About Our Lady of Perpetual Help · Plummer, Idaho
Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a Catholic mission-station church in Plummer, Idaho, on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation. It is staffed by the Jesuits as part of the Rocky Mountain Mission Parishes serving Native American communities, currently under the pastoral care of Father Peter Byrne, SJ. The church belongs to the Diocese of Boise and is one of three Idaho parishes tended by the same Jesuit priest alongside Sacred Heart Mission in DeSmet and St. Michael the Archangel in Worley. Mass is celebrated on a limited Sunday schedule in Plummer.
- Patron
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help
- Rector
- Fr. Peter Byrne, SJ
- Diocese
- Diocese of Boise
Why belong here
Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a small but long-standing Catholic community on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation, continuing a Jesuit ministry to the Coeur d'Alene people that dates to Fr. Pierre-Jean De Smet's original 1842 mission. Parishioners are accompanied by a Jesuit pastor who also shepherds Sacred Heart Mission in DeSmet and St. Michael the Archangel in Worley, so worship here is part of a wider circle of Native American Catholic community in the region. Visitors are welcomed at the church on East Street in Plummer and can expect the warmth of a mission-style parish rooted in faith, culture, and continuity with the tribe.
Mass times at Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Weekly Mass schedule
Overview of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a Catholic mission-station church on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in Plummer, Idaho. It is one of three reservation stations in the Diocese of Boise staffed together by a single Jesuit priest. The parish belongs to the wider Rocky Mountain Mission Parishes network run by the Jesuits in companionship with Native American communities across the Pacific Northwest.
History and Jesuit Mission Roots
The parish is part of a Catholic presence among the Coeur d'Alene people that goes back to 1842, when Fr. Pierre-Jean De Smet, S.J., established the original Sacred Heart Mission. That mission moved from Mission Point on the St. Joe River to Cataldo in 1846 and then to DeSmet in 1877 to stay close to the reservation's population. Our Lady of Perpetual Help grew up as a dependent mission of Sacred Heart in DeSmet, served by Jesuits assigned from the mother mission. According to Official Catholic Directory records, Fr. John J. Brown, S.J., served Plummer from 1950 to 1957, and Fr. Thomas E. Connolly, S.J., from 1977 to 2010.
- Founded within the broader 1842 Jesuit mission to the Coeur d'Alene
- Served as a mission of Sacred Heart, DeSmet for much of its history
- Fr. John J. Brown, SJ, 1950–1957
- Fr. Thomas E. Connolly, SJ, 1977–2010
Leadership and Clergy
The Diocese of Boise and the Jesuits.org Rocky Mountain Mission page list Fr. Peter Byrne, SJ, as the Jesuit priest currently serving Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Plummer. Fr. Byrne also serves as pastor of Sacred Heart Mission in DeSmet and St. Michael the Archangel in Worley, so the three Coeur d'Alene-area stations share one pastor.
- Current pastor: Fr. Peter Byrne, SJ
- Joint pastorate with Sacred Heart Mission, DeSmet and St. Michael the Archangel, Worley
Sacraments, Devotions and Other Services
The parish's official channels do not publish a standing schedule of confession, adoration, devotions, or other regular services. As a small reservation mission station served in conjunction with Sacred Heart in DeSmet, additional sacramental and devotional opportunities are typically arranged with the pastor.
Visiting and Contact
The church is located at 1173 E Street in Plummer, Idaho, in the heart of the Coeur d'Alene Reservation. The parish phone line is (208) 274-5871 and parish information is listed under the Diocese of Boise parishes directory at catholicidaho.org/parishes.
- Address: 1173 E St., Plummer, ID 83851
- Phone: (208) 274-5871
- Diocese of Boise directory: catholicidaho.org/parishes
Jesuit Rocky Mountain Mission
Our Lady of Perpetual Help is one of the Rocky Mountain Mission Parishes staffed by the Society of Jesus in companionship with Native American communities. The network traces its origin to the 1840s missions of Fr. De Smet among the Flatheads, Coeur d'Alenes, Kalispels, and Colvilles, and today extends to reservations in Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Oregon.
- Part of the Jesuit Rocky Mountain Mission Parishes
- Companionship with the Coeur d'Alene Tribe
- Network includes parishes in Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Oregon
Records and Archives
Catholic records concerning Native Americans associated with Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Plummer, Coeur d'Alene Reservation) are documented in Marquette University's Raynor Memorial Libraries guide to Catholic records about Native Americans in the United States, with parish holdings noted from approximately 1950 to the present.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. John J. Brown, SJ1950–1957
Jesuit assigned to Our Lady of Perpetual Help as a mission of Sacred Heart, DeSmet; also served St. Michael's, Worley.
- Fr. Thomas E. Connolly, SJ1977–2010
Jesuit of the Oregon Province; long tenure at Sacred Heart in DeSmet with Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Michael's (Worley) as missions; later retired to Regis Jesuit Community, Spokane.
- Fr. Peter Byrne, SJ
Current Jesuit pastor of the Coeur d'Alene-area stations: Sacred Heart Mission (DeSmet), Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Plummer), and St. Michael the Archangel (Worley).