By Cathy Tilzey

A little over 100 years ago, Father Joseph B. Thompson envisioned a new Holy Rosary church for Bozeman, to replace a smaller one built in 1885.

The new church, with stone steps leading to huge double oak doors, a 102-foot tower, stained-glass windows from Munich, Germany, and other amenities, became a reality May 3, 1908. Bishop John P. Carroll dedicated it to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, consecrated the altar and celebrated its first Mass.

That same month, the parish’s first recorded baptism and wedding were held. The first recorded death was not entered until July 22, 1909.

On May 3, 2008, the unique-looking church’s 100th anniversary was celebrated by a church full of people, including Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus, Father Leo Proxell, the pastor, Father Joseph Oblinger, a longtime friend of Holy Rosary, and Bishop George Leo Thomas.

Bernard Schaff led the procession into the church, carrying a large basin of incense on one hand. Bishop Thomas carried the basin around the altar before the liturgy of the word began, and again before the liturgy of the Eucharist.

The bishop began his homily by explaining “anamnesis,” a Greek word that means “holy remembering.” Its definitions characterize “the reason why we gather today – to cherish, to treasure or hold dear, to recognize the worth, quality or importance, and to recall with gratitude,” he said.

In 1885, Father Joseph Guidi, SJ, began construction on the first Catholic church in Bozeman. Bishop John Baptiste Brondel blessed and dedicated it, and placed it under the patronage of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary.

Planning for the current Holy Rosary church began in 1905, shortly after Bishop Carroll appointed Father Thompson as pastor. A permanent Catholic school was built in 1915, but didn’t produce a graduating class until 1924. That was because the diocese and parish waited patiently for Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration to arrive.

A church bell was installed, and a rectory and convent were built. The convent now serves as the religious education building. The church had a second tower, but it fell victim to earthquakes in 1935.

In the 1940s, Bishop Joseph M. Gilmore celebrated the parish’s golden jubilee and some remodeling took place. The sanctuary was redone in 1955. Repairs and redecorating took place in 1980.

Bishop Thomas also offered important indicators that are signs of growth and vitality. First, “The vital parish community must always be marked as a community centered around the Eucharist,” he said. “The parish is nothing except when it is a place of encounter with the Lord, who is met in word and sacrament and served through humble works of compassion and charity.”

Secondly, a parish “must always be a place of warmth and welcome, and its liturgy a place where the full, active and conscious participation of the people is ever-valued.”

Also, a vital parish community allows and appreciates the word of God and the role of the liturgical homily. When well executed, a homily gives the parish meaningful connections between liturgy and life, word and service, prayer and compassion, love of God and love of neighbor, the bishop explained.

Next, a vital parish community is present to the sick and dying, to youth and young adults, and to those living on the margins of society. Such a community lives its life in full communion with the bishop and the Holy See.

A dynamic parish sees itself as responsible for valuing a full complement of ordained and lay ministries. “The effective pastor calls forth the multiplicity of gifts and talents found in every person in the community...” Bishop Thomas said, and it “takes seriously the role of every Christian and our common responsibility to evangelize...”

Such a parish community is guided by sound pastoral planning, ecumenical commitment, and the power of respectful dialog and civility when difficulties and conflicts come its way.

“I propose that the parish community of Holy Rosary, Bozeman, is marked by all of the above, under the competent and faithful leadership of its pastor, Father Leo Proxell,” the bishop stated.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 24, No. 6, June 20, 2008.