About St. Michael Mission · Absarokee, Montana
St. Michael Mission is a small Roman Catholic mission parish in the ranching community of Absarokee, Montana, a census-designated place (CDP) in Stillwater County at the confluence of the Stillwater and East Rosebud Rivers. As a mission of the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings, it serves the surrounding rural area with weekly Sunday Mass and a Thursday weekday Mass, offering a close-knit faith community rooted in the agricultural and small-town character of south-central Montana.
- Patron
- St. Michael the Archangel
- Diocese
- Diocese of Great Falls-Billings
Why belong here
St. Michael Mission offers Catholics in Absarokee and the surrounding Stillwater Valley a place to gather for the Eucharist close to home, with a Sunday evening Mass and a Thursday weekday Mass that fits the rhythms of ranch and rural life. The parish invites families to grow together through events like parish potlucks and youth outings, and welcomes visitors traveling through the area near Yellowstone and the Beartooth Mountains.
Mass times at St. Michael Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 3:30 PM – 3:45 PM, or by appointment
St. Michael Mission, Absarokee
St. Michael Mission is a small Roman Catholic mission church serving Absarokee, Montana, in Stillwater County. It is part of the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings, which covers the eastern two-thirds of Montana and traces its Catholic roots to the Jesuit missions of the 19th century. The mission gives area Catholics a regular Sunday and weekly weekday Mass in their own community.
Parish Identity and Patron
As its name suggests, the mission is dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, the warrior archangel who in Scripture leads God's armies against evil and is venerated as patron of soldiers, police officers, and paratroopers. The feast of St. Michael is September 29, celebrated jointly with the archangels Gabriel and Raphael.
Religious Education and Youth Ministry
The mission shares religious-education programming with its sister parish, St. Mary's. Annual registration and a kickoff event are hosted there, including a recent 'Religious Education Registration Roundup and Kickoff Party' held on a Wednesday evening from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM. A youth group open to students in 6th grade and up gathers older kids for activities — a summer rafting and s'mores outing on the Absaroka River has been a recent highlight, organized through Absaroka River Adventures in Absarokee.
- Religious Education (joint with St. Mary's)
- Youth Group (6th grade and up)
- Summer outings (rafting, s'mores, local river trips)
Parish Community Life
The mission cultivates the close-knit character of a small rural community. After Sunday Mass the parish hosts a potluck, a tradition that brings worshippers together with visitors and traveling parishioners. The mission also marks special feast days with neighboring parishes — for example, the Feast of the Transfiguration has been celebrated jointly at St. Mary's with a morning Mass.
- Sunday Mass potlucks
- Joint feast-day celebrations with St. Mary's
Location and Visiting
The mission sits on Woodard Avenue, the main street through Absarokee, near the historic Big Yellow House and adjacent to the small downtown that grew up around the 1892 trading post of founder Sever Simonson. Absarokee lies along Highway 78 about 14 miles south of Columbus, and is a common stopping point for travelers heading into the Beartooth Mountains and Yellowstone country.
- Address: 307 Woodard Avenue / 307 S. Woodard St, Absarokee, MT 59001
- Phone: (406) 322-5541
- Emergency line: (406) 780-1173
- Website: http://mystmichaels.com/
Diocese of Great Falls-Billings
St. Michael Mission belongs to the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings, whose eastern-Montana territory covers 91,403 square miles and stretches from Gardiner to Plentywood and from Fort Shaw to Wibaux. The diocese was erected in 1904 when the Vicariate of Montana was divided, and was renamed Great Falls-Billings in 1980 under Bishop Thomas Joseph Murphy. Montana Catholicism traces back to the 1840s Jesuit missions led by Father Pierre-Jean De Smet and his fellow 'blackrobe' missionaries.