About Our Lady of Loretto · Drewsey, Oregon
Our Lady of Loretto is a small Catholic mission church in the remote high-desert community of Drewsey, Oregon, in Harney County. It is a mission of the Church of the Holy Family in Burns and belongs to the Diocese of Baker, one of the most geographically far-flung Catholic dioceses in the western United States. The parish serves ranching families scattered across the sagebrush country of eastern Oregon, gathering the faithful for a Saturday evening vigil Mass and offering the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Mass. Located on Drewsey Road about two miles west of US Highway 20 at Drewsey Junction, the church sits in a tiny settlement of roughly a dozen occupied homes.
- Patron
- Our Lady of Loretto (the Blessed Virgin Mary of Loreto)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Baker
Why belong here
Our Lady of Loretto offers Catholics in one of Oregon's most remote corners a regular opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist and receive the sacraments without having to drive the roughly 37 miles to Holy Family in Burns. As a mission under the pastoral care of Holy Family Parish in Burns, it brings a Saturday vigil Mass and Saturday confessions (5:30–5:55 PM) directly to the ranching families of the Drewsey area. For visitors traveling through the high desert, it is a quiet, welcoming place to fulfill the Sunday obligation and connect with a small, faithful rural Catholic community.
Mass times at Our Lady of Loretto
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 5:30 PM – 5:55 PM (Pacific Time)
Our Lady of Loretto Catholic Mission
Our Lady of Loretto is a Roman Catholic mission church serving the tiny high-desert community of Drewsey in Harney County, eastern Oregon. It belongs to the Diocese of Baker and operates as a mission of Church of the Holy Family in Burns, from which priests travel out to celebrate Mass and the sacraments for the local ranching families. The parish is registered in Oregon as a domestic nonprofit corporation, 'Our Lady of Loretto Catholic Church of Drewsey, Inc.', under the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Baker.
About the Patron: Our Lady of Loretto
The parish takes its name from the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Loretto, in reference to the Holy House of Loreto in Italy, one of the most celebrated Marian shrines in the world. Her feast day is observed in the Roman calendar on December 10.
- Patron: Our Lady of Loretto (the Blessed Virgin Mary of Loreto)
- Feast Day: December 10
Diocese of Baker
Our Lady of Loretto is one of the parishes and missions listed by the Diocese of Baker, which was officially established on June 19, 1903 by Pope Leo XIII (originally as the Diocese of Baker City; the title was changed to the Diocese of Baker in February 1952). The diocese covers a vast area of central and eastern Oregon. The parish-finder page of the diocese lists 'Drewsey, Our Lady of Loretto' alongside other small communities such as Burns (Holy Family), Crane (St. Thomas Aquinas), Juntura (St. Charles), and Pilot Rock (St. Helen).
- Diocese: Diocese of Baker (established 1903, renamed 1952)
- Diocese headquarters: Redmond, Oregon
Parent Parish: Holy Family, Burns
Our Lady of Loretto is canonically a mission of Church of the Holy Family in Burns, the parish church located at 678 N Egan Street, Burns, Oregon. Holy Family anchors Catholic life in the high-desert ranching communities of Harney County and supplies priests who travel out to the missions of Drewsey, Crane, Juntura, and elsewhere. The phone number shared by Our Lady of Loretto ((541) 573-2613) is the Burns parish contact line.
- Parent parish: Holy Family Catholic Church, Burns, OR
- Address: 678 N Egan Street, Burns, OR 97720
- Distance from Drewsey: roughly 37 miles
History of Drewsey and the Local Catholic Community
Drewsey was established in 1883 when Abner Robbins and E. E. Purington set up a general store on the North Fork of the Malheur River at the foot of the Blue Mountains. The town grew quickly through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, fueled by the Pacific Livestock Company, two lumber mills, and a thriving cattle industry, reaching a population of about 100 by 1900. The failure to attract the railroad, the bypass of the Central Oregon Highway, the Depression, and the eventual demise of the Pacific Livestock Company all contributed to its decline. Today only about a dozen occupied homes remain along with a combined garage/store/post office, a tavern and restaurant, two churches, and an elementary school. Our Lady of Loretto is one of those two churches and has served the small ranching community as a Catholic mission for many decades.
- Drewsey founded: 1883 by Abner Robbins and E. E. Purington
- Peak era: late 19th – 1920s as a Pacific Livestock Company 'cow town'
- Cause of decline: bypassed by the railroad and main highway, Great Depression
- Incorporated as Oregon nonprofit: October 8, 2002
Visit and Contact
The church is located 2 miles west off US Highway 20 at Drewsey Junction, on Drewsey Road in unincorporated Harney County. Because the mission is staffed from Burns, visitors are encouraged to call ahead to confirm Mass and confession times, particularly during winter weather or the COVID-19 closures that have periodically affected rural Oregon parishes.
- Address: 78884 Drewsey Road, Drewsey, OR 97904
- Phone: (541) 573-2613 (Holy Family, Burns)
- Diocese parish-finder: http://dioceseofbaker.org/parishfinder
- Directions: 2 miles west off Hwy. 20 at Drewsey Junction