A trip up the Flathead Valley is made extra sweet with a stop at the St. Ignatius Mission.
It’s like icing on the cake. (Homemade rum cream cheese icing that‘s not too sweet.)
And
if you’re patient, a gap between other visitors allows time to
(quietly) play the piano. (That’s dark chocolate sauce on the cake's
tippy top.)
On the airy whoosh of the inner chapel doors closing behind you, the words “holy hush” fly to mind. Interior visuals to come this week will help illustrate this, but you really need to experience it in person.
When people think of Montana, the connection typically runs along lines of “Montana: Wild West and Big Skies”. They don’t usually associate our State with ceiling art a la the Sistine Chapel. But Montana boasts several fine examples of historic sacred illustrations. Immediately coming to mind are Missoula's St. Francis Xavier, pictured here, and the St. Ignatius Mission, about an hour’s drive north of Missoula, Montana. (Also see “things mission cooks did in their spare time”.)
Despite a century-plus of history between now and the completion of St. Francis Xavier, one thing unchanged is the implicit invitation open to all - to come away, and be still, and know.
