About St. Bernard · Scio, Oregon
St. Bernard Parish is a small Roman Catholic parish serving the rural community of Scio in Linn County, Oregon, just south of Stayton in the Mid-Willamette Valley. It is one of two parishes in the Santiam Vicariate of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, and is mission-linked with St. Thomas Mission in nearby Jefferson — the two communities share Sunday Mass at 8:30 a.m. on alternating weeks. The parish is pastored by Rev. Peter O'Brien and is identified by the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon as part of the Catholic presence in Oregon's agricultural heartland, where St. Bernard's gathers a faithful, multi-generational rural congregation at 38810 Cherry Street.
- Patron
- St. Bernard of Clairvaux
- Rector
- Rev. Peter O'Brien
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon
Why belong here
St. Bernard Parish offers a faithful, small-town Catholic home in the rural Scio area with a simple, consistent Sunday schedule. It is currently pastored by Rev. Peter O'Brien, who also shepherds the mission community at St. Thomas Mission in Jefferson — so parishioners belong to a tight-knit, mission-linked pastoral family in the Archdiocese of Portland's Santiam Vicariate. Visitors and parishioners are welcomed at the parish's longtime home on Cherry Street in Scio, a community of faith rooted in Linn County's agricultural landscape.
Mass times at St. Bernard
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish Identity & Patron
St. Bernard Parish takes its name from St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090–1153), the French Cistercian monk, abbot, mystic, and Doctor of the Church who helped found 163 monasteries across Europe. He is the patron saint of the Cistercian Order, beekeepers, and candlemakers, and his memorial is celebrated each year on August 20. The parish, located in rural Scio in Linn County, Oregon, carries on that monastic heritage of faithful, steady presence in a small community.
- Patron: St. Bernard of Clairvaux
- Feast Day: August 20
Archdiocese & Vicariate
St. Bernard Parish belongs to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon. Within the archdiocese it is grouped in the Santiam Vicariate, currently overseen by Fr. Dick Rossman as Vicar Forane. The Santiam Vicariate gathers the Catholic parishes and missions serving the communities east of Salem along the Santiam corridor — including St. Mary (Shaw), Immaculate Conception (Stayton — Mill City Mission), Our Lady of Lourdes (Jordan — Lyons Mission), St. Boniface (Sublimity), and St. Bernard itself (Scio — Jefferson Mission).
- Archdiocese: Metropolitan Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon
- Vicariate: Santiam Vicariate
- Vicar Forane: Fr. Dick Rossman
Clergy & Leadership
St. Bernard Parish is currently served by Rev. Peter O'Brien as pastor. He is registered with the Oregon Secretary of State as President of the parish's nonprofit entity 'St. Bernard Catholic Church, Scio, Oregon,' with Vada Ortiz listed as Secretary.
- Pastor: Rev. Peter O'Brien
- Secretary (corporate record): Vada Ortiz
Mission Partnership with St. Thomas, Jefferson
As part of its mission-linked pastoral model in the Santiam Vicariate, St. Bernard shares Sunday Mass with St. Thomas Mission in Jefferson. Mater Dei Radio's 'Parish of the Week' feature for the week of March 8 highlighted both communities together, describing St. Bernard's as located in Scio, a city in Linn County just south of Stayton, and St. Thomas as conveniently located in Jefferson near the I-5 freeway.
- St. Thomas Mission in Jefferson
- Alternating-Sunday 8:30 AM Mass schedule
Location & Directions
The parish church sits at 38810 Cherry Street in the small city of Scio, Oregon, ZIP 97374, in Linn County. Travelers coming from the I-5 corridor reach Scio by exiting east on U.S. Highway 20 at Albany and then continuing east on Highway 226 from I-5 Exit 244 (for southbound traffic).
- Address: 38810 Cherry St., Scio, OR 97374
- From I-5: east on Hwy 20 at Albany, then Hwy 226 east from Exit 244
- Phone: (503) 394-2625
Contact & Online Presence
Because St. Bernard is a small parish without its own dedicated website, its official online presence is through the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon's Parish Finder. The parish is also listed in several third-party Catholic directories (GCatholic, Discover Mass, Catholic Mass Time, Catholic Church Times, and JoinMyChurch) where its address, phone, and Sunday Mass times are confirmed.
- Official listing: archdpdx.org/parishfinder
- GCatholic Church ID: 37229
- Phone: (503) 394-2625
Notable Moments & Cultural Footprint
St. Bernard's location in Scio places it squarely on the centerline of the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse path, and GCatholic lists the parish among its 'Churches in the Path of Totality.' In addition, Mater Dei Radio (the Catholic radio ministry serving the Archdiocese of Portland) featured St. Bernard and its mission partner St. Thomas Mission in Jefferson together as 'Parish of the Week,' introducing both communities to a wider broadcast audience.
- Listed by GCatholic among 'Churches in the Path of Totality' (2017 eclipse)
- Featured on Mater Dei Radio's Parish of the Week
- Registered as a domestic nonprofit in Oregon on April 29, 2008