About Our Lady of Holy Hope (Stella Maris Parish) · Castine, Maine
Our Lady of Holy Hope is a small Roman Catholic mission church in the historic coastal village of Castine, Maine, set on the peninsula that juts into Penobscot Bay. It is one of three worship sites of Stella Maris Parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland in Maine, alongside St. Vincent de Paul Church in Bucksport (the central church and parish office) and St. Mary, Star of the Sea Church in Stonington. The Castine mission gathers for Mass on Thursday evenings and Saturday evenings (the Vigil Mass), with Saturday confessions offered before Mass, giving parishioners a quiet, intimate worship experience suited to this historic seaside setting. The parish traces its spiritual roots back to 1648, when French Capuchin missionaries laid the cornerstone of an earlier 'Our Lady of Holy Hope' chapel on this very site.
- Established
- 1648
- Patron
- Our Lady of Holy Hope (dedication inherited from the original 1648 Capuchin church on the same site)
- Rector
- Reverend Philip Clement
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland in Maine
Why belong here
Our Lady of Holy Hope offers Catholic faithful in the Castine area a quiet, welcoming place to keep the Lord's Day on the Penobscot Peninsula, with a Saturday Vigil Mass and Thursday evening Mass, plus Saturday confessions before Mass. As a mission of Stella Maris Parish, it connects local Catholics to a wider family of three worship communities — Bucksport, Stonington, and Castine — sharing priests, faith formation, and the support of the Diocese of Portland. It is also a parish with deep historical roots: you worship on land that Capuchin friars consecrated to Our Lady of Holy Hope back in 1648, just footsteps from Penobscot Bay.
Mass times at Our Lady of Holy Hope (Stella Maris Parish)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:15 PM – 3:45 PM (and by appointment)
History of Our Lady of Holy Hope
The mission's identity stretches back nearly four centuries to one of the earliest Catholic outposts in New England. In 1635 French Capuchin friars established a mission at Pentagoet — the colonial name for Castine — on the peninsula overlooking Penobscot Bay, and on 8 June 1648 Friar Leo of Paris, a Capuchin missionary, laid the cornerstone of a more substantial church dedicated to Our Lady of Holy Hope. It was the third Catholic chapel built on New England soil. The Capuchin mission ended around 1654 when the English captured the French post; the cornerstone was later recovered in 1863 during Civil War work on Fort Madison. In the late nineteenth century a house was built on the old chapel site (1880). The Diocese of Portland purchased it in 1920, converted it back into a Catholic chapel, and dedicated it as Our Lady of Holy Hope on 29 August 1921. The chapel has served the Catholic community of Castine ever since and is now a mission of Stella Maris Parish, alongside St. Vincent de Paul in Bucksport and St. Mary, Star of the Sea in Stonington.
- 1635 — Capuchin friars establish mission at Pentagoet (Castine)
- 1648 — cornerstone laid for church of Our Lady of Holy Hope (third Catholic chapel in New England)
- 1654 — English capture of Castine ends the Capuchin mission
- 1863 — Latin foundation stone recovered during Fort Madison reconstruction
- 1880 — house built on the site of the original chapel
- 1920 — Diocese of Portland purchases the house
- 1921 — dedicated as the Catholic chapel of Our Lady of Holy Hope on August 29
Stella Maris Parish — Our Sister Churches
Our Lady of Holy Hope is a mission church within Stella Maris Parish, which serves Catholic faithful along the Bucksport–Castine–Stonington stretch of the Maine coast. The parish's central church and parish office is St. Vincent de Paul in Bucksport, and the third worship site is St. Mary, Star of the Sea in Stonington. The name 'Stella Maris' — Star of the Sea — honors the maritime heritage of these Downeast Maine communities.
- St. Vincent de Paul Church — 64 Franklin Street, Bucksport, ME 04416 (central parish office)
- Our Lady of Holy Hope Church — 137 Perkins Street, Castine, ME 04421
- St. Mary, Star of the Sea Church — Stonington, ME
Clergy and Pastoral Leadership
Our Lady of Holy Hope shares its priests with the other worship sites of Stella Maris Parish. Bishop James Ruggieri of the Diocese of Portland announced the current pastoral assignment in 2024.
- Rev. Philip Clement — Pastor of Stella Maris Parish (effective July 1, 2024); previously pastor of Our Lady of the Lakes Parish in Oquossoc and administrator of St. Peter the Fisherman Parish in Machias; originally from the Diocese of St. Petersburg, FL.
- Rev. Emile Dubé — retired July 1, 2024; previously pastor of Stella Maris Parish, ordained May 26, 2012 at Holy Family Church, Lewiston; native of Lewiston and graduate of St. Dominic Regional High School.
Sacraments at Our Lady of Holy Hope
Information specifically listed for Our Lady of Holy Hope is limited; the mission publishes its regular Mass schedule, Saturday confessions, and Holy Day Mass times. For other sacraments — baptism, marriage, anointing of the sick, First Communion, Confirmation — parishioners should contact the Stella Maris Parish office at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Bucksport.
- Confession — Saturday 3:15 PM – 3:45 PM and by appointment
- Holy Day Mass — 4:00 PM (English)
- For baptism, marriage, First Communion, Confirmation, and anointing of the sick — contact the parish office at St. Vincent de Paul, 64 Franklin Street, Bucksport, ME 04416
Visitor Information
Our Lady of Holy Hope is located in the heart of historic Castine, a small coastal village on the Penobscot Peninsula. The chapel is a converted 1880s house, giving it a warm, intimate scale rather than the proportions of a large parish church — well suited to the small year-round Catholic community of the area, supplemented by summer residents and visitors to the Maine Maritime Academy and the town's many historic sites.
- Address — 137 Perkins Street, Castine, ME 04421
- Parish phone — (207) 702-9217
- Diocese — Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland in Maine
- Setting — Penobscot Bay peninsula, near Fort Madison and the Maine Maritime Academy
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Emile Dubéretired July 1, 2024
Previously pastor of Stella Maris Parish (Bucksport) together with Transfiguration of the Lord (Bar Harbor) and St. Joseph (Ellsworth); ordained May 26, 2012, at Holy Family Church in Lewiston; native of Lewiston and St. Dominic Regional High School graduate.
- Rev. Philip Clement2024–present
Appointed pastor of Stella Maris Parish effective July 1, 2024, by Bishop James Ruggieri; previously pastor of Our Lady of the Lakes Parish in Oquossoc and administrator at St. Peter the Fisherman Parish in Machias; originally from the Diocese of St. Petersburg, FL.