St. Francis of Assisi, established in 1875, was the first Catholic church in East Portland. It was colloquially known as the “mother of churches” because its parish boundaries initially extended to the Columbia River to the north, the Sandy River to the east, Milwaukie to the south, and the Willamette River to the west. Over a century of renovations and rebuilds have dramatically changed the church’s built environment, but both St. Francis’s physical and civic prominence in the community continue in the twenty-first century.

The Archbishop of Portland filed a land claim in East Portland for the Catholic Church as early as 1860, but sold it in the late 1860s. The town’s Catholic population later grew to sustain a parish east of the Willamette River, so in 1874 the church repurchased the property—bounded by Southeast Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues and Pine and Oak Streets. St. Francis of Assisi Church was a 30-by-50-foot Gothic Revival structure, completed in 1876 and dedicated by Archbishop François Blanchet. An 1880 windstorm destroyed that building, which was replaced in 1881-1882 with a wooden structure.

In 1886, the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary opened the Holy Names Academy (later St. Francis Academy, then St. Francis School) and the attached convent on the south half of the St. Francis block. In its first four years, the school primarily operated as a finishing school for women, accepting students from throughout the West. The school building also served as an emergency shelter during the 1888-1889 economic recession and the 1907-1908 banking collapse; as a temporary clinic during the Influenza Epidemic of 1919; and as a food and clothing distribution center during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Beginning in 1907, St. Francis significantly expanded its facilities, beginning with the school (1907) and a new rectory (completed in 1910) built next to the 1881-1882 church on the southwest corner of the St. Francis block. The school building modifications were made by German-born architect Otto Kleemann, who designed several buildings for the Catholic Archdiocese of Portland. The congregation, under Reverend James H. Black, had outgrown the church building and began fundraising for a new, larger building in 1903. Construction began in 1909 on a grand successor church designed by architect Alfred H. Faber. The new structure, completed in 1911, was built on the north half of the block and became a prominent feature of the eastside skyline, with towers at each corner and massive spires (topped by 450-pound crosses) reaching 112 feet. The old church was used by the school until 1919, when it became structurally unsafe and was demolished.

A windstorm in 1931 damaged the church’s iconic spires, leading to their dismantling. The church remained in use until 1938, when repair costs exceeded the building’s value. A new church on the same foundation was completed by October 1938 and dedicated in November, about six months after the previous structure’s demolition. It was designed by Portland-based architect Francis B. Jacobberger in the strikingly Modernist style he was known for. The design, informed by the Liturgical Movement and advances in construction material, established a more intimate worship space where clergy and congregation were physically and metaphysically closer together. Its interior included stained glass windows, wood carvings from the Tyrol region of Europe, and air conditioning, the cost of which was balanced out by cladding interior walls with inexpensive sheeting material instead of lath and plaster.

In 1945, St. Francis parish purchased the St. Francis School and convent from the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary for $10,000; the order continued to staff the school. Jacobberger’s firm designed a new east wing in 1949 and replaced the roof and renovated the west wing in 1953. In the late 1960s, the parish purchased the parcel south of the church and developed it into a park, which was expanded in 1975. The church itself was in continuous use, and the congregation celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1976 with a special Reunion Mass and open house. In the 1970s, St. Francis hosted meetings of the Portland chapter of Dignity, a group for gay Catholics, and established St. Francis Kitchen, a volunteer organization feeding community members. During the 1970s and 1980s, St. Francis School had the financial capacity and infrastructure for around 100 students, most of whom attended tuition free. The school closed in 1987 due to financial constraints.

In the twenty-first century, the church remains involved with the community, most apparently to support the development of affordable housing. St. Francis Parish sold its park property to facilitate the construction of the St. Francis Park Apartments in 2016, and the rectory and school were demolished and the land donated to make way for Francis + Clare Place, a supportive, affordable apartment complex completed in 2024. In 2026, the church is led by Father George Kuforiji.