Our Parish for the Week of July 29:

Queen of Peace Catholic Church & School, Salem

We are heading to Oregon’s capital city to visit Queen of Peace Catholic Church and School in Salem! Here’s a few things to know about this fantastic community in South Salem.

About the Parish:

  • Since its founding in the 1960s, the number of families at Queen of Peace has more than tripled. The parish now serves 1300 families!
  • According to their mission, Queen of Peace is “a Eucharist-centered faith community in the Roman Catholic tradition that strives to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and share the gifts of the Holy Spirit by welcoming all to faith formation, ministry, sacraments, and evangelization.”
  • Pastor Fr. Tim Mockaitis is often heard on our Homily Highlights segment of the Morning Blend! Listen to the interview below to hear Fr. Tim share more about Queen of Peace.
  •  43 youth and chaperones from Queen of Peace had an incredible experience at the recent Steubenville Northwest Conference in Spokane, which emphasized the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Penance.
  • Queen of Peace Catholic School just finished a construction and expansion project that added four additional classrooms. This fall, the thriving school will have almost 300 students in pre-school to fifth grade!

Liturgy Schedule

  • Mass
    • Saturday: 5:00pm
    • Sunday: 8:30am & 11:00am
    • Tuesday -Friday: 8:30am in the Church
  • Confession
    • 3:15 to 4:30pm, anytime by appointment
  • Adoration
    • Thursdays in the Chapel: 9:00am – 5:00pm

Parish Activities

  • There are a lot of great way to get involved in the parish!
    • Liturgy volunteers, adult and youth choir, serving, church environment, etc.
    • Men’s Bible Study Evening, Men’s Bible Study Morning and Evening
    • Volunteers for youth, kids, nursery
    • Bridge group on Fridays
    • Family Promise – Queen of Peace provides meals for families for a week, 4 times a year
    • Filipino American Community meets on 3rd Sundays for Mass at 5:30 pm and reception
    • Funeral Reception Ministry
    • Grief Share group on Saturdays
    • Fellowship and games for those over 55
    • Intercessory Prayer Group and Prayer Chain
    • Very active Knights of Columbus, help a lot with funeral ministry
    • Life Ministry
    • Women’s Group
    • Safety Team – training in first aid, CPR, fir extinguishers, etc.
    • Table of Plenty ministry on Thursday evenings to feed the hungry, average of 55 families come each Thursday, over 120 volunteers including school kids
    • Sunday morning during the school year Whole Community Faith Formation
  • 43 youth and chaperones from Queen of Peace had an incredible experience at the recent Steubenville Northwest Conference in Spokane, which emphasized the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Penance.
  • Last week the parish held a Prince of Egypt Family Movie Night with drinks and popcorn.
  • A rummage sale was held in June to benefit youth ministry.
  • Queen of Peace is planning to open a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, which is a special hands-on space for ages 3 – 12 to learn about their faith.
    • They are looking for adults who are called to catechists, classroom aids, or help furnish Atrium.

Upcoming Events

  • Mass for the Feast of the Assumption
    • Wednesday, August 14 @ 7:00 pm
    • Thursday, August 15 @ 11:00 am
  • Parents Night Out on Friday August 23
    • Drop off the kids for a fun evening so parents get the night off!
  • Parish Mission with Fr. Alliston Fernandes
    • Fr. Alliston is a missionary priest for the Institute for World Evangelization.
    • Mission will be held on the evenings of September 8-10 (Sunday – Tuesday)
    • Beginning with dinner at 5:30 pm, and will have the theme of Encountering God’s Transforming Love to Engage in Mission.
    • Will be centered on encountering the merciful heart of the Father, the transformation possible through Christ and generously responding to a Spirit-led call to Mission.

History of the Parish

  • Queen of Peace Church was the third Catholic parish to be established in Salem, under the direction of Rev. Joseph E. Vanderbeck, pastor of St. Joseph Church. The land was purchased from the Browning family for $10 and in 1961, Joseph Dodd chaired a committee to raise money for construction of a new parish. Work on the buildings began in 1963.
  • Queen of Peace was selected as the name of the parish. Queen of Peace is another name for the Blessed Virgin Mary and Salem is derived from the Hebrew word “Shalom” which means peace. The first church was in what is now the gym of our current building. The first sanctuary was on the west wall of the gym, but after Vatican II, the sanctuary moved to the north wall.
  • On September 3, 1963, Fr. Francis J. Hanley was named the first pastor of Queen of Peace Church and would serve until 1966. The parish consisted of 400 families.
  • Work also began on a school, parish office, and a convent for the Sisters. Fr. Hanley would use the school office as a rectory until two houses were purchased on Friendship Ave. One house would serve as the rectory for the priest, the other was used as a parish office.
  • By the early 80’s, Queen of Peace had about 600 families and by the early 90’s that number had grown to 999 families. At this point, it was decided that more space would be needed to accommodate the growth of our parish, so another plan for expansion began. When Fr. George became pastor at Queen of Peace in 1994, a building fund was already established and plans for construction of a new sanctuary, gathering area, and chapel were already underway. The new space was dedicated in October 1997.
  • Queen of Peace Church and School continue to grow. Another expansion was completed in 2020. Today, Queen of Peace has 1300 families registered. The number of families has more than tripled since the church first opened 60 years ago.

Find out more through their webpage!