About Immaculate Heart of Mary · Portland, Oregon
Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church is a historic, inner-city parish of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, located at 2926 N. Williams Avenue in Portland's Albina neighborhood. Founded in the 1880s by German and Irish Catholic immigrants — and known as the 'mother church' of Portland's Catholic Volga German community — it is also one of the most ethnically diverse parishes in the archdiocese, currently home to English-speaking, Vietnamese, and African/Swahili-speaking Catholic communities worshiping side by side. The present wood-frame church, erected in 1890, is widely regarded as the oldest surviving Catholic church on Portland's east side and a striking local example of Carpenter Gothic / Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. Pastor Fr. Paulinus Mangesho, ALCP/OSS, a Tanzanian missionary, and Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, an internationally known Catholic speaker and author, lead the parish, with Fr. Mangesho guiding a parish mission that centers on outreach to the lonely, the poor, and the uninvolved.
- Established
- 1885 (as St. Mary's); rechristened Immaculate Heart of Mary; current church building 1890
- Patron
- Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Rector
- Rev. Paulinus Michael Mangesho, ALCP/OSS
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon)
Why belong here
Immaculate Heart is a small but remarkably diverse parish where English, Vietnamese, and Swahili Catholic communities worship as one family in a 135-year-old Gothic Revival sanctuary. It is an inner-city parish explicitly committed to outreach to the lonely, the poor, and the uninvolved, with active St. Vincent de Paul and Legion of Mary groups, multilingual choirs, religious education in English and Vietnamese, and an RCIA process run personally by the internationally known Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers. For Catholics seeking an authentic multicultural parish with deep local roots and a clearly stated mission of mending brokenness in one of Portland's most challenged neighborhoods, Immaculate Heart offers an unusually welcoming home.
Mass times at Immaculate Heart of Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:15 PM – 4:45 PM
- By appointment
Adoration times
- Thursday 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM (Eucharistic Adoration)
Welcome & Parish Mission
Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish identifies itself as 'an extended Catholic family, identified by love as described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.' Centered on the Word of God and the breaking of bread, the parish works as a community of faith to mend brokenness and to challenge all to achieve wholeness. As an inner-city parish, it strives especially toward outreach to the lonely, the poor, and the uninvolved. Pastor Fr. Paulinus Mangesho and the parish welcome visitors to a parish that is, in his words, 'heading where the mission of the Catholic Parish ought to be.'
- Parish tagline: 'One Church, One Body.'
- Sunday Mass scheduled so that all three linguistic communities can attend together.
- Parish office hours: Tuesday and Friday, 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM.
Parish History — From St. Mary's to Immaculate Heart
The parish was originally founded as St. Mary's Catholic Church in the 1880s in what was then the independent city of Albina, Oregon, then part of a wave of German and Irish Catholic immigration to east-bank Portland. Catholic Volga Germans from Russia — especially from Köhler and Semenovka — joined the parish after arriving in Portland in 1892, and St. Mary's became known as the 'mother church' of Catholic Volga Germans in the city. To distinguish it from the St. Mary's parish in downtown Portland, the name was changed to Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church. The original 1887 church was eventually moved around the corner, converted to a school, and the present sanctuary was built in its place in 1890.
- 1885/1887 — Parish founded as St. Mary's Catholic Church on the east bank of the Willamette in Albina.
- 1892 — Catholic Volga German families from Köhler and Semenovka (Russia) join the parish.
- Name changed to Immaculate Heart of Mary to distinguish it from downtown St. Mary's.
- 1890 — Current Gothic Revival church built on the original site.
- 1940s–1950s — African American parishioners welcomed as shipyard and postwar workers settle in the neighborhood.
- 1949 — Brick parish school built at Williams and Morris.
- 1987 — Parish school closes; later occupied by the Ivy School (state-funded Montessori).
- May 2025 — Archbishop Alexander Sample celebrates Mass with the Swahili-speaking African Catholic Community.
The Building — Carpenter Gothic Architecture
The historic church is a tall, wood-frame Victorian Gothic Revival sanctuary built in 1890 by skilled craftsmen working without a formal architect's plans. It is widely cited as one of the finest local examples of 'Carpenter Gothic' or vernacular Gothic Revival architecture, with pointed-arch windows, a soaring spire, lath-and-plaster gothic-vaulted ceilings on wooden columns, a semicircular apse, and side altars. Its exterior is sheathed in pressed galvanized tin stamped to imitate brick and stone. A 1989 study found the spire essentially plumb, with only a barely perceptible lean.
- Style: Victorian Gothic Revival / Carpenter Gothic, vernacular (no architect).
- Exterior: original pressed galvanized tin imitating brick and stone; replacements still produced by the original manufacturer.
- Interior: light-filled central nave and two side aisles, wooden gothic-arch columns, painted carved-wood altarpiece in a semicircular apse.
- Side altars feature icons commissioned by the Lienert family and installed in 1987 (including saints of social justice and St. Kateri Tekakwitha).
- Stained-glass windows were restored through parishioner donations in 2003.
- Recognized as the oldest surviving Catholic church on Portland's east side and a defining landmark of Albina.
Clergy & Staff
The parish is led by Fr. Paulinus Mangesho, ALCP/OSS, a Tanzanian-born missionary priest who came to Oregon in 2014 and is listed by the Archdiocese of Portland as Pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary. He is assisted by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, a Catholic author, international speaker, EWTN radio/TV personality, and RCIA/Marriage Prep coordinator who has served Immaculate Heart for approximately 18 years. Parish staff includes named coordinators for Religious Education, the choirs, the Vietnamese Community, and the various lay ministries.
- Pastor — Rev. Paulinus Michael Mangesho, ALCP/OSS
- Deacon — Harold Burke-Sivers (English RCIA, Marriage Preparation)
- Religious Education (English) — Cecilia Bangura
- Religious Education (Vietnamese) — Sr. Maria Kim Tuyen Bui
- Ministries Coordinator — Zena Martin
- Parish Choir — Philippe Kreiter, Director
- Vietnamese Community — Michael Ninh, Chairperson
A Multilingual Parish — English, Vietnamese, and Swahili Communities
Immaculate Heart is a deliberately multicultural parish whose Sunday gatherings bring together three Catholic communities in one historic building. Long-standing English-speaking and Vietnamese Catholic communities — the latter organized around the 1:00 PM Sunday Mass — share the pews with a more recently arrived East African Catholic Community, which celebrates Mass in Swahili on the third Sunday of each month. Parish choirs (Parish, African, Vietnamese, and Gloria) often swap Masses and sing together, a practice Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers credits with breaking down what he calls 'ethnic silos' that once separated the parish's groups. The model has been cited nationally as an example of multicultural parish integration.
- Vietnamese Catholic Community — joined the parish and remains an active worshiping community.
- African Catholic Community — attends the 11 AM Mass weekly and gathers for monthly Swahili Mass.
- Pastoral Council coordinates joint celebrations (e.g., May 2025 Mass with the Archbishop).
- Multiple choirs serve each linguistic community, sharing music across Masses and potlucks.
Ministries & Groups
The parish maintains a wide and explicitly named roster of lay ministries and groups, coordinated by parishioner Zena Martin. Active groups include St. Vincent de Paul for outreach to the poor, the Legion of Mary, the Ladies of Peter Claver, Catholic Mothers ('Cơ Bản'), the Church Sign Ministry, and an Eucharistic Youth Movement. Music ministry is structured around four choirs, each with its own coordinator.
- Catholic Mothers — Cơ Bản
- Parish Choir (Philippe Kreiter), African Choir (Francisca Thelin), Vietnamese Choir (Tien Nguyen), Gloria Choir (Chi Bui)
- Church Sign Ministry
- Eucharistic Youth Movement — Tina Thien, Anh Trần
- Ladies of Peter Claver — Mary Harvey
- Legion of Mary — Alicia Garcia
- St. Vincent de Paul — Robert Wade
- Ministries Coordinator — Zena Martin
Sacraments, Faith Formation & RCIA
Immaculate Heart prepares Catholics for the Sacraments of Initiation, Marriage, and Reconciliation in both English and Vietnamese. The English-language RCIA process and Marriage Preparation are coordinated personally by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers. Religious Education for children is offered in English (Cecilia Bangura) and in Vietnamese (Sr. Maria Kim Tuyen Bui). Confessions are heard each Saturday afternoon before the Vigil Mass, with appointments available on request.
- Reconciliation — Saturdays 4:15–4:45 PM and by appointment.
- RCIA (English) — Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers.
- Marriage Preparation (English) — Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers.
- Religious Education (English) — Cecilia Bangura.
- Religious Education (Vietnamese) — Sr. Maria Kim Tuyen Bui.
Inner-City Outreach & Pastoral Witness
The parish self-describes as an inner-city parish 'striving toward outreach to the lonely, the poor and the uninvolved.' Outreach flows through St. Vincent de Paul, the Legion of Mary, and Eucharistic Adoration, and through the parish's persistent physical presence on a block that Catholic media have described as one of the most dangerous in Portland. Fr. Paulinus Mangesho has said publicly, 'If someday we are not here, the Catholic Church will have failed and the devil will have won the war,' and the parish has continued to host community gatherings, processions, and joint celebrations even amid those difficulties.
- St. Vincent de Paul conference — direct service to the poor in the Albina neighborhood.
- Legion of Mary — evangelization and parish visitation.
- Ladies of Peter Claver — service and fellowship among Black Catholic women of the parish.
- Hospital and visitation ministry connected to nearby Legacy Emanuel Hospital.
- Joint multi-ethnic celebrations (multilingual choirs, outdoor processions, parish-hall receptions).
Visiting & Practical Information
Visitors are warmly welcomed. The parish office is open Tuesday and Friday, 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM, and the sanctuary is across from Dawson Park on North Williams Avenue in inner-northeast Portland. The church is the tallest surviving historic structure in older Albina and is easy to find; the parish can be reached by telephone or email, and a Facebook page keeps current news and announcements.
- Address — 2926 N. Williams Ave., Portland, OR 97227.
- Phone — (503) 287-3724.
- Email — [email protected].
- Parish Office — Tuesday and Friday, 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM.
- Facebook — facebook.com/immaculateheartchurchpdx
- Archdiocesan umbrella — Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon.
- Landmark across from Dawson Park in the Albina/Eliot neighborhood.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Paulinus Michael Mangesho, ALCP/OSS2014–present
Tanzanian-born missionary priest (Archdiocese of Portland lists him as Pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary). Came to Oregon in 2014; under his leadership the parish has welcomed the Swahili-speaking African Catholic Community (formal recognition with Archbishop Sample, May 2025) and emphasized outreach in the inner-city Albina neighborhood.