Our History

1903   
June 19 - Pope Leo XIII creates the New Diocese of Baker City, 18 counties east of the Cascade Range.

1903-1918
Bishop Charles J. O'Reilly appointed Founding Bishop.

1918-1950
Bishop Joseph Francis McGrath appointed second Bishop.

1948-1950
15 July 1948 - Bishop Leo Fabian Fahey appointed Coadjutor.

1950-1971
12 September 1950 - Bishop Francis P. Leipzig appointed third Bishop.

1951
Due to Baker City changing its name, the Diocese name was changed to Baker Diocese.

1953
Golden Jubilee of the Baker Diocese was held on April 7, 1953.

1971-1999
30 June 1971 - Bishop Thomas J. Connolly appointed fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Baker.

1987
The diocesan camp programs were initiated to create opportunities for all age groups to come together and learn more about themselves and their faith through workshops, prayer experiences, the Liturgy, crafts, service projects, the Sacrament of Reconciliation and much more. These retreat created an environment where people could explore and learn more about their faith in community with other Catholics. The retreat programs have grown to meet the needs of elementary, junior high, high school youths and their families.

Diocesan Chancery moved from Baker to Bend.

1990
City of Baker renamed Baker City.

2000
Bishop Robert F. Vasa appointed fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Baker. 
Bishop Thomas J. Connolly then served as Bishop Emeritus until his death on April 24, 2015.

2003
Diocese of Baker celebrated its 100th Anniversary.

2007
Announcement of plans for the Retreat Center facility near Powell Butte.

2008
September - Site work and construction begins on the Retreat Center near Powell Butte.

2009
5-6 September - Labor Day weekend, the Diocese celebrated the Dedication Mass of St. Mary Chapel along with the Grand Opening of the new Diocesan Retreat Center. Events began within one week.

2011
24 January - Bishop Vasa appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Santa Rosa.
30 June - Bishop Vasa appointed Bishop of Santa Rosa.

2011-2012
24 January - Bishop William S. Sklylstad appointed Apostolic Administrator to the Diocese of Baker.
His appointment lasted 15 months.

2012
08 March - Reverend Liam Cary, of the Archdiocese of Portland, appointed Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Baker.
18 May - Reverend Cary ordained  seventh Bishop of the Diocese of Baker at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Bend.

2017
January - The Chancery Office was relocated to Redmond, Oregon.

2024
The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. consists of four converging pilgrimages:  southward from Minnesota in the north, northward from Texas in the south, westward from New York in the east, and eastward from San Francisco in the west. These four legs of the National Pilgrimage will meet up in Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress July 17 - 21^st. Organizers hope that 80,000 people will walk in procession after the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of Indianapolis to the stadium for Mass.

On May 26^th, Memorial Day weekend, the Pilgrimage from San Francisco will reach the Nevada-Oregon border near McDermitt. There, Bishop Liam Cary will officially receive the Blessed Sacrament into the Diocese of Baker and accompany our Eucharistic Lord in the specially designed adoration vehicle at the head of a caravan of pilgrims to an overnight stop in Burns. The next morning, May 27^th, after an all-night vigil in Holy Family Church, the procession will set out for Ontario, with brief stops in Juntura and Vale. Bishop Peter Christensen of Boise will meet them for an afternoon Mass at Blessed Sacrament Church in Ontario and will accompany them in a walking procession to Fruitland, in the Diocese of Boise.

2024 Memorial Day, in unprecedented public fashion, our Eucharistic Lord will be crossing into Oregon to visit us. In His day, when Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, lives changed all along His path. Healing power went out from Him as people came close to Him steeped in suffering, trapped in their past, mired in depression, frozen in fear. Lives still change when hurting people come into His presence. This Memorial Day maybe yours could too.