Foliage Scenes from around Baker County -
Tamarack Trees especially visible (all photos by Fr Julian)
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Sunset on Phillips Lake, and an encounter with deer in Hereford -
I discovered that I'm a pretty good hunter.....
You see, I shoot deer....with my camera!
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Inside the Cathedral |
Cathedral in the spring |
Cross at Unity Mission |
Inside the Cathedral |
Click on the above 4 thumb-nails to view a larger image of each picture
A Historic Cathedral & Living Community
St. Francis de Sales Cathedral is located on the corner of First and Church Streets in Baker City, Oregon. It is considered the Bishop's parish, and so the Bishop presides at the major liturgical feasts and sacramental celebrations. There are approximately 450 registered families in the parish and mission churches.
The foundation stone of the Cathedral was laid in 1906, and the Church was officially opened in 1908. So in 2008, the cathedral celebrated its centennial. The Cathedral boasts of beautiful stained-glass windows from as early as 1923, as well a pipe organ, a piano and two choirs.
The Parish has now one Mission Church, which the priest visit weekly to celebrate Mass on weekends. St Anthony's in North Powder is now served by the priests from La Grande. And St Joseph's in Unity is now a part of the parish in Vale.
St Therese Mission - Halfway
St Therese in Halfway, outside St Therese in Halfway, inside
Every first and third weekends, Mass is held on Saturdays at 3 PM. On the 2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays, Mass is at 4 PM in the winter months, and 5 PM in the summer months.
Masses are also celebrated in St. Elizabeth's Hospital, three times a week, in the day-chapel, which was renovated and opened officially in May 2005, as well as the local prison. So believe it or not, the priests have to take care of 6 Churches within this parish, and they're not even given a helicopter!
We are an active, thriving community. Programs and services offered by and for the parish include:
- Religious education and sacramental preparation for adults, teens, and children,
- Spiritual presence and guidance at the hospital,
- Funerals, funeral planning, and grief ministry,
- Prison Outreach,
- Prayer chain,
- Spiritual Direction for those who need it,
- Counseling,
- Eucharistic Adoration on Fridays, 6am to 3:30pm,
- Prayer meetings,
- Historical interest in the Cathedral, plus much more
In addition, we are actively involved in the surrounding community of Baker County, providing the following:· Food Bank on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10:00 AM to Noon
- Use of our facilities by different community organizations,
- Meeting space for Alcoholics Anonymous and Overeaters Anonymous,
- A charity fund to give financial help to those in need.
