In the 1880s the whole of Wallowa County was a Catholic mission of La Grande, and Mass was said in homes on Alder Slope and in Wallowa until a church was built in Enterprise sometime after 1892. St. Katherine of Siena is that parish, at 301 East Garfield Street, with Mass on weekday mornings, Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Fr. Thomas Varghese Chirayil, CMI, is its pastor and the pastor of its mission parish, St. Pius X in Wallowa; one office in the parish hall beside the church serves both, on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
The parish describes its purpose as “loving God, loving others and making disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and reaches out “especially to Catholics who have become disconnected to the church.” It belongs to the Diocese of Baker. The year the present church was built is not stated on its pages; the 2002 state registration of Saint Katherine Catholic Church of Enterprise, Inc. is a filing date.
Through time
The parish dates its first Enterprise church to sometime after 1892. Earlier gatherings took place in homes.
