Under the brick steeple of St. Stanislaus Kostka Mission in Rathdrum, Idaho, parishioners gathered over the weekend to mark 125 years of Jesuit service in the region. The celebration also carried a weekly milestone. The mission said it was the 6,500th week in a row that people have come together there for prayer, hymns, and worship.
The small church is a big landmark for the built environment in North Idaho. It is recognized as the oldest brick church in the state. Bishop Peter Christensen of the Diocese of Boise told the congregation that, standing inside the brick walls, he thought about the generations who have passed through the doors for baptisms, first Communion, and confession.
Many pieces of the original building remain part of daily use. Christensen noted stained glass windows that cost $40 each when the church opened, along with pews made from local pine, like the rest of the interior woodwork. Church records say early settlers finished laying the maroon blocks, made from local materials, and held the first service in 1901.
Artwork inside the church also links back to its opening year. Jesuit artist Brother Joseph Carignano painted a mural of Mary of Bethlehem presenting the infant Jesus to a kneeling St. Stanislaus, and it still hangs above the altar. The mural, donated by Gonzaga University more than a century ago, was restored in 2014.
Christensen also traced the mission’s roots to the Rev. Thomas Purcell, who designed the altar and vowed to build a church dedicated to St. Stanislaus if he recovered from epilepsy. Purcell later came to Spokane, met Jesuit missionary Joseph Cataldo, the founder of Gonzaga University, and followed through by building the Rathdrum church. Parishioners at the anniversary service said the building has stayed in good condition, even as the parish itself has welcomed new members and leaders.
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