Our Lady Star of the Sea

Our Lady Star of the Sea began with the earliest settlers celebrating Mass in their homes with missionary priests from Immaculate Conception Church in Seattle. With the development of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in the 1890’s, the population exploded, and it became apparent that Bremerton needed its own parish. In 1901, the first church was built at the corner of Fifth and Washington. Bishop Edward J. O’Dea blessed the church and welcomed the new parish.

 

In 1921, a combined church and school was built on the corner of Sixth and Veneta. The church occupied the upper level, and the school was the lower floor. Three sisters from St. Dominic’s Convent in Edmonds arrived in 1926 to run the school, and the parish built a convent for the sisters. The three-story house on the corner of Fourth and Veneta was purchased and became the Parish Rectory.

 

During World War II, the population of Bremerton boomed, and the 1500 parish families crowded into the upper level. It was apparent that building a bigger church could no longer be delayed. The current church on Fifth and Veneta was finished in 1953.

 

During the late 1970’s, a multi-purpose facility was planned. The building housed the gymnasium, religious education offices, library and meeting rooms. In 1992, the school was deemed structurally unsound, so the school moved into the multipurpose facility for the next five years. The religious education offices and library moved to the rectory.

 

The parish raised $2.8 million to build a new 24,000 square foot school. The school now has spacious classrooms, administrative areas and community meeting rooms. In June 1997, Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy came to dedicate the first new school to be built in the Archdiocese of Seattle in thirty two years. The first school year was 1997-98. The multi-purpose building (now called the Parish Center) was renewed and returned to its original purpose until it was expanded in 2020 to house the new offices.

 

In 2004, Camerman Hall (located beneath the church), was completely remodeled and the kitchen enhanced. In 2007 the Church’s stained glass windows were repaired and cleaned and the western quarter of the tile roof was repaired due to leakage. The last major change to the church occurred in 2008, when the interior underwent a major restoration, returning it to its original Romanesque design. The sanctuary and vestibule were expanded, stained glass windows separating the vestibule from the main body of the church were installed, and the sound system was updated.

 

In 2017 the Parish welcomed the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville to our School and we currently have four sisters teaching in the school.

 

Holy Trinity

In January, 1964, Holy Trinity Parish was established to serve the needs of a fast-growing Roman Catholic community in East Bremerton. The first mass was celebrated on February 2nd of that year in the Sheridan Park Gymnasium. The faith community gathered together for four years for the weekly celebration of the Eucharist until 1968 when the parish church and facilities were completed. There were approximately 600 registered families in the parish at that time.

​

The eleven-acre property was selected and purchased due to the acumen and foresight of Monsignor Joseph Camerman, pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, our mother parish, in 1961 to bring to reality the vision of Archbishop Thomas Connolly to develop and open a new parish for the area. The estimated cost of the buildings was $500,000 and a building campaign was begun to raise $160,000 of that amount. Due to the hard work, many personal sacrifices and fundraising efforts of our charter parishioners the goal was not only met but surpassed. The collection of campaign pledges and the finalization of building plans culminated in the groundbreaking ceremonies on August 20, 1967. This significant event in the life of the new community was made even more memorable when Monsignor Camerman presented Holy Trinity with a check for $100,000. This generous, unexpected and magnanimous gift from our mother parish enabled all the church buildings at Holy Trinity to be built at one time instead of in three stages, as originally planned.

​

Parishioners readied a five-room house and business office for Fr. Kames Knelleken, the first pastor and in April and May of 1964 work parties constructed a small chapel for sacramental celebrations to include daily Eucharist, the Sacrament of Reconciliation and baptisms. The present-day scout hall - Voltin Hall - was that chapel.

​

Fr. Edward Boyle was named as the second pastor of Holy Trinity in June of 1968. On Trinity Sunday, June 9th, the facilities were complete enough for the celebration of three Sunday masses. The joyous and long anticipated formal dedication of the church, with Archbishop Connolly presiding, took place on August 25, 1968. 

​

Fr. Joseph Erny became the third pastor of Holy Trinity in 1976. Under his leadership, the scope of parish ministry and spiritual care of the community was broadened by his choice to hire our first deacon. In the summer of 1989, Holy Trinity commemorated its 25th anniversary with an all-parish mass and celebration in the Kitsap Pavilion, a memorable event. Shortly thereafter, Fr. Erny completed his last project as pastor by accomplishing a renovation and expansion of the parish office and the completion of a new weekday chapel to accommodate our growing community. 

​

Fr. Jack Buckalew became the fourth pastor of Holy Trinity in July of 1990. In June of 1992, the momentous occasion of the retiring of the parish debt was celebrated with much joy and fanfare with an all-parish liturgy, social gathering and the ceremonial “burning of the mortgage.” Two years later our parishioners once again rose to the challenge of fundraising and making pledges to support the replacement of the roofs on all parish buildings and to initiate necessary repairs and upgrading of parish facilities. Monies in excess of $550,000 were pledged and the six-year fundraising effort was successfully completed in 1999.

​

In the Fall of 2007, our parish launched a three-year Capital Stewardship Campaign entitled, “It’s Our Community, Our Future” to raise the $1.2 million that would be required for a new Ministry Center. Once again, the members of our parish family were asked to step out in faith and to focus on what God would accomplish through them as they responded to the challenge placed before them.

​

The new (2010) Ministry Center is spacious, light and airy, a wonderful place in which our staff and volunteer disciples can work and our parishioners and members of the wider community can come to be served and ministered to in the Lord’s name. 

In 2018 the Church entered a time of renovation. The extensive renovation was complete in the midst of COVID in 2021 and was Re-dedicated in 2022.

​

Also in 2021, Fr. Dwight Lewis was assigned as Parish Priest until receiving a new assignment at St. Charles Borromeo in Tacoma.

​

July 2022, Fr. Ben Bray was assigned to Holy Trinity. During this time the Church saw an increase in the number of parishioners.

In 2023 Holy Trinity rented the Education Wing to the Aquinas Classical Academy.

​

2021 began the Partners in the Gospel initiative by Archbishop Paul Etienne. "Partners" is the process of forming Parish Families. In the Spring of 2022, the Bremerton Family was announced; Our family would consist of Holy Trinity and Our Lady Star of the Sea. In July of 2024 Archbishop Etienne named Fr. Derek Lappe as Pastor of our new Bremerton Catholic Family with Fr. Joshua Nehnevaj as Vicar.