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A photograph of Fr. Luke Sheehan OFM Cap., Fr. Cassian O’Shea OFM Cap., and Fr. Leo Sheehan OFM Cap. in Rome in 1925.

A postcard print of divine service in rural Somalia. A manuscript annotation on the right of the card records that ‘the priest saying Mass is Fr. Luke [Sheehan], an Irish Capuchin’. The postcard (no. 17) was part of a series published by the Catholic Mission of Somaliland.

List of Irish Capuchin friars resident in Bend Oregon in 1928 and in 1931.

Letter from Fr. Joseph Fenelon OFM Cap. to Fr. Peter Bowe OFM Cap., Provincial Minister, reporting on several administrative and community matters within the mission. Father Fenelon describes visiting ‘the whole ground with Luke’ to discuss plans for a new school and community house in Bend, Oregon. He relates that Fr. Albert’s health is deteriorating. He has undergone a second operation at Santa Barbara hospital, where a significant amount of water was removed from him. While he showed brief improvement, he is now reported as ‘somewhat weaker’ and is not expected to live much longer. He also notes that Fr. Dominic O’Connor OFM Cap. wishes to remain in Santa Barbara with Fr. Albert but Father Fenelon suggests that would not serve him well and that he should go back to Santa Inés and see Fr. Albert ‘now and again’. Fathers Raphael, Leo, and Brendan are mentioned as requesting to go home for the summer.

Letter from Fr. Joseph Fenelon OFM Cap. to Fr. Edwin Fitzgibbon OFM Cap. reporting on administrative and clerical updates in the American mission. Reference is made to ongoing efforts to secure an interview with Bishop Fitzmaurice regarding the Wilmington Diocese, and there is continued discussion about taking over the St. Francis of Assisi parish in Los Angeles. Several friars (Fathers Mark, Thomas, and Basil) are scheduled to depart for Ireland on 9 June aboard the S.S. ‘Adriatic’. Father Fenelon also acknowledges the appointment of Fr. Luke Sheehan OFM Cap. as Provincial Superior in the United States until a permanent successor is chosen.

Letter from Fr. Joseph Fenelon OFM Cap. to Fr. Edwin Fitzgibbon OFM Cap., Provincial Minister, referring to the aftermath of the sudden death of Fr. Dominic O’Connor OFM Cap. and the resulting administrative reshuffling of the Oregon mission. Father Fenelon plans to drive back to Bend with Fr. Ephrem for the funeral on Wednesday. He also mentions a concern regarding potential trouble with the ‘Republican Brotherhood’ during the funeral, promising to update the Provincial after the burial. He recommends leaving Fr. Finnian with Fr. Luke, returning to the arrangement they had during Fr. Leo’s previous illness.

A chronological record of the Catholic Mission in Bend, Oregon, tracking its development from 1904 through the early 1920s. The narrative chronicles the early circuit priests and the 1910 arrival of the Irish Capuchin friars, led by Father Luke Sheehan, who initially ministered to a tiny congregation of just 72 Catholics. Despite a devastating 1911 fire that destroyed their original schoolhouse chapel, the parish expanded rapidly alongside Bend’s industrial logging boom fuelled by the Brooks-Scanlon and Shevlin-Hixon lumber mills. Over the next decade, the mission successfully incorporated the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, partnered with the Sisters of St. Joseph to found St. Charles Hospital in 1917, constructed a large new church in 1920, and grew its community to a census population of 610 Catholics.

A financial document from Roseburg, Oregon, detailing the repayment and management of a significant parish debt. It begins by listing an initial ‘Debt when taken over’ of $10,602.26, which is broken down into an ‘Irish Loan’ valued at £1,500.0.0, along with interest and principal payments made back to Ireland. To cover a total of $7,528.26 sent to Ireland, funds were sourced from Abbottstown ($4,375.00), an Extension society ($2,046.00), Father Luke Sheehan ($300.00), and the parish itself ($807.26). The bottom half of the page details a total of $12,762.83 in ‘Debts paid off’, which includes street assessments and sidewalks ($6,359.13), bank notes from Albany Bank and Douglas National Bank, personal notes to W. Kelleher and M. Marsh, and payments to Glendale Lumber Co. and Leona Lumber Co.

Letter from Fr. Casimir Butler OFM Cap. to Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap. providing a personal and detailed historical account of the early Capuchin Franciscan missions in Oregon and California. Describing himself as an ‘old timer’, Father Casimir responds to a request for information regarding the order's history. He chronicles the physical and financial hardships of the early days, noting that when the friars arrived, they had no money, lived on very little, and relied heavily on the charity of local communities. He recounts specific historical milestones, including their initial work among Native American populations, early ministry efforts in towns like Hermiston (Oregon), and the eventual expansion of the order’s presence into northern California. The letter also addresses internal administrative challenges, such as the difficulty of obtaining steady financial support, securing reliable transportation to remote mission stations, and managing the severe shortage of priests to cover the massive territorial boundaries of the Western missions. He describes the mission at Santa Inés as being in a state of severe neglect and near-collapse when the friars first arrived, noting that it required monumental physical labour to clean, repair, and make habitable.

Letter from Fr. Joseph Fenelon OFM Cap. to Fr. Edwin Fitzgibbon OFM Cap., Provincial Minister, about which friars in the Western United States mission wish to return home to Ireland in 1932.
Friars Requesting Return:
Fr. Sebastian: Notable for having been away from home for 30 years.
Fr. Reginald, Fr. Leo, Fr. Ambrose, Fr. Sylvan: All last visited Ireland in 1925.
Fr. Pacificus: Last home in 1923.
Fr. Enda: Last home in 1926.
Bro. Didacus and Bro. Conrad: Both will have been away for six years by this summer.
Bro. Brendan: Last home in 1926.
Father Fenlon notes that Fr. Luke Sheehan has not yet decided if he will return this year.