Farewell To Father Madanat Commemorative Book

Our Lady of Fatima: Then and Now In 1981 a group of about a dozen tradition-minded Catholics reached out to the SSPX to bring the Traditional Latin Mass to Portland, OR. By the grace of God, the Society was able to add a circuit stop once a month beginning November 30 – and St. Andrew Mission Chapel was established.

In 1983 the group purchased the altar from St. James Church in McMinnville, OR. The altar was kept in storage until 1986, when, under the guidance of Fr. Daniel Couture, the property in Garden Home was purchased, and St. Andrew Mission officially became Our Lady of Fatima Church.

Renovation seems to be an ongoing theme at OLF as the Garden Home site, once a Korean church, was slowly transformed into a serviceable chapel. Mass was offered once a month until 1988. At that time the SSPX was able to, thanks to our beloved Fr. Eugene Heidt, a retired diocesan priest from Silverton, who began to work with them, give OLF weekly Mass and the Sacraments on Sundays and on Holy Days.

As the years unfolded OLF attracted more people – not just older Catholics who wanted the “Mass of All Time” – but young families and single people as well. Even with the additions to the property, it proved insufficient to support our thriving community, and under the supervision of Fr. Madanat, and always with the grace of God, we were able to make the move to our new home in Vancouver. The journey continues as we find ourselves once again in “renovation mode”.

On a side note, the former OLF Chapel and Heidt House were razed and are now part of an upscale neighborhood for woke residents in the SW Portland area.