About St. Katharine Drexel (All Saints Parish) · Harpswell, Maine
St. Katharine Drexel Summer Chapel is the seasonal Catholic chapel of All Saints Parish, located at 419 Mountain Road in Harpswell, Maine. As a summer-only mission church within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, it serves the coastal midcoast community of Harpswell with weekend Masses from May through Labor Day. The chapel is one of seven worship sites in All Saints Parish, a cluster formed on July 1, 2009 that united more than 200 years of parish history in the midcoast region. Named for the American heiress and saint who devoted her fortune to Native American and African American communities, the chapel is recognized by the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament as an official SKD parish site.
- Established
- 2001
- Patron
- St. Katharine Drexel (1858–1955), American heiress, foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, and patron saint of racial justice and philanthropists
- Rector
- Rev. Philip A. Tracy
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland in Maine
Why belong here
St. Katharine Drexel Summer Chapel offers the quiet, coastal setting of Harpswell a place to worship during the warmer months, with weekend Mass celebrated from May through Labor Day. As part of All Saints Parish, the chapel shares a large pastoral staff of three priests and three deacons with six sister churches, ensuring attentive sacramental care. It is also a recognized site of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, connecting the small Harpswell community to a wider Catholic heritage devoted to social justice, the Eucharist, and service to those on the margins.
Mass times at St. Katharine Drexel (All Saints Parish)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment — call the parish office at 207-725-2624 (Reconciliation is offered at other All Saints churches on a regular schedule; the Harpswell chapel itself has no fixed weekly confession time listed)
About St. Katharine Drexel Summer Chapel
St. Katharine Drexel is the summer chapel of All Saints Parish, located at 419 Mountain Road in Harpswell, Maine. As a seasonal mission church, it celebrates weekend Masses from May through Labor Day for residents and summer visitors along the Harpswell peninsula. It is one of seven worship sites that together form All Saints Parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, sharing a common pastoral team, faith formation programs, and sacramental ministry with sister churches in Brunswick, Bath, Richmond, Newcastle, and Boothbay Harbor.
History & Founding of All Saints Parish
The Diocese of Portland's Cluster 15 directory records St. Katharine Drexel as established in 2001 as a mission chapel. It was incorporated into All Saints Parish on July 1, 2009, when six historic midcoast parishes and one mission merged into a single Roman Catholic faith community. The merger followed Bishop Malone's 2005 planning document, 'Telling Anew the Story of Jesus Christ,' which called the parishes to plan a new future together. The seven churches brought more than 200 years of combined parish history under one pastoral team: St. Patrick's (1798), St. Mary's (1849), St. John the Baptist (1877), St. Ambrose (1889), Our Lady Queen of Peace (1928), St. Charles Borromeo (1930), and St. Katharine Drexel (2001).
- St. Patrick's, Newcastle — est. 1798
- St. Mary's, Bath — est. 1849
- St. John the Baptist, Brunswick — est. 1877
- St. Ambrose, Richmond — est. 1889
- Our Lady Queen of Peace, Boothbay Harbor — est. 1928
- St. Charles Borromeo, Brunswick — est. 1930
- St. Katharine Drexel, Harpswell — est. 2001 (seasonal)
Patron Saint: St. Katharine Drexel
The chapel is named for St. Katharine Drexel (1858–1955), the Philadelphia heiress who in 1891 founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament to serve Native Americans and African Americans, donating her entire personal fortune of roughly $20 million to the work. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988 and canonized on October 1, 2000, becoming the second American-born person declared a saint and the first U.S. citizen by birth to be so honored. Her feast day is March 3, the anniversary of her death, and she is the patron saint of racial justice and of philanthropists. The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament officially list the Harpswell summer chapel among their affiliated SKD parishes and schools.
- Born Catherine Mary Drexel, November 26, 1858, Philadelphia, PA
- Died March 3, 1955, Bensalem, PA
- Canonized October 1, 2000 by Pope John Paul II
- Patronage: racial justice and philanthropists
- Major shrine: Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Philadelphia
Parish Staff & Clergy
All Saints Parish is served by a robust pastoral team of three priests, three deacons, and an in-residence priest, plus parish secretaries, faith formation coordinators, youth ministers, a music director, and a business coordinator. The pastoral center is at St. Charles Borromeo in Brunswick. Sacramental records for All Saints Parish are kept at the Pastoral Center, and offices for St. Katharine Drexel are administered from there.
- Rev. Philip A. Tracy — Pastor
- Rev. Patrick Machayi, SMA — Parochial Vicar
- Rev. Peter Shaba, SMA — Parochial Vicar
- Rev. Amandus Sway, AJ — Parochial Vicar
- Rev. Fredrick H. Morse — In Residence at Our Lady Queen of Peace
- Deacon John M. Murphy
- Deacon Thomas J. Blatz
- Deacon Robert Curtis
- Charleen Foley — Business Coordinator
- Ann Carlton, Sheila Finamore, Janet Bolduc — Parish Secretaries
- Amy Ford, Sarah Buchwalder, Rebecca Alley — Faith Formation
- Debbie Poulton, Jared Martin, Abigail Valliere — Youth Ministry
- Angela Boivin — Pastoral Associate
- Leon Griesbach — Music & Choir Director (St. John the Baptist)
Ministries & Faith Formation
Because St. Katharine Drexel is a seasonal chapel, the parish's active ministries are coordinated centrally at All Saints Parish. Programs include Children's Faith Formation, Junior High and High School Youth Ministry, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), and a parish-wide Music Ministry with local directors at each church. St. John's Catholic School in Brunswick (Pre-K through Grade 8) is the parish school. The parish also links to the Knights of Councils in Brunswick and Bath.
- Children's Faith Formation
- Junior High Youth Ministry
- High School Youth Ministry
- RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults)
- Music Ministry (with local directors at each church)
- St. John's Catholic School, Brunswick (Pre-K–8)
- Knights of Columbus — Brunswick Council
- Knights of Columbus — Bath Council
- Parish Pastoral Associate ministry
- Lay Ministries Coordinator
Sacraments
All sacraments for All Saints Parish — including those celebrated at St. Katharine Drexel — are arranged through the parish's central offices. Baptism and marriage preparation are scheduled parish-wide; Reconciliation is offered at scheduled times at the sister churches or by appointment; and a Funeral Planning Guide is available on the parish website under Parish Documents.
- Baptism — preparation required; arranged through the parish office
- Marriage — arranged through the parish office
- Reconciliation — scheduled times at sister churches; by appointment at 207-725-2624
- Anointing of the Sick — on request
- Funeral Planning — Funeral Planning Guide available online
- RCIA — coordinated by the Coordinator of Lay Ministries / RCIA Coordinator
Live Streaming & TV Broadcasts
Because the Harpswell chapel is only open seasonally, All Saints Parish live-streams its Sunday Mass (typically the 10:30 or 11:00 AM Mass) on Facebook and YouTube for parishioners who cannot attend in person. Recordings of weekend Mass are also rebroadcast on local cable television throughout the midcoast region, including on Harpswell TV.
- Live-streamed Sunday Mass on Facebook and YouTube
- Harpswell TV — Sunday 9:00 AM
- Bath TV — Sunday 8:00 AM
- Brunswick TV — Sunday 9:01 AM
- Lincoln County TV — Sunday 11:00 AM
- Mass cancellations posted on Channels 13 and 6, on Facebook, and on the parish website homepage
Visiting & Contact Information
The St. Katharine Drexel Summer Chapel is located at 419 Mountain Road, Harpswell, ME 04079. Because the chapel is seasonal, the main point of contact for All Saints Parish is the Pastoral Center at 132 McKeen Street, Brunswick, ME 04011. Parish office hours, registration, online giving, and document downloads are all available through the parish website.
- Chapel address: 419 Mountain Road, Harpswell, ME 04079
- Pastoral Center: 132 McKeen Street, Brunswick, ME 04011
- Phone: 207-725-2624
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.allsaintsmaine.com
- Parish registration available online
- Online Giving step-by-step guide available
- Cemetery Rules available under Parish Documents
- Online Donation Authorization Form available
Related Catholic Links & Resources
The All Saints Parish website links to the broader Catholic Church and the Diocese of Portland's resources, as well as to Catholic Charities Maine and to the parish's lay organizations such as the Knights of Columbus.
- The Vatican
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland
- Protecting God's Children
- Catholic Charities Maine
- Knights of Columbus — Brunswick Council
- Knights of Columbus — Bath Council
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Thomas Murphy
Listed as Pastor of All Saints Parish in a 2021 parish bulletin; preceded current pastor Rev. Philip A. Tracy
- Rev. Philip A. Tracy
Current Pastor of All Saints Parish (since at least 2025 per Diocese of Portland Cluster 15 directory)