The Parish of the Holy Eucharist launched a $400,000 “Fulfillment of a Dream” campaign to fund the construction of a narthex at St. Gregory the Great Church in Gray. The project will be named in honor of the Rev. Jim Morrison, who served as pastor in the mid-1980s and had a significant impact on the parish and beyond.

Parishioners have already raised $200,000 during the silent phase of the campaign. There are plans to break ground on the 788-square-foot addition to the front of the church in the spring of 2025. The Fr. Jim Morrison Memorial Narthex will include a gathering area, two ADA-compliant private bathrooms, an expanded sacristy, a soundproof confessional, a bell tower visible from the main road, and more.

“I am grateful for those who have given so generously thus far to this project to create a space that will help our parish families, support our continued growth as a parish, and reflect our values of accessibility for everyone,” said Steven Cartwright, pastor of Parish of the Holy Eucharist. “Father Jim left a tremendous legacy, and it is fitting that we will name this narthex in his honor.”

The history of the site dates back nearly 100 years when St. Gregory, a Catholic camp for boys, was founded in 1925 and Mass was offered in the recreation hall in the summers. Over time, the site evolved with a chapel built in 1959 and St. Gregory the Great established as a parish in 1967. By 1977, the parish purchased the entire campground following the camp operations closing in 1973.

A native of Portland, Morrison attended Cheverus High School and studied philosophy and theology at St. Paul’s Seminary in Ottawa, Canada. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Portland on May 11, 1974, at St. Joseph’s Church in Portland and then earned a Master of Church Administration from the School of Canon Law of The Catholic University of America in 1979. During his years of full-time ministry in Maine, he also served many assignments in addition to his role as pastor at St. Gregory the Great, including in Old Orchard Beach, Old Town, York, Scarborough, Norway and more. He also held administrative roles in the diocese.

Despite declining health, Morrison continued his pastoral and sacramental ministry at St. Joseph Rehabilitation and Residence in Portland where he lived in retirement. He died in 2013 at the age of 67 at Mercy Hospital and is buried at Calvary Cemetery in South Portland.

To learn more about the project, go to pothe.org/narthex.