Our History

St. Paschal Catholic Church, originally named "Del Monte", was the second parish with a priest in residence in the Spokane Valley to provide for the spiritual needs of the growing number of Catholic pioneers.

During the 1880's, traveling missionary priests offered mass in the homes of pioneers near the Washington-Idaho state line. In 1892 Catholic services in the Spokane Valley were provided by the Benedictine Missionary priests from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Mass was offered on Sundays and Holy Days in the first mission church in the Spokane Valley, built in 1892, originally called "Trent" and later renamed to St. Joseph.

In 1908, when the Benedictine priests were needed to serve the growing population of Catholics in Coeur d'Alene, Jesuit missionary priests from Gonzaga came to meet the spiritual needs of St. Joseph's missionary parish which served the whole Spokane Valley.

St. Joseph's Parish was divided to form three additional parishes. St. Mary's became the first parish in the Spokane Valley with a rectory and a priest in residence. It had jurisdiction over the mission church, St. Joseph. As the Catholic population increased, a second parish, St. Paschal, was founded when Bishop Augustine Schinner became the first Bishop in the newly created Spokane Diocese. Established in 1949, St. John Vianney was the third parish in the Valley. After sixty years as a mission church, in 1953 St. Joseph finally achieved the status of an independent parish with a resident priest.

St. Paschal Catholic Church, when first established, extended from Edgecliff on the south to the hills north of the Spokane River; east of Trent Road to Park Road including the hills north of the river. St. Paschal Catholic Church was staffed by the Order of Franciscan Monks from 1914 to 1968. After 1968, secular priests were apointed by the Bishop.

St. Paschal Catholic Church's first Mass was offered by Reverend Father Capistran Damek, O.F.M., at the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Stoltz, a prominent Del Monte family, on July 16, 1919. In August 1919 ground was broken for the new church, near the airport. On Thanksgiving Day, November 30, 1916, Bishop Schinner dedicated and blessed St. Paschal's first church. A church hall was constructed later. In 1928 the parish was extended to include a district south of Trent to Argonne Road.

In the mid 1930's a drive was started for funds to build a parish school. Two acres of land were purchased at Park and Marietta. A two room school was erected and on August 18, 1940, it was dedicated. In September 1940, the enrollment was forty-two students. In 1942 two more rooms were added.

The last Mass in the original church was celebrated in January 1943. A chapel was prepared in the basement of St. Paschal's school. In February 1943, Masses were offered in the new chapel. In April 1943, property west of the school was purchased. A house on this property served a rectory. The original church building was leased to the U.S. Government for war housing. This church building was later sold for apartments. In August 1943 a house and property south of the school was purchased to be used as a Sister's Convent.

A fund was established from the sale of the original church to build the new church. After a drive for additional funds in 1952, construction of the new church was started in 1953. On March 20, 1954, the new edifice was dedicated and the altars blessed. Additional construction in 1963 provided a new rectory. About 1967 a new Sister's Convent was erected. In July 1986, the sister's Convent was opened as an Educare. Today almost 100 children are enrolled.

St. Paschal Catholic Church has grown to meet the spiritual needs of over 300 families currently registered in the parish and has met the educational needs of over 2,500 students. With God's blessing, may we continue to grow in the faith and numbers under the Reverend Patrick Hartin.