OXFORD — St. Mary Church on King Street welcomed Bishop Robert Deeley of the Portland Diocese on July 28 to preside over mass to celebrate the congregation’s 100th anniversary.
Bishop Robert Deeley of the Diocese of Portland presided over St. Mary Church’s 100th anniversary celebration on July 29. Supplied photo
While the church has achieved octogenarian status this year, its original worshipers date back even further, when a group of five or six families began gathering at the home of John Quinn in the early 20th century.
As Oxford’s Catholic population grew, Quinn was the force behind establishing St. Mary – first by convincing a Fr. Quinn of Yarmouth (possibly a relative) to hold mass in Oxford once a month, and later by donating the property where the church would eventually be built.
St. Mary Church on King Street in Oxford celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Courtesy Oxford Historical Society
Construction began in 1922. A large number of early members had been stricken with tuberculosis and were confined to the nearby sanatorium. The church suffered a blow on the day of its dedication on April 1, 1923, when the sanatorium burned and most patients were transferred to other facilities. The loss of congregants.
For 25 years St. Mary was part of Church of Christ the King Parish in Hebron until that closed in 1956. St. Mary then became a mission Church of our Lady of Ransom in Mechanic Falls. As membership continued to grow more masses were held to accommodate it, two on Sundays and a vigil on Saturday evenings.
“Saturday evening service was popular with the older folks,” Fr. Edward Clifford said. “It allowed them to sleep in on Sundays.”
By the 21st century, however, attendance had declined to the point where services at St. Mary became seasonal, opening Memorial Day weekend and closing in mid-October. Since 2010 mass has been held between Memorial Day until Labor Day, on Saturday evenings only. But services continue to be held during other times of the year during Easter and Christmas, as well weddings.
Fr. Clifford assumed leadership of St. Mary in 2019, along with four other churches in Mechanic Falls, Norway, Bridgton and Fryeburg that make up St. Parishes of the Western Maine Lakes & Foothills. According to Clifford, attendees are a combination of local and summer residents clustered around Thompson Lake.
St. Mary underwent renovations earlier this year, including improvements that will make off-season mass more comfortable.
“We had new flooring installed, and more space around the altar,” Clifford said. “A lot of the work was done with sweat equity or course, tearing up old carpets and cleaning underneath.”
Heat pumps were installed, the roof was re shingled, and smaller pews repurposed from another church were brought in to provide better access to the altar from the aisles.
“The heat pumps will make it more comfortable during the summer, and allow us to increase celebrations during the colder months,” Clifford said. “It’s a lovely church, holding up to 100 people.”
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