In 1912, the Rev. James P. O'Flynn succeeded Father Daum as pastor. In the same year, two additional lots were purchased to give the parish a complete block.

The old factory building continued to serve as a church until 1913 when, under the supervision of Father O'Flynn, a combination chapel and school was built. It was dedicated to St. Cecilia by Monsignor Rauw in June, 1913. The church seated about 75 people. Two rooms on the upper level served as the school. The basement was the social hall and center for parish activities.

The bell which called the faithful to worship was donated to the parish by the Reghitto family, grandparents of Mrs. Annunciata Merlo. In 1924, this bell was tolled 105 times for the funeral of John O'Brien, one of the founders of the Catholic community in the area.

St. Anthony's School in Cedar Mill had burned in 1906 and it was seven years later, in September, 1913, before the school of the new parish in Beaverton opened under the direction of Sister M. Regis and Sister Miriam of Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon.

The sisters traveled back and forth each day by horse and cart or, in later years, by electric train. Other teachers in the next few years included Sisters Constance, Boniface, Consolata, Clotildus, Eulalia, Andre, Juletta, Banigna, Luella, Baptista, and Aquainas.

Though mass continued to be said at St. Anthony's in Cedar Mill until 1917, attendance began to fall off as many parishioners began attending Mass in Beaverton. Those who lived near one of the electric car lines which ran through the area, preferred to ride the trains to Beaverton instead of braving the bad roads, particularly during the rainy season.

Fire, the nemesis of early settlers everywhere, that had dealt so cruelly with St. Anthony's, struck again. In 1915, fire destroyed the house which served as the priest's residence in Cedar Mill. Practically nothing was saved.

A new and larger parish house was built adjacent to the church in Beaverton to replace the home destroyed in the fire. It housed several priests who served the parish which, at that time, in addition to St. Cecilia's, included a church at Cooper Mountain - Sts. Peter and Paul Mission Church, established in 1902 - St. Anthony's in Cedar Mill, and St. Matthew's in Hillsboro.

That parish house still stands, a part of the Sunshine Gallery at the intersection of Canyon Road and Hall Boulevard in Beaverton.

After the parish in Beaverton had been well established, Mass was said only on the last Sunday of the month in St. Anthony's in Cedar Mill. The last funeral Mass was said in 1916 for John O'Meara, father of the O'Meara family.

Another of the O'Mearas was not so fortunate, however. At the time he died, the parishioners of St. Anthony's had been ex-communicated. It came about through a dispute between the archbishop and the sisters who had taught at St. Anthony's school. When the arch- bishop directed the people of the area to refuse food to the sisters, the people disobeyed that edict and when they arrived at the church one Sunday, they found a priest who stood in front of the locked door of the church and read the ex- communication message from the archbishop.

When Dennis O'Meara died, there was no funeral Mass. Instead, the sisters prayed over the coffin. However, peace was restored soon between the archbishop and the sisters and the ex- communication was lifted from the parishioners.

The last Mass was said in 1917 at St. Anthony's and the church was abandoned to birds and little boys until 1922 when it was torn down. The lumber was hauled to Beaverton where part of it was used to floor the basement of St. Cecilia's church-school building.

In 1917, the Rev. F. J. Kettenhofen was assigned as pastor in Beaverton. His work was cut short when he contracted influenza in the epidemic which claimed a half-million victims in the United States. After a three-day illness, he died on Jan. 8, 1919, one of many in the area who succumbed to the illness.

The Rev. L. A. LeMiller served as interim pastor until the appointment of the Rev. Joseph O'Neill to the Beaverton parish.

Father O'Neill served as pastor of St. Cecilia's until his death in 1935. He saw the parish through the good times of the Twenties and into the hard times of the Great Depression, the days when he worked hard to help families in his flock find enough to keep body and soul together.

The contrast between the St. Cecilia's of that time and the St. Cecilia's of today is noted in a schedule of 1928 services.

In 1928, Sunday Masses were said at 7:40 and 10 a.m. Sunday catechism was at 9:20 a.m. and weekday Mass was scheduled at 8:20 a.m. May devotions were held at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, and confessions were heard on Saturday from 3:30 to 4:30 and from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Current St. Cecilia Church Built