Archdiocese Portland

Portland, Oregon welcomes the Lord Jesus Christ, truly present in the Holy Eucharist. On the Feast of Corpus Christi, over 5,000 Catholics joined Archbishop Alexander Sample, Bishop Peter Smith, and more than 50 priests and deacons in honoring and adoring the Lord Jesus Christ through the streets of Portland, publicly proclaiming the Church’s perennial faith in His Real Presence.

Today, we honor our U.S. military veterans and give thanks for their service to our nation. May the Lord Jesus, the Prince of Peace, bless you and your families.

Catholic churches are among the most beautiful structures in the world. They are temples of God, where the baptized gather in worship and where Christ is truly present in the Holy Eucharist. We rightly cherish and care for them and make sure their beauty is maintained. Through Baptism, we too become temples of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us. The beauty, order, and reverence we cultivate in our churches should also mark our lives: ordered toward God, humble in spirit, faithful to his commandments, rich in charity toward God and neighbor, and striving to turn from sin and grow in holiness.

Eamon Duffy’s The Stripping of the Altars, published in 1992, radically reshaped historians’ understanding of the English Reformation. Before Duffy’s landmark study, the prevailing academic consensus held that the late medieval Catholic Church in England was corrupt, spiritually dry, and in terminal decline. Drawing on parish records, wills and church art, Duffy portrays a vibrant Catholic culture that royal policies dismantled: monasteries suppressed, altars and religious images removed, and church interiors whitewashed... Read more in the November 2026 issue of our Divine Worship Newsletter: archdpdx.org/news/reassessme…

Please join us in wishing Archbishop Alexander Sample a happy birthday! Today we give thanks to God for the gift of his life, his faithful leadership, and pastoral care of our local Catholic Church. Please offer a prayer today for our dear Archbishop’s intentions!

Our Office of Divine Worship explains why the faithful should refrain from extending their hands during the Our Father at Mass: "Further, the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, states that “no other person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority.” (SC 22.3) Since the GIRM is very specific that the priest is instructed by the GIRM (152) to extend his hands when he prays the Lord’s Prayer, for the deacons or the laity to extend their hands would be adding to the liturgy. Therefore, the practice of the lay faithful extending their hands (or holding hands) during the Our Father should not be done." Read more: archdpdx.org/news/divine-wor…

Who should use the orans posture at Mass? What is the history of papal blessings? And what does the Church teach about Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist? The November edition of our Divine Worship Newsletter explores these questions and more, with articles on the Angelus, the centennial and sacred art of St. Mary’s Cathedral, and Eamon Duffy’s 'The Stripping of the Altars'. Published by our Office of Divine Worship, this newsletter is an important resource for clergy, parish staff, and all Catholics seeking a deeper understanding of the Church’s sacred liturgy and traditions. 📖 Read the full November issue: files.ecatholic.com/12494/do…

“The Council attributes great value to Gregorian chant, without excluding other genres of sacred music from the celebration.” - Pope Leo XIV, August 19, 2026 Pope Leo’s words recall the Second Vatican Council’s teaching in Sacrosanctum Concilium: Gregorian chant should be given “pride of place” in liturgical services (116), and the faithful should be able to sing or say in Latin the parts of the Mass Ordinary that belong to them (54). We see the beauty of that shared inheritance here in the Archdiocese of Portland. Our Catholic community is incredibly diverse: nearly half our archdiocese is Hispanic, and our largest parish is a Vietnamese community. Yet at ordinations, the Chrism Mass and Corpus Christi at our Cathedral, Catholics from across the archdiocese join in the same Latin prayers and chants. Centuries of worship in Latin have given the Catholic Church one of the world’s great musical treasures. We should bring that treasure more fully into our parish life. Learn the Gloria, Sanctus and Agnus Dei in Latin; learn the chants the Church has handed down. When we sing them together, we take part in the Church’s prayer across generations and cultures.

On the Solemnity of All Saints, Archbishop Sample asks what holds us back from becoming saints. His answer: our fear of giving everything to God. We were not made for lukewarmness, but for greatness, with our eyes fixed on eternal life.