But the 38-year-old building will be converted for use by fledgling De La Salle North Catholic High School, and that consoles many worshipers.

'It's a sad day, but knowing that the parish is going to be a school is really nice,' says Jim Safranski, who was wed in Queen of Peace and saw five of his seven children baptized in the church's marble font. 'Lots of people who have gone here will see their children and grandkids getting a Catholic education.'

Sunday's congregation, swelled with returnees and old friends, heard from a De La Salle North student who praised them for their sacrifice.

'I thank you for giving De La Salle the chance to grow up as a high school,' said first-year student Kristen Rossman. The granddaughter of longtime Queen of Peace members Richard and Theresa Rossman, Kristen told the congregation that she had been baptized in the parish. She also invited parishioners to come visit often.

The school will remodel the building extensively and use it as an auditorium and performing arts center.

'We come with a mixture of sadness,' Father Dave Gutmann told worshipers, reminding them that Catholics had been gathering for the Eucharist on the city block for 80 years. 'At the same time, we have to come here with a feeling of gratitude because God has blessed us in so many ways.'

Preaching about the Gospel story in which the risen Jesus appears to the frightened disciples, Father Gutmann voiced optimism amid times that seem desolate.

'Our parish here has not been without obstacles,' the priest said. 'God seems to be even more faithful at the times of obstacles than at times of great prosperity.'

The shutdown of the church is the last major move in a consolidation of four North Portland parishes. A decade ago, Catholic officials and area pastors tracked a dwindling population at the churches. Eventually, plans called for closing down three parishes to create one more active community.

In 1998, the consolidation solidified what was being called the North Portland Catholic Community. It became one parish with two churches - Holy Cross and Queen of Peace.

Blessed Sacrament is now home to St. Irene's Byzantine Catholic Church, and the grounds of Assumption Parish became a Catholic assisted-living village. Holy Cross Church, centrally located and home of the surviving parish school, will now be the sole house of worship for the North Portland Catholic Community.

Archbishop John Vlazny visited Queen of Peace April 6 and urged parishioners to see their sacrifice as a move for the common good.

'To accomplish anything great, all these things demand dying, dying to something,' the archbishop said. 'Here in North Portland, you people have experienced a number of deaths in different ways. . . . My prayer is that the prayer life of the young people of De La Salle North Catholic High School will be a sign that God's life continues here in North Portland.'

Archbishop Vlazny said that Jesus would 'lead the North Portland Catholic Community to greener pastures of hope and joy.'

Catholics have worshiped in Kenton since the early 1920s and had a rough go at the start. Father William Hampson persevered in his search for a temporary place to rent for Mass - despite the Ku Klux Klan's attempts to block the leases.

'This community never gave up,' Father Gutmann said Sunday. 'It persisted in faith. It continued to believe that the resurrection was more powerful than any obstacles that could be raised.'

Parishioners such as Jim Safranski are pondering what parish to join now that Queen of Peace is closed. He knows of others who are still undecided but predicts that most will stay as members of the North Portland Catholic Community and attend Holy Cross Church.

Tena Fettig, a member of the parish since 1950, is looking forward to the Mass at Holy Cross, which she likes and which is nearer her home.

Many marking the last day at Queen of Peace praised the choir, which will stay together and lead song at the 10 a.m. Mass at Holy Cross.

'They know the Lord, they love the Lord, and they can't help but sing the good news that they know,' Father Gutmann said in a tribute.

As they sang the last song in the church, many choir members wept.

The Kenton parish was called St. Cecilia's from 1924 until 1965. When the current church was dedicated, the parish name was changed to prevent conflict with St. Cecilia Parish in Beaverton.

Ray Thomas, a member of the parish since 1947, offered the congregation candid memories from St. Cecilia'sñturned Queen of Peace, which he affectionately called a 'rough-neck parish.'

'I had a beef about this red carpet,' Thomas said, to general laughter. He also explained his theory that Queen of Peace Church was placed so it would block school playground balls from flying into neighbors' yards.

Five of Thomas's children graduated from the parish school and his daughter was the first person baptized in the 1965 church.

Thomas recalled Father Arthur Sullivan, who 'preached that generosity came from the heart' and concluded his talk by saying, 'I think we've done a good job here.'

Parishioners donated over the years to build up the parish, especially for construction of the 1965 church, a flat-roofed modernistic building that left some Catholics puzzled.

The project was too costly for the local middle-class families, says Msgr. Frank Campbell, who became pastor of Queen of Peace later, in the mid 1970s. There wasn't money left for a parish hall.

Father Campbell gets credit from longtime parishioners for retiring the debt and building the parish hall, which was dug out beneath the church.

'The people came together like you wouldn't believe over building that community space,' Msgr. Campbell says.

At the reception after the final Mass, Bill Loso leaned on a wall and talked with old friends. For 20 years, he was chief of maintenance at Queen of Peace. Among thousands of projects, he carved distinctive wooden directional signs that guide visitors to the parish hall, restrooms and offices. 'It's a pretty sad situation,' Loso said. 'You see the people rubbing their eyes. But you know, Holy Cross is a nice community, a nice church.'

At the reception, youngsters raced around one side of the parish hall, playing tag. At Holy Cross, one parent joked, the children will need to look out for the metal support poles in the hall.

Earlier this year, parishioners anticipating the move heard from a young mother with deep roots in the community. Anna Kerns, who plays guitar in the choir, spoke to the congregation. Her grandfather helped build the older parish church that was called St. Cecilia's.

Kerns said that she is sad about the move, but heartened that the choir and the worshipers will be the same.

'Different building, same family,' she summed it up. 'In my circular history at these North Portland parishes, I've learned that as beautiful and inspirational as a church may be, it's not the building that makes it a worship community; it's the people.'

Some of the statues and other items from Queen of Peace Church will be used to create a Marian prayer garden outside Holy Cross Church. Parishioners are signing up to donate trees and shrubs for the project.

On May 4, the 10 a.m. parish Mass will take place at Holy Cross for the first time. Parishioners from all Masses will be invited to a breakfast that day. Standing in the Holy Cross sanctuary, to symbolize what unites the groups, will be the wooden figure of the risen Christ that was carried out of Queen of Peace amid tears.