About Sacred Heart Mission · DeSmet, Idaho
Sacred Heart Mission is a small Roman Catholic mission parish in DeSmet, Idaho, within the Diocese of Boise, serving the Coeur d'Alene Reservation area in Shoshone County. It is the present-day continuation of one of the oldest Catholic missions in the Pacific Northwest, a Jesuit ministry to the Coeur d'Alene people first established by Father Pierre Jean DeSmet in 1842. The parish celebrates Mass once a week on Sunday at 11:00 AM and is closely identified with the historic mission tradition that built the Old Mission at Cataldo (now Idaho's oldest standing building).
- Established
- 1877
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Fr. Peter Byrne, SJ
- Diocese
- Diocese of Boise
Why belong here
Sacred Heart Mission offers Catholics on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation and the surrounding Silver Valley area a place to gather weekly for the Eucharist in one of Idaho's most historic mission communities. Continuing the Jesuit tradition begun by Father Pierre Jean DeSmet in 1842, the parish keeps alive a living Catholic presence rooted in Coeur d'Alene culture and history, while extending hospitality to all who come to worship at 127 Byrnes Avenue in DeSmet.
Mass times at Sacred Heart Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Our History: From the Coeur d'Alene Prophecy to DeSmet
Sacred Heart Mission traces its origins to the very beginnings of the Catholic Church in Idaho. In 1842, Belgian Jesuit Father Pierre Jean DeSmet traveled through the region and visited the Coeur d'Alene tribe, whose members welcomed him as fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. Jesuit Father Nicolas Point celebrated the first Catholic services among the tribe on December 2, 1842, on the north shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene. The original Sacred Heart Mission was established along the St. Joe River but relocated in 1846 to a knoll above the Coeur d'Alene River at what became Cataldo, where Father Anthony Ravalli and Coeur d'Alene craftsmen built the great timber-frame church that survives as Idaho's oldest building. As the tribe's farming settlements spread westward and the reservation boundary shifted, the mission itself moved in 1877 to its present location at DeSmet — a town named for the founder of the Jesuit missions in the Northwest.
- 1842 — Father Pierre Jean DeSmet visits the Coeur d'Alene; Father Nicolas Point celebrates first Masses near Lake Coeur d'Alene on December 2.
- Original mission sited along the St. Joe River; moved in 1846 to the Cataldo knoll after spring flooding.
- 1848–1855 — Father Anthony Ravalli and Coeur d'Alene craftsmen build the Cataldo mission church, now Idaho's oldest standing structure and a state park.
- 1877 — Mission relocated to DeSmet, within the redrawn Coeur d'Alene Reservation.
The Sisters of Providence and Mary Immaculate School
On November 22, 1878, three Sisters of Providence — Mary Hyacinthe (Boucher), Mary Constance (Dubrule), and Mary Francis (Pinto) — arrived at the DeSmet mission to open a school. The convent school was blessed on December 1, 1878, and classes began the very next day with thirty boys and girls, even though only the first floor had been completed. The Coeur d'Alene community supplied the sisters with flour, meat, and other necessities; chronicles note that 'many a time an Indian brought a sack of flour or a portion of meat,' saying, 'Our hearts told us the sisters had no more supplies.' The Sisters taught school, visited the sick, and helped care for the mission church for nearly a century. The Coeur d'Alene Tribal Council took title to the school buildings in 1974. The historic Mary Immaculate schoolhouse was tragically destroyed by fire in 2011.
- 1878 — Three Sisters of Providence arrive; school blessed December 1; classes begin December 2 with 30 students.
- Sisters served the community through teaching, nursing, and care of the mission church.
- 1974 — Coeur d'Alene Tribal Council assumes responsibility for the school and takes title from the Sisters.
- 2011 — Historic boarding school destroyed by fire.
Jesuit Pastoral Care
Sacred Heart Mission continues the Jesuit missionary tradition that began with Father DeSmet in 1842. The parish is served by a Jesuit priest from Jesuits West and is grouped with two other mission sites on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation: St. Michael's Station in Worley and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel in Plummer. Deacon Nick Vietri assists with parish life, and parish administrator Cindy Ladeaux coordinates day-to-day operations.
- Pastor: Fr. Peter Byrne, SJ (Jesuits West)
- Deacon: Nick Vietri
- Parish Administrator: Cindy Ladeaux
- Part of a tri-site mission cluster: Sacred Heart (DeSmet), St. Michael's Station (Worley), and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel (Plummer).
Mass & Liturgical Schedule
As a small mission parish, Sacred Heart Mission offers one weekly Sunday Mass, celebrated in English in the Roman (Latin) Rite. The mission's modest schedule reflects the rural character of the community and the wide distances that parishioners travel to gather for the Eucharist.
- Sunday Mass — 11:00 AM (English, Roman-Latin Rite)
Visiting DeSmet and the Old Mission State Park
A visit to Sacred Heart Mission pairs naturally with a stop at the Cataldo Mission State Park, site of the original 1846–1877 mission and home to Father Ravalli's 1850s church — the oldest building in Idaho — and the interpretive exhibit 'Sacred Encounters: Father De Smet & the Indians of the Rocky Mountain West.' The current parish sits within the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in Shoshone County, and the town's name itself honors Father DeSmet, the Jesuit missionary who first brought the Gospel to the Coeur d'Alene people in 1842.
- Cataldo Mission State Park: original 1846–1877 mission site and Ravalli's 1850s church (Idaho's oldest building).
- Town of DeSmet named for Father Pierre Jean DeSmet, SJ.
- Located within the Coeur d'Alene Reservation, Shoshone County, Idaho.