Cataldo Mission story

Historic mission is worth a visit

High on a grassy knoll above Interstate 90, 24 miles east of Coeur d’Alene, the Cataldo Mis­sion church is situated elegantly above a leafy forest. For years, as I traveled to and from Seat­tle, I passed by the Cataldo Mis­sion with little more than a glance. But finally, “The House of the Great Spirit,” as the Coeur d’Alene Indians called it, lured me in.
After you take Exit 39 and wind through the woodsy land­scape, you can almost feel the pull of the past along the trails in Old Mission State Park. The visitors center offers an orienta­tion video.
Connecting Fort Benton on the Missouri River with Fort Walla Walla on the Columbia, the Mullan Road passed in front of the mission, which became an impor­tant stop for traders, settlers and miners. It was a port for boats head­ing up the Coeur d’Alene River.
What stands today dates back to the 1850s, when the tribe put a call out to St. Louis and the “blackrobes,” the Jesuits, to establish a mission in the rugged wilderness.
The beloved Father Antonio Ravalli, who built St. Mary’s Mission near Stevensville, answered the call to work with the Coeur d’Alenes.
Safe from flooding, the hill above the Coeur d’Alene River, long a holy place to the Coeur d’alene Indians, was chosen as the site for the church.
David Leeds, park interpreter and history buff, shared infor­mation about the Old Mission.
“Many generations of Indians came here to offer prayers for successful journeys,” he said.
Father Ravalli and the Native Americans worked for nearly six years to construct a magnifi­cent church 90 feet long and 40 feet wide. Built in the Roman Doric style, it mirrors architec­ture Ravalli studied in his native Italy. The facade remains a tes­tament to his skill.
Inside the church looms a carved ceiling colored with huckleberry juice, the stain being the closest they could get to the heavenly blue they were aiming for. The workers had only meager tools, using an ax but no saw. Even so, they were able to craft wood­en statues and fur­niture, and painted pictures. Ravalli carved with his pocket knife and plucked tail hairs from his cat which he used for his paint brushes.
Visitors can see into the building’s walls in side rooms and see the original wattle and daub, using river grass and clay. Timber beams are held by hand-carved pegs.
There is a credence table, hand-hewn urns and exquisite small chandeliers cut from used tin cans. When newspapers became available, they were glued to the walls and painted to resemble wallpaper.
Just over the doorway hangs a framed painting of the Sacred Heart done by Ravalli.
In 1877, the mission was left outside reservation boundaries and the Coeur d’Alene Indians were relocated. Another priest, Father Cataldo, took over the mission which eventually became Cataldo Mission.
In 1961, the mission was des­ignated a National Historic Landmark.



PHOTO COURTESY POLLY KOLSTAD
The Cataldo Mission in Idaho.


On the Road
— Polly Kolstad