St. James Catholic Church
Vancouver, Washington
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Around 1829, discharged servants of the Hudson's Bay Company settled on the Cowlitz Prairie and in the Willamette Valley. The majority of them were French Canadian Catholics. The people began writing petitions to Canada in 1834 asking for priests. They wrote again in 1835 and in the spring of 1838. In November 1838, two priests arrived from Canada and Mass was celebrated for the first time in the region then known as “lower Oregon”. This began the Quebec Mission to Oregon country. On November 25th they celebrated Mass in the Fort Vancouver school house. Fathers Blanchet and Demers made the fort their home base and eventually set up a chapel in an old store.
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Standing: Rev. F.X. Leclerc, Rev. Van Holdenberker, Very Rev. Louis Shram V.G. Seated: Bishop Junger |
St. James Church became a cathedral, in 1850 when the diocese of Nesqually was formed. Most Rev. Augustine Blanchet was named Bishop of Nesqually with residence in Vancouver, Washington Territory. |
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1st St. James Cathedral |
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In 1856 Mother Joseph and the Providence Sisters from Montreal arrived in Vancouver. In 1884 the cornerstone was laid for the new cathedral. Mother Joseph was heavily involved in the building of the cathedral. The brick was made in Vancouver by the Hidden Brick Company. The cut stone came from Camas and the stained glass windows were designed and made in San Francisco. The columns are Philippine mahogany and the interior is plaster with fir wainscoting. |
Mother Joseph, born Esther Pariseau, was one of the founders of the Sisters of Providence in the Pacific Northwest. |
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| Completed in 1885 under the direction of Bishop Junger, the second bishop of Nesqually, St. James was the centerpiece of the Diocese of Nesqually. Measuring 145 feet long and 60 feet wide, St. James can accommodate approximately 800 people. | |
In September 1907, the the territorial See was officially transferred to Seattle. The title of St. James Cathedral was transferred to Seattle with the bishop, and our St. James became a parish church. Missions attached to St. James were St. Mary, Pioneer (Ridgefield), 1867; St. John, Glenwood (Orchards), 1868; Sacred Heart, Battle Ground, 1877; St. Thomas, Camas, 1881 & Washougal, 1901; St. Joseph, Vancouver, 1952; Our Lady of Lourdes, Vancouver, 1955. Click here to read more about our historic past. |
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On May 31, 1846, the first church outside the fort was dedicated. The first St. James measured 83 feet long by 36 feet wide and 20 feet high. The brick, stone, and mortar church could accommodate about 500 people.
