First Mass

December 2, 1842

Photos

Documentation

• Idaho State Historical Society Reference Series - Coeur d'Alene Mission

Notes

Fr. Pierre-Jean De Smet, SJ first visited and baptized Coeur d'Alene people in summer 1842 while returning from the Willamette Valley to Montana, and promised to send resident missionaries. Fr. Nicolas Point, SJ arrived and lived with a Coeur d'Alene band from November 4, 1842, based the mission at their winter camp on the north shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene where the Spokane River flows out of the lake, and conducted the first Catholic services/Mass there on December 2, 1842. The mission moved to the St. Joe River in spring 1843, then to its well-known permanent site at Cataldo in 1846 (the Sacred Heart/Cataldo Mission church built 1850-53 is the oldest standing building in Idaho, a National Historic Landmark). Note the Idaho link says "The Catholic mission to Idaho's Coeur d'Alene Indians began with services that Jesuit Father Nicolas Point conducted on December 2, 1842, on the north shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene" judgment call on whether 'services' = mass but I've allowed it. CW Also note: Jesuit Archive has sketches from Fr Point's time in northern Idaho. https://jesuitarchives.org/nicolas-point-gallery/