About Immaculate Conception · Steilacoom, Washington
Immaculate Conception in Steilacoom, Washington is a historic Catholic mission church — the oldest Catholic church building in the State of Washington and the first Catholic church constructed in what is now the Archdiocese of Seattle. Originally built around 1855–1857 by soldiers stationed at Fort Steilacoom, the small white clapboard chapel was moved to its present corner at Main and Nisqually Streets in downtown Steilacoom in 1864 and blessed by Bishop Augustin Blanchet. It served as the mother church of the Puget Sound region until 1880, when it was reduced to mission status; today it is joyfully maintained as a mission of St. John Bosco Parish in Lakewood as part of Parish Family 37 (with St. Frances Cabrini).
- Established
- 1855
- Patron
- Immaculate Conception (the Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Rev. Louis R. Cunningham
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Seattle
Why belong here
Immaculate Conception offers a rare chance to worship in the oldest Catholic church building in Washington State — a living frontier-era chapel still in daily use, on the National Register of Historic Places. As a mission of St. John Bosco Parish in Lakewood, it shares the full sacramental life, clergy and ministries of Parish Family 37 (which also includes St. Frances Cabrini), so parishioners join a small, historically-rooted Catholic community while drawing on the wider resources of a vibrant parish family in the Archdiocese of Seattle.
Mass times at Immaculate Conception
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Thursday 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM (at St. Frances Cabrini)
- Saturday 3:00 PM – 4:45 PM (at St. Frances Cabrini)
Adoration times
- 1st Friday of the month after 8:30 AM Mass (at St. Frances Cabrini)
- 1st Saturday of the month, 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (at St. Frances Cabrini)
History of Immaculate Conception
Soldiers stationed at Fort Steilacoom — the first U.S. Army post in the Puget Sound area, established after the 1846 Oregon boundary treaty — built the original chapel around 1855–1857. In 1864 it was dismantled and moved to its present location at Main and Nisqually Streets in downtown Steilacoom, the oldest incorporated town in Washington. The church was blessed on June 26, 1864, by Bishop Augustin Blanchet and dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. For sixteen years it functioned as the mother church of the entire Puget Sound Region, until the departure of Father John Baptist Brondel in January 1880 reduced it to mission status without a resident priest.
- Built c. 1855–1857 at Fort Steilacoom by soldiers of the U.S. Army
- First priest to celebrate Mass: Father Louis Rossi (Belgian missionary), c. 1857–1859
- Moved from Fort Steilacoom to downtown Steilacoom in 1864
- Blessed June 26, 1864 by Bishop Augustin Blanchet
- Mother church of the Puget Sound Region, 1864–1880
- Reduced to mission status in January 1880 after Father Brondel's departure
- Commemorated as oldest Catholic church in the (Arch)Diocese of Seattle on September 21, 1918
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974
Mission Status & Administration
Immaculate Conception has been administered as a mission by a succession of parishes over the decades — first from Olympia, then from Visitation Parish in Tacoma, and currently by St. John Bosco Parish in Lakewood. It belongs to Parish Family 37 of the Archdiocese of Seattle alongside St. Frances Cabrini. Catholic Tacoma notes that there are no regularly scheduled Masses at the mission chapel itself; the parish family shares liturgy and sacramental life across its linked parishes.
- Mission of St. John Bosco Parish, Lakewood (Parish Family 37)
- Deanery: Pierce Deanery
- Linked parish: St. Frances Cabrini
- Mailing address routed through St. John Bosco, 10508 112th St. SW, Lakewood, WA 98498-1399
Architecture & Historic Character
The unassuming white clapboard church sits on a hillside overlooking the blue waters of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains, looking, as the National Register nomination notes, "at home in an old New England town." The adjacent bell tower presents the same appearance it did when the church was built more than a century and a half ago. One especially unusual feature: it remains one of the very few Catholic churches in the United States in which the altar continues to face the wall and the priest celebrates Mass with his back to the congregation — a frontier-era arrangement preserved in a still-active, working church rather than a museum.
- White clapboard construction with historic bell tower
- Traditional altar ad orientem (facing the wall) — rare in U.S. Catholic churches
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1974)
- Building described by NPS as 'a vital, living memento of the Pacific Northwest frontier'
Clergy & Staff
Immaculate Conception is served by the clergy and staff of St. John Bosco Parish / Parish Family 37 in the Archdiocese of Seattle, including the pastor, a parochial vicar and a deacon assigned as pastoral associate. Parish-family staff include a Pastoral Assistant for Administration & Facilities Supervisor and a Parish Family Secretary.
- Rev. Louis R. Cunningham — Pastor
- Rev. Paul J. Brunet — Parochial Vicar
- Deacon George Mounce, III — Pastoral Associate
- Parish Family staff supporting Immaculate Conception, St. John Bosco and St. Frances Cabrini
Contact & Visit
Immaculate Conception is located at the corner of Main and Nisqually Streets in historic downtown Steilacoom, Pierce County, Washington. Because it is administered as a mission of St. John Bosco Parish, mail and most inquiries are routed through the parish office in Lakewood.
- Address: Nisqually St. & Main St., Steilacoom, WA 98388
- Mailing: c/o St. John Bosco, 10508 112th St. SW, Lakewood, WA 98498-1399
- Phone: (253) 582-1028
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.stjbosco.org/immaculate-conception
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Louis Rossi1857–c.1859
Belgian missionary priest; first priest to celebrate Mass at the chapel, served for two years.
- Father John Baptist Brondeluntil January 1880
Last resident priest of the mother-church era; his departure reduced the church to mission status.