Missoula, MT
We drove from Polson to Missoula today and took a tiny detour.
We stopped at the St. Ignatius Mission in St. Ignatius, Montana.
For me it was a bit of deja vu for two reasons. First, I went to a Roman Catholic school called St. Ignatius for first and second grades. Second, my parents took us to multiple missions on vacations throughout our childhood.
All missions are beautiful for their own unique reasons, and St. Ignatius was no exception. The subtle colors of the mural paintings convey a peacefulness and sense of welcome.
It was completed in 1891. The Salish Indians had invited the Jesuits to their area and helped in building the church. They hand made the over 1,000,000 bricks used in building the church with local clay and straw.
The murals on the ceilings and walls were painted by an Italian Jesuit brother who had had no formal training. The Salish Indians believed that he was inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The church is still used for Sunday Mass at 9:30 a.m.
As a kid, I always loved sitting in the choir loft during Mass because I didn’t have to sit as still as if we were in a pew and it was easier to look at all the people.
The ever-feared confessional. Those curtains didn’t muffle much of the sound, so we spoke as low as possible. Not a problem unless the priest was hard of hearing. Then we had to raise our voices so that nearly everyone in the church could hear our sins. 
This is part of the old grinding stone and mill that was used to grind the wheat for the missionaries. 
These are headstones from some of the earliest priests, brothers, and sisters. It was interesting to read the various ages at death. Sister Mary Columba was 79 while Sister Blanche Lea was only 26.
This is the original house for the priests and brothers.
The pulpit had an interesting sea-shell shaped dome over it with a picture of a dove. I have never seen anything like that in a church before.
This was the original house for the sisters.
The mission was very beautiful and peaceful, and I’m glad we stopped for a visit.