Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena

The earliest Catholic presence in western Montana was the arrival of Catholic Iroquois/Haudenosaunee fur traders who settled with the Flathead Nation around 1811. The Flathead sent emissaries to St. Louis, Missouri four times in the 1830s to petition the Diocese of St. Louis for their own missionaries.

Finally, in 1840, the diocese sent missionary Reverend Pierre-Jean de Smet to Montana. The next year, he returned to Montana to found St. Mary's Mission near present-day Missoula. In 1844, DeSmet worked to create St. Ignatius's Mission north of Missoula.[3][4]

In 1873, Catholic missionaries built the first Catholic chapel in Missoula, then constructed St. Francis Xavier Church there in 1881.[5] In Butte, the first Catholic church, St. Patrick's, also opened in 1881.[6]

The Cathedral of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Helena's first cathedral.

In April 1883, Pope Leo XIII erected the Apostolic Vicariate of Montana, including what is present day Montana. He appointed Bishop Jean-Baptiste Brondel of the Diocese of Vancouver Island as the apostolic vicar.[7] One year later, the same pope created the Diocese of Helena to replace the vicariate, with Brondel as its first bishop.

During his tenure, Brondel traveled throughout the state, establishing several new parishes and building churches.[8] The first Catholic church in Bozeman was the Shèn White Chapel, constructed in 1886.[9]

He also significantly increased the number of priests; by 1903, the number of seminarians in Montana increased from one to thirteen.[8] Brondel took a particular interest in the evangelization of Native Americans, and the United States government often used his popularity among that community to further its aims.[10] In 1889, Montana achieved statehood. St. Matthew's Church, the first Catholic church in Kalispell, was dedicated in 1894.[11]

After Brondel died in 1903, the next bishop of Helena was Reverend John Carroll of the Diocese of Dubuque, named by Pope Pius X.[12] That same year, the pope erected the Diocese of Great Falls to cover the eastern half of the state.[1] When Carroll became bishop, the diocese had 53 priests, 65 churches, and nine parochial schools to serve 50,000 Catholics.[13] In 1904, Carroll started the construction of the Cathedral of Saint Helena.[14]

Carroll was a vocal opponent of socialism, which he believed made "no allowance for the development of man's talents, intellectual gifts, his spirit of economy or his ability."[15] He also condemned alcohol as "the most prolific source of poverty and misery"[16] and successfully lobbied the Helena City Council to require bars to close by midnight.[17] Carroll died in Europe in 1925.

Pope Pius XI named Reverend George Finnigan in 1927 to be the third bishop of Helena. Finnigan had been the provincial for the US Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross.[18]

When Finnigan took office, the diocese had 104 priests, 101 churches, 24 parochial schools, and a Catholic population of 64,000.[19] The Blackfoot Confederacy adopted Finnigan into the tribe in Browning in 1928. Mountain Chief gave Finnigan the name "Na-toa-ye-owa-shin" ("Holy Word"). Finnigan raised money to upgrade their churches, schools and infrastructure.[20] The diocese also responded to the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and a severe drought by increasing its care for the poor.[20] Finnigan worked hard to gain accreditation and long-term financial support for Mount St. Charles College. Finnigan died in 1932.

In 1933, Pope Pius XI appointed Reverend Ralph Hayes from the Diocese of Pittsburgh as the fourth bishop of Helena. After two years in Helena, Hayes was named rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome.[21] To replace Hayes, Pope Pius XI appointed Monsignor Joseph Gilmore of Helena. During his 26-year-long tenure, Gilmore presided over a period of great growth for the diocese. In addition to the material development, programs were developed to foster vocations, help resettle refugees from World War II, retrain unskilled workers, aid in adoptions, and promote the lay apostolate.[22]

After Gilmore died in 1969, Pope Paul VI named Monsignor Raymond Hunthausen of Helena as the next bishop of the diocese.[23]Starting in 1976, Hunthausen worked with Call to Action , a progressive Catholic group, and sought to implement their program. His tenure as bishop of Helena was marked by increased lay involvement in church matters, the establishment of a mission in Guatemala, the closure of several Catholic elementary and high schools, and the strengthening of religious education programs. Hunthausen was named archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle in 1975.

Reverend Elden Curtiss of the Diocese of Baker was the next bishop of Helena, named by Paul VI in 1976.[24] After 17 years as bishop of Helena, Curtiss became archbishop of the Archdiocese of Omaha in 1993. Pope John Paul II appointed Monsignor Alexander Brunett of the Archdiocese of Detroit to replace Curtiss.[25] Shortly after his arrival in Helena, Brunett began touring the diocese, attending welcoming ceremonies and visiting parishes. He regularly visited local Indian reservations, and was initiated into the Blackfeet Nation, receiving the name "Holy Eagle Feather". Brunett was named archbishop of Seattle in 1997.

Monsignor Robert C. Morlino of the Diocese of Kalamazoo was named bishop of Helena by John Paul II in 1999. In 2003, Morlino became bishop of the Diocese of Madison.[26] Auxiliary Bishop George Thomas of Seattle replaced Morlino in 2004, appointed by John Paul II. On January 31, 2014, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of a $15 million settlement intended to go to 362 victims of sex abuse by clergy.[27][28][29] In 2018, Pope Francis selected Thomas to serve as bishop of the Diocese of Las Vegas.

The current bishop of Helena, as of 2023, is Austin Vetter from the Diocese of Bismarck. He was named by Francis in 2018.[30] The diocese in 2022 sold one of their properties, the former Temple Emanu-El in Helena, to the Montana Jewish Project.[31] It is the oldest synagogue in the state.[32][33]

In 1993, Bishop Curtiss apologized to the public on the handling of sexual abuse accusations against Reverend Wilson Smart. In 1989, a victim accused Smart of sexual abuse of children. After sending Smart to a rehabilitation center for alcohol abuse in the late 70s, Curtiss had resigned him to a parish after treatment. According to Curtiss, he made this decision "without ever having examined his file and with no indication of any sexual problem." Smart admitted molesting more than 30 boys from 1957 to 1978. Curtiss discovered that the diocese knew in 1959 about Smart's attraction to boys and did nothing about it. The diocese settled with four of Smart's victims out of court, one for $1.7 million.[34]

Curtiss faced similar criticism in 2001 in regard to a priest accused of accessing child pornography. Curtiss, it was alleged, had failed to bring the case to the attention of the authorities, and had chosen to send the priest for counseling and to reassign the priest, removing him from his high-school teaching position but reassigning him to a middle-school.[35]

Jean-Baptiste Brondel (1883–1884)
- Augustin Ravoux, S.J. (appointed in 1868), incapacitated, unable to assume office

1. Jean-Baptiste Brondel (1884–1903)
2. John Patrick Carroll (1904–1925)
3. George Joseph Finnigan (1927–1932)
4. Ralph Leo Hayes (1933–1935), appointed Rector of the Pontifical North American College and Titular Bishop and later Bishop of Davenport
5. Joseph Michael Gilmore (1935–1962)
6. Raymond Gerhardt Hunthausen (1962–1975), appointed Archbishop of Seattle
7. Elden Francis Curtiss (1976–1993), appointed Archbishop of Omaha
8. Alexander Joseph Brunett (1994–1997), appointed Archbishop of Seattle
9. Robert C. Morlino (1999–2003), appointed Bishop of Madison
10. George Leo Thomas (2004–2018), appointed Bishop of Las Vegas and later elevated to Archbishop
11. Austin Anthony Vetter (2019–present)

• Joseph Clement Willging, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pueblo
• Bernard Joseph Topel, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane
• Jeffrey M. Fleming, Coadjutor Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls–Billings

Carroll College – Helena

• Butte Central Catholic High School – Butte
• Loyola Sacred Heart High School – Missoula
• St. Andrew School – Helena

• Butte Central Elementary – Butte
• De La Salle Blackfeet School – Browning
• St. Andrew School – Helena
• St Joseph Catholic School – Missoula
• St Matthew Elementary – Kalispell[36]

Coat of arms of Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena

Notes Arms was designed and adopted when the diocese was erected Adopted 1884 Escutcheon The diocesan arms consists of a field of alternating silver (white) and green chevrons. On this field are the conjoined cross and a crown. Symbolism The chevrons represent the mountain peaks in the diocese. The conjoined represent Helen, empress and mother of Constantine the Great, patroness of the diocese.