St. Mary's

Dear friends,

Picking up where I left off last week, I want to tell you of my visit to Stevensville, MT. I had never heard of the place until I came to St. Andrew. The first person to tell me of the mission of St. Mary was George Bozlee. He recounted to me how he was from that area and the wonderful experience of climbing St. Mary’s peak with the priest who would celebrate Mass at the top. Then Mike Sepal shared with me at a later date some video of that pilgrimage which George took and is now on You Tube.

St. Mary’s in Stevensville is the first church of the Montana Territory, and really the Northwest. Founded in 1841 by Fr. Pierre De Smet S.J., it was there that the first crops were grown and introduced to the native population and from there that the Jesuits began evangelizing the peoples of the Northwest. Situated in the beautiful Bitterroot Valley the scenery is magnificent and while I was there my heart soared surrounded by the beauty.

I had planned to arrive a bit earlier than I did. I had the opportunity to connect with a friend whom I had not seen in some time, Fr. Sean Raftis S.J. He is now assigned to a parish in Townsend, MT (30 mi. east of Helena) the opposite direction of Stevensville. I am glad I did not pass up the opportunity to see him as we had a great visit. That being the case, I arrived in Stevensville in the afternoon after having prayed Midday prayer in Missoula at St. Francis Xavier (another beautiful church) and eating lunch there. Arriving at St. Mary’s I did not know what to expect and when I went up to the church, it was locked. So I went into the office and the very gracious and hospitable ladies offered to give me a tour. So the director of the Mission opened up the church and began to tell me the story of St. Mary’s.

The church is quaint as many of the old missions are. It was designed and built by Fr. Antonio Ravalli S.J. who was assigned to St. Mary’s as it was established. He also carved the statues, made the paint from indigo and pigments in the soil. He built his own house and all the furniture. Not only was he a priest, architect, builder, artist, etc., he was also a pharmacist. As he made the rounds to visit the people he would carry his kit with the Sacraments and his kit with medicines, healing both body and soul. I was amazed and inspired by this remarkable priest of whom Ravalli County is named. I was delighted taking in all this beauty and the wonderful history. Then I saw a painting of Our Lady and a little Indian boy and the guide offered to tell me the story.

She recounted to me how Our Lady has appeared twice in Stevensville. First she appeared to a little girl before the missionaries arrived. Our Lady told the young girl to tell the elders of the Salish tribe to prepare for the arrival of the Black robes (what the natives called the Jesuit missionaries). From there they actually sent four delegations to St. Louis requesting that they send missionaries to the Northwest to evangelize the people. This was finally realized in 1841. Then just a few months after the founding of the mission, as they were preparing for Christmas and to baptize those who were ready on Christmas day, there was a little boy named Paul who could not memorize the prayers which was a requirement to be baptized, likely die to a learning impediment. Then, on Christmas Eve a beautiful lady appeared to little Paul. "He kneeled and begged of the person to teach him his prayers," DeSmet wrote. "Suddenly he felt his mind clear, and his heart warm - (such are the child's own expressions) and he recited the whole of the prayers without difficulty." There is a beautiful painting recounting this event in the church and another painted by Fr. Ravalli which is in Missoula. Our Lady is a great teacher and how wonderful is her attention to the little ones in most need of her help. May she be for us a teacher and guide to know her son and the wonderful life that He has in store for us as she was for little Paul.

Fr. Jack D. Shrum