The parishioners of Our Lady of the Lakes Parish would like to extend an invitation to all to join them for the first Mass of the 2022 season at their historic church in Oquossoc. Mass will take place on Sunday, May 29th at 7:30 AM. The church is located at 39 Rangeley Avenue in Oquossoc.

Our Lady of the Lakes Church owes it’s beginnings to a famous outsdoors woman named Cornelia “Flyrod” Crosby. Crosby was very well-known in the State of Maine and was a key figure in promoting the state, and Rangeley in particular, as a destination for hunting and fishing. She wrote a syndicated column about hunting and fishing that appeared in newspapers around the country.

The pastor of Our Lady of the Lakes Parish, Rev. Anthony Kuzia, said that Cornelia Crosby was a convert to the Catholic faith. “Because there was not a Catholic Church in Rangeley, Flyrod approached the Bishop of Portland about building one. Bishop O’Connell sent a letter dated July 23, 1906 giving her permission to build a chapel. Cornelia raised the funds and, using land given to her by the Portland and Rumford Railroad, she oversaw the construction of the Chapel. The first Mass was celebrated here on August 30, 1908.”

“What makes this year’s seasonal opening so special,” Father Kuzia said, “is the restoration work that has been done to the exterior of the building.” The work includes extensive repairs to the foundation and new stain and paint. The stairs at the entries have also been restored to resemble the original ones from 1908.

Masses will take place at the Church on Friday mornings at 9:00 AM and Sunday mornings at 7:30 AM until it closes for the season on the second weekend of October.

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