About St. Mary · Castle Rock, Washington
St. Mary Catholic Church is a small mission parish in Castle Rock, Washington, in Cowlitz County. It is one of five worship sites that together form the Lower Columbia Catholic community, sharing pastoral leadership, staff, and the website www.stroselongview.com with St. Rose de Viterbo in Longview, Immaculate Heart of Mary in Kelso, St. Joseph in Kalama, and St. Catherine in Cathlamet. The church sits at 120 Powell Road and offers Sunday Mass, a weekday Mass on Thursday, weekly Eucharistic Adoration, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The parish belongs to the Archdiocese of Seattle and is part of Parish Family 43 in the Southern Deanery.
- Established
- 1943
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Rev. Brian D. Thompson
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Seattle
Why belong here
St. Mary offers a quiet, small-mission setting for Catholics in Castle Rock while connecting them to the full life of the larger Lower Columbia Catholic community. Parishioners can attend Sunday Mass, take part in weekly Eucharistic Adoration and Reconciliation, enroll children in the family-wide youth faith-formation programs (Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, First Sacraments, Youth Group, Confirmation, OCIC), and serve through the many ministries that span the five Lower Columbia parishes. Because the parish is part of a family of churches, even a small mission has access to bilingual staff, a school (St. Rose School in Longview), a livestreamed Sunday Mass, and Communion brought to the homebound.
Mass times at St. Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 8:00 am – 8:20 am (St. Mary, Castle Rock)
- Thursday: 9:00 am – 10:00 am (St. Mary, Castle Rock, during Adoration)
- Reconciliation also available by appointment — call the parish office at 360-425-4660
Adoration times
- Thursday: 9:00 am – 10:00 am (St. Mary, Castle Rock)
Parish Identity & Lower Columbia Catholic Community
St. Mary is a small Catholic mission in the lower Columbia River region, sharing pastoral leadership and staff with four neighboring Catholic churches: St. Rose de Viterbo in Longview, Immaculate Heart of Mary in Kelso, St. Joseph in Kalama, and St. Catherine in Cathlamet. The community's combined website, www.stroselongview.com, is the hub for Mass schedules, bulletins, staff contacts, faith-formation registration, and ministry sign-ups across all five sites. The parish office serving St. Mary is in Longview, and most administrative tasks — registrations, sacramental requests, facility issues — are routed through that office.
- Parish Family 43, Southern Deanery, Archdiocese of Seattle
- Pastor: Rev. Brian D. Thompson
- Parochial Vicar: Rev. Vinner Raj Simeon Raj, H.G.N.
- Parish office: 701 26th Ave., Longview, WA 98632 — 360-425-4660
- Mailing address for St. Mary: c/o St. Rose, 701 26th Ave., Longview, WA 98632
History of the Castle Rock Catholic Community
Catholic life in the lower Cowlitz valley long predates the parish as it is known today. Until 1910, when St. Mary's parish in Kelso was established, the area's Catholics depended on visiting priests who arrived on horseback or by sternwheeler on the Cowlitz and Columbia Rivers, with Mass sometimes said in homes or in an abandoned Methodist Church. The 1923 founding of the city of Longview by the Long Bell Lumber Company brought rapid growth, and in 1927 Bishop O'Dea of Seattle created St. Rose de Viterbo as a permanent parish, attaching four mission churches — Castle Rock, Kalama, Woodland, and Cathlamet — to it under Franciscan care. In 1943 the missions of Woodland, Kalama, and Castle Rock were detached from St. Rose, giving the Castle Rock community its own pastoral identity. In 1984, the pastor of St. Mary's in Castle Rock took on St. Catherine's Mission in Cathlamet as well, a responsibility that lasted until the 1995 parish realignment returned St. Catherine to St. Rose. In 2024, the Archdiocese of Seattle's Partners in the Gospel initiative reorganized the area's parishes into parish families; St. Mary is now part of Parish Family 43 led by one pastor.
- 1927 — St. Rose de Viterbo founded in Longview; Castle Rock, Kalama, Woodland, and Cathlamet attached as missions
- 1943 — Castle Rock mission formally detached from St. Rose
- 1984 — St. Catherine's Mission, Cathlamet, briefly served by the pastor of St. Mary's, Castle Rock
- 1995 — St. Catherine realigned back to St. Rose
- 2024 — St. Mary joins Parish Family 43 under Partners in the Gospel
Parish Family Worship — Combined Schedule
Parishioners of St. Mary can attend Mass, Reconciliation, and Adoration at any of the five Lower Columbia Catholic sites, all sharing the same pastor and staff. The full combined schedule is published on the parish website under the Mass & Reconciliation page.
- Saturday Vigil — 4:00 pm St. Rose (Longview); 5:00 pm St. Catherine (Cathlamet); 6:00 pm St. Joseph (Kalama)
- Sunday — 8:30 am St. Mary (Castle Rock); 9:00 am St. Rose; 10:30 am Immaculate Heart of Mary (Kelso); 11:00 am St. Rose; 1:00 pm St. Rose in Spanish
- Adoration — Thursday 9:00–10:00 am St. Mary; 10:00 am–10:00 pm St. Rose; 2:00–3:00 pm St. Catherine; Friday 7:00 am–7:00 pm Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Reconciliation — Saturday 2:30–3:30 pm St. Rose; Sunday 8:00–8:20 am St. Mary and 12:30–12:50 pm St. Rose in Spanish; Tuesday 11:30 am–12:00 pm Immaculate Heart of Mary; Thursday 9:00–10:00 am St. Mary
Livestream & Communion for the Homebound
For parishioners who are ill or homebound, the parish family livestreams the 11:00 am Sunday Mass from St. Rose on its Facebook page. Viewers do not need a Facebook account — they can visit the page and scroll to the live video. Lay Eucharistic Ministers also bring Holy Communion to those unable to attend; requests can be made through the parish office at 360-425-4660.
- Livestreamed 11:00 am Sunday Mass on Facebook (no account required)
- Homebound Communion visits — call 360-425-4660
- Low-gluten hosts available at Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Rose
Faith Formation & Sacramental Preparation
The Lower Columbia Catholic community runs a family-wide youth faith-formation program with sessions held primarily at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Kelso. The flagship program is Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a Montessori-style catechesis rooted in Sacred Scripture and the Sacred Liturgy, with three age-grouped 'atria' for ages 3–6, 6–9, and 9–12. First Reconciliation and First Communion are prepared for children in 2nd grade and up; older children who have not been baptized enter the Order of Christian Initiation for Children (OCIC).
- Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) — Levels 1, 2, 3 for ages 3–12
- First Sacraments (First Reconciliation and First Communion) — Thursdays at 6:15 pm
- Youth Group for 6th–12th grade — Wednesdays at 6:00 pm
- 2-year Confirmation for 6th–12th grade — Thursdays at 6:00 pm
- Order of Christian Initiation for Children (OCIC) for ages 7+ — Tuesdays at 6:00 pm
- Quinceañera preparation (requires participation in Youth Group and Confirmation)
Ministries & Get Involved
The parish family lists a wide range of ministries for adults, teens, and bilingual parishioners, and welcomes new volunteers. Adult volunteers working with children must complete Safe Environment training and pass a background check before the first session; no prior catechetical experience is required, and training is provided.
- Adult faith-formation volunteer catechists
- Catechesis of the Good Shepherd assistants
- Tech Team (livestream / media support)
- Coordinator for Evangelization and Ministries
- Bilingual ministry and Hispanic outreach
- Safe Environment training required for all volunteers working with minors
Parish Staff
St. Mary, Castle Rock shares its pastor, parochial vicar, and parish staff with the rest of Parish Family 43. Staff are based at the parish office in Longview and serve all five worship sites.
- Rev. Brian D. Thompson — Pastor
- Rev. Vinner Raj Simeon Raj, H.G.N. — Parochial Vicar
- Jodi Hadaller — Program Coordinator / Pastoral Assistant for Faith Formation (CGS) and 9:00 am Choir Director
- Sarah Hoskins — Bookkeeper
- Pamela Martinez — role across the parish family
- Theresa Galvez — CGS
- Kelli Wall — role across the parish family
- Araceli Cardenas — First Communion / Confirmation Coordinator
- Kristin Silva — role across the parish family
- Reyna Saucedo — role across the parish family
- Leticia (listed as Pastoral Assistant for Faith Formation: First Communion, OCIC, Youth Ministry, and Youth Confirmation)
- Julianne Polowicz — Communications Coordinator / Bilingual Administrative Assistant
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Franciscan priests from St. Francis Mission, Cowlitz Prairie1927–early 1940s
Served the Castle Rock mission while it was attached to the new St. Rose parish in Longview.
- Pastor of St. Mary's, Castle Rock1984
Also served St. Catherine's Mission in Cathlamet that year before it was realigned back to St. Rose in 1995.