st. ann cathedral

The church reminds you of a church in Europe. It is beautiful and a wonderful place to worship. Father Oliver is from Ireland and he brings a high level of professionalism to his sermon. He has a sense of humor which he shares and a sermon that is easy to follow.

We visited St Ann's to attend Saturday night mass. It was very convenient to our hotel, the La Quinta. We didn't expect to be treated to such a display of modern art. The church is very large, and the view from the street, the unremarkable entrance and large parking lot across the street are not much to write home about. From the entrance on into the church, the architecture, large scale sculptural artwork, stained glass windows, and museum lighting create an ethereal setting. It was cool on a very hot Butte summer day. Amazingly, the pastor came to greet us before mass, picking us out of many attendees as faces he did not recognize. He made us welcome then sought us out after mass to share stories of visiting and serving briefly in our own part of Montana. Our entire visit to Butte was better for having rest and welcome at St. Ann's.

Great Falls was a robust frontier town of 3,900 souls in 1889, just six years after its founding, when three Catholic businessmen went in on a $3,000 loan to build the modest Chapel of St. Ann on the town's lower north side. It took just 17 years for the small chapel, named after the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to be deemed inadequate for the town's growing Catholic population. So, in April, 1906, the cornerstone was laid for the stunning English Gothic cathedral you see today standing just yards from the former site of chapel.Built of hewn-sandstone hauled to Great Falls from quarries near Stockett (about 15 miles to the east), it cost $60,000 when built and featured beautiful old-world craftsmanship in its stonework as well as the stained-glass windows which contain some of the finest glasswork in the U.S.The entire structure was designed and built, both internally and externally, in thirteenth century Gothic Revival style and it is now among the oldest true cathedrals in the Northwest. In 2003 a $2.1 million major restoration was undertaken with the goal of restoring the church to its neo-gothic splendor, including uncovering three large stained-glass windows above the altar which had been concealed during a remodeling project during the 1950's.Altogether, there are now 21 restored and repaired stained-glass windows, first designed and installed by Mundt Studios of Chicago, within the cathedral.One hundred and eight years later, this gorgeous cathedral, called the finest stone building in Montana, remains a vital part of the history of this city as well as a stunning downtown landmark.

This cathedral was restored in the past 10 to 15 years, and very nicely done. Instead of a moderninzing "wreckovation" of the interior, the designer kept much of what was pleasing from 100 years ago and improved on it. The organ is a magnificent instrument and the windows are a beautiful and unusual example of late Victorian glass art. Go to Mass at St. Ann Cathedral.