Special Places To Visit: St. Ignatius Mission Montana

   While traveling up Highway 93 toward Glacier National Park, Cathy and I decided to stop and see the mission at St. Ignatius Montana.  My Dad told me about this place and said I really need to stop and see it as he said words could not even come close to describing it.  Well he was completely right.  Cathy and I were awed by the paintings, better yet frescoes, that were created.

From their web site:

   The Mission in St. Ignatius consists of four buildings: the 1891 church, the original 1854 log church and residence, the 1864 Providence Sister’s residence, and the 1960 Rectory. The most predominant of the buildings is the church itself.  Construction began in 1891 and took two years to complete.  All materials were sourced locally with the bricks made from local clay and trees milled on site.  The interior of the church contains fifty-eight murals painted over a fourteen-month period in 1904-5.  The artist was a Jesuit Brother who served as the Mission cook.  Brother Carignano, SJ, (1853-1919), with no professional training in art, completed the paintings between his regular duties as the Mission cook and handyman.  The paintings depict scenes from Hebrew Scriptures, the New Testament, and the lives of the saints.  The triptych behind the main altar show the three visions of St. Ignatius of Loyola for whom the Mission (and town) are named.   

  I could not believe the beautiful paintings could be created by a person with no painting experience.  The Lord does work in mysterious was for sure.  The perspectives and the pictures were just unbelievable.  How he ever got the shapes correct while painting on the ceiling, I will never know.  Viewing the paintings from the ground they looked perfect, even on curved walls.  How could a person get the perspectives right while being on their back up near the ceiling?  Amazing.  I very  highly recommend stopping and seeing this mission, even if you have to make a detour off I-90 to do it.