About Immaculate Conception · Iron Mountain, Michigan
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, also known as Mary Immaculate of Lourdes, is a Roman Catholic parish located at 500 Blaine Street in Iron Mountain, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Founded in 1890 by Italian immigrant iron miners and their families, the parish has served the north-side Italian-American community of Iron Mountain for well over a century and belongs to the Diocese of Marquette. Its striking Italian Renaissance Revival church — built largely by the hands of the parishioners themselves in 1902 — is a Michigan State Historic Site and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, making it both a working parish and a local architectural landmark. Today the parish continues the Catholic faith life of the Iron Mountain area with weekend and weekday Masses in English, a regular Saturday reconciliation schedule, and pastoral care for assisted-living residents.
- Established
- 1890
- Patron
- Mary Immaculate of Lourdes (also known as Immaculate Conception / Our Lady of Lourdes)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Marquette
Why belong here
Immaculate Conception offers a deeply rooted Italian-Catholic parish life in the heart of Iron Mountain, with three weekend Masses (Saturday 4:00 p.m.; Sunday 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.), a Tuesday evening and Thursday midday weekday Mass, and weekly Saturday-morning confession — enough sacramental access for working families and shift workers. The parish also takes its outreach seriously, bringing Mass to residents of Evergreen Assisted Living, Victorian Pines and Promedica (Manorcare) on a rotating Wednesday schedule, which speaks to a community that looks after its elderly as well as its active members. Worshipping in a building that is itself a Michigan State Historic Site and a National Register landmark, parishioners are not only part of a local faith community but also stewards of one of the Upper Peninsula's most distinctive pieces of Italian-American heritage.
Mass times at Immaculate Conception
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Parish Identity & Patron
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Iron Mountain carries the formal dedication title of Mary Immaculate of Lourdes, conferred when Bishop Frederick Eis officiated at the dedication on January 1, 1903. The parish lives within the Diocese of Marquette and identifies itself both as Immaculate Conception and as the "Italian Church" — the affectionate local name that has followed it since 1890.
History of the Parish
The parish was organized in 1890 by Italian immigrants working the iron mines of Dickinson County who wanted their own worship on the north side of Iron Mountain. A frame church was built that year, burned in 1893, and was replaced. The present church was begun in June 1902 under the direction of Father G. Pietro Sinopoli and completed that December — an astonishing five-month build financed by parish subscriptions, volunteer labor from the miners themselves, and donations of timber and labor from the superintendent of the nearby Pewabic Mine. Over the decades a rectory (1923), parish school (1955) and other facilities were added; the school ultimately consolidated out of the building in 1990. The exterior was repaired in the 1980s, and the church was recognized as a Michigan State Historic Site in 1979 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
- 1890 — Italian Catholics on Iron Mountain's north side organize a parish and build a frame church
- 1893 — Original frame church burns down and is replaced
- April 1902 — Father Giovanni Sinopoli di Giunta arrives
- June 24, 1902 — Father Sinopoli begins digging the foundation
- December 1902 — Construction completed in five months
- January 1, 1903 — Church dedicated to Mary Immaculate of Lourdes
- 1923 — Rectory built
- 1942 — Formal catechism classes begin
- 1955 — Parish school opens (grades 1–8)
- 1960s — Significant interior liturgical upgrades
- 1971 — School consolidates; Immaculate Conception houses grades 1–3
- 1979 — Designated a Michigan State Historic Site
- 1980s — Exterior repair campaign
- 1990 — Listed on the National Register of Historic Places; school consolidates further into the downtown site
The Building: Italian Renaissance Revival
The church is built in the Italian Renaissance Revival style and is described as strikingly reminiscent of Renaissance parish churches in Italy — a deliberate echo of the homeland by the immigrant builders. Its walls are locally quarried stone hauled by horse and wagon from a site nearly a mile away, and its interior features unusual timber trusses that support a wooden barrel-vaulted ceiling. The combination of immigrant craftsmanship, donated materials from the Pewabic Mine, and volunteer labor from working miners makes the building as much a social monument as an architectural one. It is one of the few churches in Michigan's Upper Peninsula individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Style: Italian Renaissance Revival
- Construction: stone walls, timber-truss barrel-vaulted wooden ceiling
- Status: Michigan State Historic Site (1979); National Register of Historic Places (1990)
- Common name: Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Church
Sacramental & Pastoral Schedule
Reconciliation (confession) is offered weekly on Saturday mornings before the Vigil Mass, and the parish supplements its regular Mass schedule with pastoral care at local assisted-living facilities. Weddings, baptisms, anointing of the sick and other sacraments are typically arranged by contacting the parish office at (906) 774-0511 or by email at [email protected].
- Reconciliation: Saturday 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
- Communion/Mass for elderly parishioners: rotating Wednesdays at Evergreen, Victorian Pines and Promedica (Manorcare)
- Parish office: 906-774-0511 / [email protected]
Parish School (Historical)
Immaculate Conception ran its own Catholic school from 1955 through the early 1990s. It originally served grades 1 through 8, then consolidated in 1971 to grades 1–3 with neighboring Catholic schools, and finally consolidated out of the building entirely in 1990, with classes moving to the downtown Catholic school site and the former Immaculate Conception school building being leased to the Iron Mountain public school district. Two of the parish's more celebrated first-graders were future Michigan State University basketball head coach Tom Izzo and former NFL head coach Steve Mariucci.
- 1955 — School opens, grades 1–8
- 1971 — Consolidates; Immaculate Conception houses grades 1–3
- 1990 — Full consolidation into the downtown Catholic school
- Building leased to Iron Mountain public school district
Community Outreach to the Elderly
The parish's most visible ongoing outreach is pastoral care for elderly Catholics in three Iron Mountain facilities. On the 2nd Wednesday of each month, Mass is celebrated at Evergreen Assisted Living; on the 3rd Wednesday at Victorian Pines; and on the 4th Wednesday at Promedica (formerly Manorcare). These monthly services ensure that homebound and institutionalized parishioners remain connected to the sacramental life of the parish.
- 2nd Wednesday — Evergreen Assisted Living
- 3rd Wednesday — Victorian Pines
- 4th Wednesday — Promedica (Manorcare)
Visit, Contact & Stay Connected
Immaculate Conception is located at 500 Blaine Street in Iron Mountain, Michigan 49801, with the parish office reachable by phone at (906) 774-0511 and by email at [email protected]. The parish maintains a website at icparish.church and an active Facebook page where bulletins, schedule changes, and community notices are posted.
- Address: 500 Blaine Street, Iron Mountain, MI 49801
- Phone: (906) 774-0511
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.icparish.church
- Facebook: Immaculate Conception Catholic Church (Iron Mountain, MI)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Giovanni (G. Pietro) Sinopoli di Giunta1902–c.1903
Former Sicilian count who renounced his title to minister to Italian immigrants. Designed, engineered and helped build the present church, which was dedicated January 1, 1903 to Mary Immaculate of Lourdes.