About St. Francis · Arlington, Oregon
St. Francis Catholic Church in Arlington, Oregon is a small Roman Catholic mission church located at the corner of Main and Ivy Streets in Gilliam County, Eastern Oregon. It is classified as a mission (not a full parish) and is served by the pastor of St. John Catholic Church in neighboring Condon, Very Reverend Robert M. Greiner, who also oversees St. Catherine Mission in Fossil. The mission belongs to the Western Deanery of the Diocese of Baker, the same vast rural diocese (over 66,800 square miles) that covers much of central and eastern Oregon from its offices in Redmond. Sunday Mass is celebrated weekly at 8:00 AM and confessions are heard before Mass.
- Patron
- St. Francis (of Assisi presumed, but not confirmed by an official parish source)
- Rector
- Very Reverend Robert M. Greiner
- Diocese
- Diocese of Baker (Western Deanery)
Why belong here
St. Francis is the only Catholic church serving the small Columbia River town of Arlington, Oregon, making it the natural spiritual home for any Catholic family in Gilliam County's northern reaches. As a small mission it offers a close-knit, intimate worship experience with a single Sunday Mass, regular Sunday confession before Mass, and the direct care of an experienced pastor (Very Rev. Robert M. Greiner) who also serves St. John in Condon and St. Catherine in Fossil. Visitors and travelers along Interstate 84 — which passes directly through Arlington — are warmly welcomed.
Mass times at St. Francis
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 7:30 AM – 7:55 AM (before Mass)
About St. Francis Mission
St. Francis Catholic Church is a mission church of the Diocese of Baker located at Main Street and Ivy Street in Arlington, Oregon (some directories also list the address as 1275 Main Street). It is one of three Christian congregations listed in Arlington, alongside Arlington United Methodist Church and Arlington Church of the Nazarene. Because Arlington is a small rural town on the Columbia River (population 628 at the 2020 census), St. Francis is classified as a mission rather than an independent parish and is administered from St. John Church in Condon.
- Mission status: served from St. John Church, Condon
- Address: Main St. & Ivy St. (also reported as 1275 Main St.), Arlington, OR 97812
- County: Gilliam County, Oregon
- Deanery: Western Deanery, Diocese of Baker
History of the Parish
The Catholic community of Arlington has worshipped at St. Francis for many decades. The town itself was largely rebuilt in the 1960s when the John Day Dam on the Columbia River led to the inundation of the original townsite; the new Arlington was completed on higher ground. The parish is today legally organized as Saint Francis Catholic Church of Arlington, Inc., a domestic nonprofit corporation registered with the Oregon Secretary of State on October 8, 2002 under the authority of the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Baker, with Robert Greiner (PO Box 485, Condon) as registered president. A former pastor of the parent parish of St. John, Condon, Father Raymond Michael Hopp, was known for serving the rural communities of Eastern Oregon from 1973 onward.
- Corporate registration: Oct 8, 2002, Oregon Registry #10716199
- Entity of record: Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Baker
- Town of Arlington relocated in the 1960s for the John Day Dam
Clergy and Staff
Because St. Francis is a mission, its day-to-day pastoral care comes from the pastor of St. John Church, Condon. Very Reverend Robert M. Greiner serves that parish and its two associated missions (Arlington and Fossil) simultaneously, and he also holds the title of Dean of the Western Deanery of the Diocese of Baker. Mary K. Maley is listed as bookkeeper for the combined parish/mission community.
- Very Rev. Robert M. Greiner — Pastor (St. John, Condon) / mission pastor
- Mary K. Maley — bookkeeper
Connection to St. John, Condon
St. Francis Mission is administered from St. John Catholic Church in Condon, Oregon, located at 412 West Walnut Street, Condon, OR 97823. St. John, St. Francis, and St. Catherine Mission in Fossil together form one pastoral unit under Very Rev. Robert M. Greiner. This is a common arrangement in the rural Diocese of Baker, where a single priest may shepherd several small worshipping communities across vast distances.
- Parent parish: St. John Catholic Church, Condon
- Sister mission: St. Catherine, Fossil
- All three share one pastor and one pastoral council
The Diocese of Baker
St. Francis belongs to the Diocese of Baker, a sprawling Oregon diocese established on June 19, 1903 by Pope Leo XIII and later renamed from 'Diocese of Baker City' to the present 'Diocese of Baker' by the Holy See at the request of Bishop Francis Leipzig. It encompasses more than 66,800 square miles of mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, lakes, and plains, with roughly 12,500 registered Catholic households spread across 57 parishes and missions served by about 38 priests. The diocesan offices are in Redmond, Oregon.
- Established: June 19, 1903 by Pope Leo XIII
- Area: over 66,800 square miles
- 57 parishes and missions; ~38 priests
- Diocesan offices: Redmond, Oregon
- St. Francis is in the Western Deanery
Visiting Arlington, Oregon
Arlington sits on the south bank of the Columbia River at the mouth of Alkali Canyon, about 50 miles east of The Dalles. The town is at the intersection of Interstate 84 and Oregon Highway 19, an easy stop for travelers heading along the Columbia River Gorge. The surrounding Gilliam County economy is rooted in wheat, barley, cattle, and the Columbia Ridge Landfill (operated by Waste Management), one of the largest landfills in the United States, which receives municipal solid waste from Seattle and Portland.
- Population (2020): 628
- County: Gilliam
- Major crossroads: I-84 and Oregon Highway 19
- Originally named Alkali; renamed Arlington in 1885
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Very Reverend Robert M. Greinercurrent
Pastor of St. John Church, Condon; oversees missions at Arlington (St. Francis) and Fossil (St. Catherine); Dean of the Western Deanery of the Diocese of Baker.
- Reverend Raymond Michael Hopp
Past pastor of St. John Church, Condon (the parish from which St. Francis Mission is served). Arrived in the Diocese of Baker in October 1973. After Condon he was appointed pastor of St. Katherine in Enterprise for 10.5 years, then St. Patrick in Lakeview for 11 years; retired in 2006.