“I celebrate mass in this lonely spot, in the open air, in the presence of a numerous band of Kalispels, who looked up to me, under God, for their temporal and spiritual welfare in this new home.”
Father Adrian Hoecken in a letter to Pierre Jean de Smet, 1855.
Following on the heels of fur traders, Roman Catholic priests Adrian Hoecken and Pierre Jean de Smet built St. Ignatius Mission near Albeni Falls in 1844 to serve the Indians of the Pend Oreille River valley. Father de Smet relocated the mission in 1845 to avoid the spring floods of the original site. Standing Grizzly (also known as Loyola), chief of a band of Kalispels, embraced Catholicism but, subsequent to the chief’s death, the mission faced difficult times. The winters of 1846 and 1848 proved severe, and the mission found itself depleted of food as well as Indian converts. After a decade, the mission was abandoned. Nonetheless, Catholicism continued to be a significant part of Kalispel culture, and priests from surrounding missions often spoke out on behalf of the Kalispel.
