About St. Alphonsus · Wallace, Idaho
St. Alphonsus Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic parish in Wallace, Idaho, in the heart of the Silver Valley mining region. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Boise and traces its roots to 1894–1895, when Catholic miners and their families in this 'Silver Capital of the World' first gathered for worship. The present church building, designed in the Gothic Revival style by Missoula architect Virgil Kirkemo, was constructed in 1926 of red brick with white terra cotta trim and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure of the Wallace Historic District. Today the parish is served by Fr. Jerome Montez, OSB, a Benedictine priest who shepherds St. Alphonsus along with the other Catholic faith communities of the Silver Valley and beyond. Sunday Mass is celebrated at 11:00 AM year-round.
- Established
- 1894-1895 (original frame church); present church built 1926
- Patron
- St. Alphonsus Liguori (Bishop and Doctor of the Church)
- Rector
- Fr. Jerome Montez, OSB
- Diocese
- Diocese of Boise (Roman Catholic)
Why belong here
St. Alphonsus offers Catholics in the Silver Valley a year-round weekly Mass at 11:00 AM on Sundays, celebrated by a dedicated Benedictine pastor, Fr. Jerome Montez, OSB, who personally knows his small-town flock. The parish combines the warmth of a tight-knit mining-town community with the beauty of a 1926 Gothic Revival church — complete with stained-glass windows, a bell tower, and a copper roof — that is on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Wallace Historic District. For Catholics living in or visiting Wallace, Kellogg, Mullan, and the surrounding Silver Valley, St. Alphonsus is the local anchor of Catholic life in this historic Idaho region.
Mass times at St. Alphonsus
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish Overview
St. Alphonsus Catholic Church is the historic Catholic parish of Wallace, Idaho, in Shoshone County's Silver Valley. It is part of the Diocese of Boise and is listed in the diocese's official parish directory under the City of Wallace. The parish's mailing address is 27 Kellogg Ave., Kellogg, ID 83387, while the church itself and the rectory stand at 214 Pine Street in Wallace. Pastor Fr. Jerome Montez, OSB — a Benedictine priest — is assigned to St. Alphonsus along with several other Catholic communities in the region.
- Diocese: Diocese of Boise
- Pastor: Fr. Jerome Montez, OSB
- Church address: 214 Pine St., Wallace, ID 83873
- Mailing address: 27 Kellogg Ave., Kellogg, ID 83387
- Phone: (208) 752-3551
- Email: [email protected]
- Web: catholicidaho.org/parishes
History
The parish was founded in the mid-1890s alongside the Silver Valley's booming silver-mining communities. The original wood-frame church was financed in 1895 and served the congregation for three decades, surviving the labor wars of the era and the Great Fire of 1910 that destroyed a third of Wallace. By 1925–1926 a new, permanent church was rising on the corner of Second and Pine streets, where it still stands today.
- 1894–1895: Original wood-frame church built with funds raised by the Catholic community of Wallace.
- 1910: Parish weathers the Great Fire of 1910, which burned one-third of Wallace.
- July 13, 1925: St. Alphonsus is photographed by the Barnard Studio (image preserved at the University of Idaho Library).
- 1926: Present Gothic Revival church is constructed and dedicated.
Architecture & Historic Designation
The 1926 church is one of Wallace's architectural landmarks. It was designed by Virgil Kirkemo, a Missoula, Montana, architect who had trained under Ole Bakke and who became one of western Montana and Idaho's most prolific designers. Kirkemo gave St. Alphonsus its cruciform plan, red brick walls, white terra cotta trim, three pointed-arch entryways, and a square corner belfry. In 1984 a copper roof and a complementary south-side addition in matching brick updated the building for continued parish use.
- Style: Gothic Revival (National Register documentation)
- Architect: Virgil Kirkemo, Missoula, Montana
- Materials: Red brick with white terra cotta trim; copper roof (added 1984)
- Features: Three pointed arches at front entry; square corner belfry; cruciform plan; arched stained-glass windows
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure of the Wallace Historic District
- Idaho Heritage Trust grants awarded in 2006 and 2025 for kneelers and repainting
Mass & Liturgy
Sunday Mass is celebrated at 11:00 AM year-round, in English, in the Roman (Latin) Rite. Because Fr. Jerome also ministers to the wider Silver Valley and to faith communities in St. Maries and Harrison, visitors are encouraged to call the parish to confirm the current schedule before traveling.
- Sunday Mass: 11:00 AM (year-round), English
- Rite: Roman-Latin
- Parish phone for current schedule: (208) 752-3551
Clergy & Pastoral Care
St. Alphonsus is served by Fr. Jerome Montez, OSB — a Benedictine priest whose 25th anniversary of ordination was celebrated with the parish in 2022. Fr. Jerome ministers to St. Alphonsus in Wallace along with the other Catholic parishes of the Silver Valley and two Catholic faith communities to the south, in St. Maries and Harrison. Parishioners describe him as personally familiar with families in the small congregation, greeting them by name after Mass.
- Fr. Jerome Montez, OSB — pastor
Location & Visiting
The church sits on a small lot near the east end of Wallace, in an otherwise residential neighborhood with a small playground across the street. Visitors approaching from out of town should turn onto 2nd Street and continue for three blocks to the corner of Second and Pine; the front doors of the church face 2nd Street, and the rectory is at 214 Pine Street.
- Address: 214 Pine St., Wallace, ID 83873
- Parking: Street parking on Pine and 2nd Streets
- Nearby landmark: small playground across the street
The Wallace & Silver Valley Setting
Wallace sits in the heart of Idaho's Silver Valley, the narrow mountain corridor whose silver-lead deposits have produced more than 1.3 billion ounces of silver since 1884. Wallace has been called the 'Silver Capital of the World' and is one of only a handful of U.S. cities whose entire downtown is listed on the National Register of Historic Places — a status the town earned by fighting the federal government for 17 years to keep Interstate 90 from paving over the community. St. Alphonsus is one of about two dozen historic churches that still serve the small towns of the Valley.
- Wallace is entirely on the National Register of Historic Places
- Silver mining has produced 1.3+ billion ounces of silver in the region since 1884
- The Great Fire of 1910 burned a third of Wallace
- About two dozen historic churches serve the Silver Valley's small towns
Preservation & Heritage
Because St. Alphonsus is part of the Wallace Historic District, its upkeep is a matter of regional heritage as well as parish life. The Idaho Heritage Trust has partnered with the parish on two preservation grants: one in 2006 and another in 2025, both focused on the kneelers and the white painted surfaces of the sanctuary. Historic images of the church are held in the University of Idaho Library's Barnard-Stockbridge Photograph Collection, including a Barnard Studio photograph taken July 13, 1925.
- 2006 Idaho Heritage Trust grant
- 2025 Idaho Heritage Trust grant — remove and install custom precast concrete kneelers, restore existing kneelers, repaint white surfaces
- Archival image: Barnard-Stockbridge Photograph Collection, University of Idaho Library
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Jerome Montez, OSB
Assigned priest serving St. Alphonsus and the other Catholic faith communities of the Silver Valley (Kellogg, Smelterville) as well as St. Maries and Harrison. Celebrated the 25th anniversary of his ordination in 2022.