About Holy Angels · Coulee City, Washington
Holy Angels is a small Catholic mission chapel in the rural town of Coulee City, Washington, in Grant County's Columbia Basin. It is part of the Diocese of Yakima and is administered as a cluster mission together with neighboring parishes. The faithful of Holy Angels gather for Sunday Mass at 2:00 p.m., and on the last Sunday of each month they join St. Henry Parish in nearby Grand Coulee for the 11:00 a.m. Mass. The mission is currently served by Rev. Cesar Izquierdo, who also pastors St. Rose of Lima in Ephrata, St. Joseph in Waterville, and St. Henry in Grand Coulee.
- Patron
- Holy Angels
- Rector
- Rev. Cesar Izquierdo
- Diocese
- Diocese of Yakima
Why belong here
Holy Angels is a small but faithful Catholic community in the dry-land farming country of Washington's upper Columbia Basin, where Sunday Mass at 2:00 p.m. brings together the Catholic families of Coulee City and the surrounding farms. The mission is part of a tight-knit pastoral cluster with St. Henry in Grand Coulee, St. Joseph in Waterville, and St. Rose of Lima in Ephrata, so parishioners are never far from another Mass or confession, and on the last Sunday of the month the community gathers together at St. Henry's 11:00 a.m. Mass. It is a place where the small-town rhythms of rural eastern Washington shape a deeply communal Catholic life.
Mass times at Holy Angels
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 1:30 p.m. (or by appointment)
About Holy Angels Mission
Holy Angels Mission is the Catholic mission chapel serving the small town of Coulee City (population about 549) in Grant County, Washington. It sits on the corner of McEntee Street and Douglas Street and is part of the Diocese of Yakima. Because the mission is administered from St. Henry Parish in Grand Coulee, its official mailing address uses a Grand Coulee P.O. box, even though the chapel itself is in Coulee City.
- Type: Mission (not an independent parish)
- Diocese: Diocese of Yakima
- Address: McEntee St & Douglas Street, Coulee City, WA 99115
- Mailing: P.O. Box 'P', Grand Coulee, WA 99133
- Phone: 509-745-8205
- Cluster parishes: St. Henry (Grand Coulee), St. Joseph (Waterville), St. Rose of Lima (Ephrata)
Pastoral Leadership
Holy Angels is currently served by Rev. Cesar Izquierdo, who is pastor of four parishes and missions across the upper Columbia Basin. Because the cluster covers a wide geographic area, the pastor travels between Coulee City, Grand Coulee, Waterville, and Ephrata to celebrate Mass and bring the sacraments to each community.
- Rev. Cesar Izquierdo — Pastor (St. Rose of Lima, Ephrata; St. Joseph, Waterville; St. Henry, Grand Coulee; Holy Angels Mission, Coulee City) — Tel: 509-633-1180
History of Catholic Life in the Big Bend
Catholic presence in the Big Bend region around Coulee City, Hartline, Grand Coulee, and Wilbur dates back to the early twentieth century. Before Grand Coulee Dam transformed the area, priests traveled in from the Okanogan or from Wilbur to celebrate Mass in homes and schoolhouses scattered across the wheatlands and coulees. The mission churches that grew up in these small farming communities — including Holy Angels in Coulee City — became the spiritual homes of Catholic families who had settled in this dry, open country. When the Diocese of Yakima was erected by Pope Pius XII on July 18, 1951, the Big Bend missions were transferred from the Diocese of Spokane to the new diocese. Holy Angels has been served since then by successive priests assigned to the Grand Coulee / Hartline / Waterville pastoral cluster. Earlier diocesan directories listed Holy Angels as 'a Mission of St. Patrick Parish, Hartline'; today the mission is administered from St. Henry Parish in Grand Coulee.
- 1934 — Fr. Anthony Farrelly, pastor of Sacred Heart, Wilbur, begins driving to the Big Bend to celebrate Mass for scattered Catholic families.
- 1951 — Diocese of Yakima created; Grant, Douglas, and Benton counties transferred from Spokane.
- c. 2000 — Fr. Robert P. Himes assigned as pastor (still listed in 2017 directory).
- September 1, 2019 — Fr. Teodulo Taneo assigned as pastor of the cluster (listed in 2020 directory).
- Present — Fr. Cesar Izquierdo serves as pastor of the cluster including Holy Angels.
Parish Identity and Patron
The mission is named for the Holy Angels — the patron whose protection is especially cherished in rural Catholic communities. In the universal Roman calendar, the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels is celebrated on October 2. Because the chapel is so small, the patron is more a quiet devotion than a public spectacle, but it shapes the prayer life of a handful of families who call this stretch of the Columbia Basin home.
- Patron: Holy Angels
- Traditional feast day: October 2 (Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels)
Contact and Visiting
Because Holy Angels is a mission administered from St. Henry Parish in Grand Coulee, most pastoral and administrative contact is handled through the cluster phone line. Visitors are welcome at the Sunday 2:00 p.m. Mass; those planning to come for confession or other sacraments are encouraged to call ahead.
- Chapel address: McEntee St & Douglas Street, Coulee City, WA 99115
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 'P', Grand Coulee, WA 99133
- Phone: 509-745-8205
- Cluster phone (St. Henry, Grand Coulee): 509-633-1180
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Robert P. HimesAssigned June 2000; still listed as pastor in 2017 diocesan directory
Listed in 2017 directory as pastor of Holy Angels Mission, Coulee City; also Pastor of St. Patrick, Hartline and St. Henry, Grand Coulee
- Rev. Teodulo TaneoAssigned September 1, 2019; listed in 2020 diocesan directory
Also pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Waterville and St. Henry Parish, Grand Coulee
- Rev. Cesar IzquierdoCurrent pastor (Diocese of Yakima directory)
Serves as pastor of St. Rose of Lima Ephrata, St. Joseph Waterville, St. Henry Grand Coulee, and Holy Angels Mission Coulee City