About St. Anne · Monument, Oregon
St. Anne Church is a small Roman Catholic mission church serving the rural community of Monument in Grant County, eastern Oregon. It operates as a 'satellite' mission of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church in John Day, about 25 miles away, and is part of the Diocese of Baker. The mission draws Catholic faithful from the sparsely populated high desert of the John Day River country and is celebrated every other Sunday by Father Christie Tissera, who drives in from John Day. Patrons look to St. Anne — mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus — as the parish's heavenly intercessor.
- Patron
- St. Anne (mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Rev. Christie Tissera
- Diocese
- Diocese of Baker
Why belong here
St. Anne is a faithful Catholic presence in a remote stretch of eastern Oregon where weekly Mass is rare, and the small congregation gathers with reverence every other Sunday for the Eucharist. Worship is reverent and personal — confession is heard at 11:45 AM before the 12:30 PM Sunday Mass — and the priest who serves the mission also visits the sick, administers the sacraments, and collaborates with other local Christian communities. For Catholics living in or passing through the Monument area, St. Anne offers the comfort of the Mass and the sacraments in a close-knit rural setting under the patronage of St. Anne.
Mass times at St. Anne
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 11:45 AM
About St. Anne Mission
St. Anne is a small Roman Catholic mission church serving the rural community of Monument in Grant County, eastern Oregon. It is formally a 'satellite' mission of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church in John Day and is part of the Diocese of Baker. The mission gathers Catholic faithful from across the sparsely populated high desert of the John Day River basin, offering the Mass and sacraments every other Sunday under the patronage of St. Anne, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
History & Heritage
The Monument mission belongs to the network of mission churches that grew under the Diocese of Baker — one of the original mission dioceses of the American West, established by Pope Leo XIII on June 19, 1903. As a satellite of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in John Day, the Monument community has long been served by priests traveling from the parent parish. The mission was incorporated as Saint Anne Catholic Church of Monument, Inc. with the Oregon Secretary of State on October 8, 2002, with the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Baker listed as the corporate entity of record. Today the mission is cared for by Father Christie Tissera, who was posted to St. Elizabeth in 2017 and drives to Monument for Mass every other Sunday.
- Diocese of Baker established June 19, 1903 by Pope Leo XIII
- Saint Anne Catholic Church of Monument, Inc. registered October 8, 2002
- Operates as a mission (satellite) of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, John Day
- Served by Father Christie Tissera since 2017
Patron Saint
The mission is dedicated to St. Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus, one of the most beloved patrons in Catholic devotion. Her feast day is July 26. The patroness's name — chosen likely in homage to the long Catholic tradition of dedicating rural mission churches to the Blessed Mother's mother — connects this small Oregon high-desert mission to centuries of Marian piety.
- Patron: St. Anne
- Feast Day: July 26
Pastor & Clergy
St. Anne Mission is served by Father Christie Tissera, pastor of the parent parish St. Elizabeth of Hungary in John Day. Father Tissera is a Sri Lankan-born priest, one of seven children in a devoutly Catholic family. He studied philosophy and theology for six years in a seminary and was ordained in 1989, spending his first 24 years of priesthood in Sri Lanka. In 2013, his bishop 'loaned' him to the Diocese of Baker to help ease a priest shortage in northeastern Oregon; he was first posted to Blessed Sacrament Parish in Ontario, then in 2017 to St. Elizabeth of Hungary, John Day. From John Day he drives to Monument every other Sunday to celebrate Mass at St. Anne, and administers the sacraments — baptism, first Communion, marriage, anointing of the sick — across both communities. He is listed by the Diocese of Baker as the priest serving the Mission of St. Anne, Monument.
- Reverend Christie Tissera — Pastor
- Ordained in 1989 in Sri Lanka
- Came to Diocese of Baker in 2013; posted to St. Elizabeth, John Day, in 2017
- Celebrates Mass at St. Anne Monument every other Sunday
- Phone for parish contact: (541) 575-1459
Worship Schedule
Weekly public worship at St. Anne Mission, Monument.
- Sunday — 12:30 PM Mass (English)
- Sunday — 11:45 AM Confession
Community & Outreach
Because the Catholic population of the Monument area is small and spread across the high desert, the mission's outreach relies heavily on Father Tissera's pastoral visits and on ecumenical cooperation. Father Tissera has collaborated with local Protestant churches to organize ecumenical Lenten gatherings, and he maintains relationships with other faith communities in the John Day / Grant County area. Once a month he visits the John Day Senior Center to offer a prayer — and sometimes a song — before the communal lunch, walking the same road of pastoral presence that carries him down to Monument every other Sunday.
- Ecumenical Lenten gatherings with local Protestant churches
- Visits to the John Day Senior Center monthly
- Pastoral visits to the sick and homebound across Grant County
Diocese of Baker
St. Anne Mission is part of the Diocese of Baker, a sprawling mission diocese that covers most of central and eastern Oregon. The diocese was officially established on June 19, 1903 by Pope Leo XIII and was originally called the Diocese of Baker City; in February 1952, at the request of Bishop Francis P. Leipzig, the Sacred Consistorial Congregation changed the title to the Diocese of Baker to match the civil name of the see. The diocese has historically depended on the Catholic Home Missions and the Catholic Extension Society to help fund rural mission churches like St. Anne, and it continues to rely on priests 'loaned' from other dioceses — including Father Tissera from Sri Lanka — to serve its scattered flocks. Its current diocesan offices are located at 641 SW Umatilla Avenue, Redmond, Oregon.
- Diocese of Baker established June 19, 1903 by Pope Leo XIII
- Originally the Diocese of Baker City; renamed Diocese of Baker in February 1952
- Diocesan offices: 641 SW Umatilla Avenue, Redmond, OR 97756
- Long-standing support from Catholic Home Missions and the Catholic Extension Society
Location, Address & Contact
St. Anne Mission sits on John Day Street in the small town of Monument, Oregon, in the high-desert country of Grant County. Mailing and corporate records list the mission at Cox Lane, Monument, OR 97864. Because the mission shares clergy and administration with St. Elizabeth of Hungary in John Day, parishioners reach Father Tissera through the parent parish phone line. The mission is also reachable through the parent parish's Facebook page.
- Street address: 299 John Day Street, Monument, OR 97864
- Mailing / corporate address: Cox Lane, Monument, OR 97864
- Parish phone: (541) 575-1459 (St. Elizabeth of Hungary, John Day)
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/elizabeth97845/
Notable & Distinctive Facts
A few distinctive details make this little Oregon mission memorable. GCatholic lists it among the 'Churches in the Path of Totality' — meaning St. Anne sat within the band of totality for the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse, which crossed central Oregon. Its mission corporation was registered the same day as the sister corporations for St. Elizabeth of Hungary in John Day and St. Katherine in Long Creek, reflecting an organized diocesan approach to its rural missions. And its pastor, Father Christie Tissera, is one of a small number of Sri Lankan-born priests serving the American West — an 8,700-mile journey from his home country to the high desert of eastern Oregon.
- Listed among GCatholic's 'Churches in the Path of Totality' (2017 solar eclipse)
- Mission corporation registered October 8, 2002 alongside sister mission corporations
- Pastor Father Christie Tissera born and ordained in Sri Lanka; journey of ~8,700 miles to Grant County
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Christie Tissera2017–present
Sri Lankan-born priest ordained in 1989; came to Diocese of Baker in 2013, posted to St. Elizabeth of Hungary, John Day in 2017; celebrates Mass at the Monument mission every other Sunday.