PARISH OVERVIEW

Church Location: 840 A Avenue, Lake Oswego, OR
                               at the corner of A Avenue and 8th Street
Number of families in parish:  2,300
Number of students in school:  241

Facilities:  Church: 18,000 square feet, built 1955, last remodeled 1992
                   Rectory: 5,200 square feet, built 1951, last remodeled 1986
                   Parish center: 12,000 square feet, build 1963, last remodeled 1986
                   School: 28,000 square feet, build 1942, last remodeled 1974
                   Grounds: 4.1 acres
                    Cemetery (on Stafford Road)

The Parish Library is located in the Parish Office Building.

PARISH HISTORY

Our parish formally began on October 12, 1890, with the dedication of Sacred Heart Catholic Church at First and E Streets.  That building, which accommodated 50 people, still stands today at the original site.  Sacred Heart School opened in September of 1938 with three teachers.  At about the same time, and with great foresight, the parish acquired the present property to accommodate future growth.
 
First to move to the present site was the school, with six classrooms at its opening in 1942.  For a time, the school gymnasium served as a temporary church.  In 1951, the rectory was completed, with the second floor used for additional school classes.  On Mother's Day in 1951, the request of the parish for a name change was granted, and we became Our Lady of the Lake Parish, to honor the Blessed Mother and better identify our location.  In 1955, a block adjoining the school property was purchased for a future convent and for the school playground.  That same year, ground breaking for the present church took place.  On June 24, 1956, Archbishop Edward Daniel Howard and the parish dedicated Our Lady of the Lake Church.

The new church brought a surge in the number of parishioners and school children.  in 1958, the school was enlarged to include 14 classrooms and a library, and enrollment reached a record 535 students in eight grades.

The convent was completed in 1963.  In 1980, the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary began the process of gradually withdrawing from the parish school they helped establish 40 years earlier.

Father Ted Weber served as pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Parish from 1985 to 1991.  During this time, a facilities Master Plan was developed and begun.  The former convent was converted to our Parish Center in 1986.  In Phase I of the Master Plan, we renovated and updated the church, to accord more closely with the liturgical guidelines of Vatican II.  We completed Phase II of the Master Plan in 1993, just after Father Rock Sassano became the eighteenth pastor of our parish.  During Phase II, we transformed the parish hall into a brighter, more functional multi-purpose facility.

In 1996, we completed Phase III of the Master Plan.  Phase III improved access for the handicapped, created a formal courtyard area between the church and school buildings, and provided a fire warning system for the school.

Father Rock Sassano retired as pastor in 1998 and was replaced by Father Joseph McMahon.