About Sacred Heart · Athena, Oregon
Church of the Sacred Heart is a small Roman Catholic mission church serving the rural community of Athena in Umatilla County, northeastern Oregon. It is a mission of St. Andrew's Mission in Pendleton within the Diocese of Baker, with the Jesuit pastor of St. Andrew's also caring for Sacred Heart and other nearby missions. The parish gathers weekly for a single Sunday Mass at 8:00 AM, with confession offered beforehand, anchoring Catholic life for farming families in this agricultural part of the Inland Northwest.
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Rev. Michael J. Fitzpatrick, SJ
- Diocese
- Diocese of Baker
Why belong here
Sacred Heart is a small, close-knit Catholic mission that gives parishioners in the Athena area a regular weekly Sunday Mass and confession without having to travel. As a mission served from St. Andrew's in Pendleton, it carries the warmth of a rural parish where neighbors know each other, supported by the broader Diocese of Baker. Visitors and families looking for a faithful Sunday Mass in the Umatilla County farmlands will find a welcoming congregation.
Mass times at Sacred Heart
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 7:30 AM – 7:55 AM
Parish Identity
Church of the Sacred Heart is the Catholic mission church for the town of Athena in Umatilla County, Oregon. It is classified as a mission rather than a full parish and is administered as part of the cluster served from St. Andrew's Mission in Pendleton. The church is in the Northern Deanery of the Diocese of Baker.
- Diocese: Diocese of Baker (est. 1903)
- Deanery: Northern Deanery
- Mission of: St. Andrew's Mission, Pendleton
- Liturgical rite: Roman (Latin) Rite
- Language: English
Clergy
Sacred Heart in Athena is shepherded from St. Andrew's Mission in Pendleton. The pastor of record is Rev. Michael J. Fitzpatrick, SJ, a Jesuit priest who serves St. Andrew's and its dependent missions including Sacred Heart, Athena. Parishioners can reach the mission office through the Pendleton phone line listed for the church.
- Pastor: Rev. Michael J. Fitzpatrick, SJ
- Religious order: Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
Visit & Location
The mission church sits in the heart of the small farming town of Athena at the corner of 5th Street and East College Street, in the northeastern Oregon agricultural region near Pendleton. The modest, rural setting reflects the church's mission status within the Diocese of Baker.
- Address: 5th St. & E College St., Athena, OR 97813
- County: Umatilla County
- Setting: Small rural farming community