About Our Lady of the Olympics · Quinault, Washington
Our Lady of the Olympics Mission is a Roman Catholic mission of the Archdiocese of Seattle, serving the Quinault and Amanda Park area on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Set in the small community of Amanda Park along US Highway 101, the mission is part of Parish Family #48 in the Grays Harbor Catholic cluster and is cared for by a regional pastor and parochial vicar based in Aberdeen. Today's bilingual congregation gathers for weekend Mass — historically a Saturday morning Mass at 9:00 a.m. — as well as for an evening Mass in Spanish on the First Friday of the month. The mission's name honors both the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Olympic Mountains that form the dramatic backdrop of this remote Pacific Northwest parish.
- Established
- 1981
- Patron
- Our Lady (Blessed Virgin Mary), under the title of Our Lady of the Olympics
- Rector
- Rev. Michael Barbarossa
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Seattle (Parish Family #48, South Sound Deanery)
Why belong here
Our Lady of the Olympics brings the Sacraments and the Catholic faith to one of the most far-flung corners of Washington's Olympic Peninsula — a place where, without a mission parish, Catholics would otherwise travel many miles for Mass. The community is bilingual, with regular Mass celebrated in English on Saturdays and a Spanish-language Mass on First Fridays, making it a welcoming home for the families of the Quinault Valley. As part of Parish Family #48 of the Archdiocese of Seattle, the mission is cared for by a regional team that also serves the broader Grays Harbor Catholic community, so worshippers here are connected to a wider network of parishes and ministries while keeping the intimacy of a small, mission-sized congregation.
Mass times at Our Lady of the Olympics
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (before Mass)
History of the Mission
Catholic life in the Quinault Valley long predates the present church building. Beginning in 1941, visiting priests — many of them spending their summers in the area — offered Mass for the scattered Catholic families of the Quinault, using a humble trailer parked in the local schoolyard as a chapel. During the 1960s and 1970s, weekly Mass was offered at the Neilton Church and at the Quinault Lodge by priests traveling from Aberdeen and Hoquiam. The arrival of Fr. Thaddeus Dean, C.S.S.R., in 1973 marked the first resident pastorate of the area. A Redemptorist (member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer), he oversaw the next major step in the community's life: in 1978 construction began on a proper church, and on August 15, 1981 — the Feast of the Assumption — the first Mass was celebrated in the completed building. The mission was named Our Lady of the Olympics in tribute to the Olympic Mountains that frame the community.
- 1941 — First Mass in Quinault, celebrated by visiting summer priests in a schoolyard trailer.
- 1960s–70s — Weekly Mass offered at Neilton Church and Quinault Lodge by priests from Aberdeen and Hoquiam.
- 1973 — Arrival of Fr. Thaddeus Dean, C.S.S.R., the first resident priest.
- 1978 — Construction begins on the present church.
- August 15, 1981 — First Mass celebrated in the new church (Feast of the Assumption).
Parish Family #48 & Pastoral Leadership
Under the Archdiocese of Seattle's Partners in the Gospel pastoral planning initiative (announced in 2024), Our Lady of the Olympics Mission now belongs to Parish Family #48. This cluster of seven parishes and missions across Grays Harbor County shares a single pastoral leadership team, allowing a small community like Amanda Park to receive regular priestly care. The family includes Our Lady of Good Help (Hoquiam) — the parent parish — as well as St. Jerome (Ocean Shores), St. John Mission (Montesano), St. Joseph (Elma), St. Mary (Aberdeen), and St. Paul Mission (Westport).
- Rev. Michael Barbarossa — Regional Pastor of Parish Family #48.
- Rev. Maximiliano A. Muñoz — Parochial Vicar of Parish Family #48; ordained June 1, 2024 for the Archdiocese of Seattle; reassigned to Grays Harbor effective July 1, 2025.
- Cluster Regional Office: St. Mary Parish, 306 E. Third Street, Aberdeen, WA 98520.
Mass & Liturgical Schedule
Because Our Lady of the Olympics is a small mission, its Mass schedule has been simplified and adjusted over the years to fit the rhythms of priestly availability and community life. The most recent published schedule from the Grays Harbor Catholic cluster shows the celebrated Mass times for this mission. Weekend Mass is offered in English, and a Spanish-language Mass is celebrated on the First Friday of each month. Confession is heard immediately before Mass on Saturday morning.
- Saturday (anticipated, fulfills Sunday obligation) — 5:00 p.m.
- Sunday — 5:00 p.m.
- 1st Friday — 7:00 p.m., in Spanish.
- Confession — Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Bilingual & Spanish-Language Ministry
Like much of rural Grays Harbor County, the Quinault Valley community is bilingual, and the mission's worship life reflects that. A Spanish-language Mass is offered on the First Friday of each month, an important outreach to the Spanish-speaking Catholic families of the area. Cluster-wide Hispanic Ministry across all of the Grays Harbor parishes is coordinated through the regional office.
- Spanish Mass — 1st Friday, 7:00 p.m.
- Cluster Hispanic Ministry — Perla Estrada, Hispanic Ministry coordinator, based at the Regional Office.
Contact, Address & Regional Office
Day-to-day communication and sacramental emergencies are handled through the Catholic Parishes and Missions of Grays Harbor County Regional Office, headquartered at St. Mary Parish in Aberdeen. The mission itself is located on US Highway 101, the main coastal route through the Olympic Peninsula.
- Mission address: 6121 US Highway 101, Amanda Park, WA 98526
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 165, Amanda Park, WA 98575
- Phone: 360-532-8300 (Regional Office)
- Email: [email protected]
- Regional Office: 306 E. Third Street, Aberdeen, WA 98520 — 360-532-8300 / [email protected]
Grays Harbor Catholic Cluster
Our Lady of the Olympics is one of seven parishes and missions in the Catholic Parishes and Missions of Grays Harbor County, a single regional collaborative that shares staff, a bulletin, and pastoral planning. The cluster website (ghcatholic.org) publishes the unified Mass schedule and the latest news for all of Grays Harbor's parishes, including Our Lady of the Olympics Mission.
- Parishes in the cluster: St. Mary (Aberdeen), Our Lady of Good Help (Hoquiam), St. Joseph (Elma), St. John Mission (Montesano), St. Jerome (Ocean Shores), St. Paul Mission (Westport), Our Lady of the Olympics Mission (Amanda Park).
- Cluster website: https://ghcatholic.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Thaddeus Dean, C.S.S.R.1973–
First resident priest of the Quinault area; a Redemptorist who laid the groundwork for building the present church in 1978.
- Visiting priests from Aberdeen and Hoquiam1941–1973
Summer priests (from 1941) and weekly celebrants at the Neilton Church and Quinault Lodge (1960s–70s) before a resident pastor arrived.