Final Mass Closes More Than A Century Of Worship At Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Valley

More than a century of Catholic worship in downtown Valley came to an end Sunday morning as Holy Ghost Catholic Church held its final Mass. The 8 a.m. service on Sept. 27 marked the final regular Mass at a parish whose history stretches back more than 100 years and whose church building has stood at the same site through fire, rebuilding and generations of baptisms, weddings, funerals and Sunday services. For longtime parishioner Theresa Carr, the closing is deeply personal. “This parish has been my family’s parish for over 100 years,” Carr wrote while inviting current and former parishioners to attend the final Mass. Following the closure, parishioners are expected to continue attending St. Joseph’s Church at Jump Off Joe in Valley from May through September and St. Mary of the Rosary Catholic Parish in Chewelah.

The Holy Ghost church building is expected to be placed on the market this fall. The final Mass brought to a close a chapter of Valley history that began in the early years of the 20th century. Before a permanent church was established, Jesuit priests celebrated Mass in private homes and local buildings for Catholics in Valley and at St. Joseph in Jump Off Joe. Valley was considered a “station” rather than a mission during those early years. A church was built under the direction of Father William Schulte, S.J., and Holy Ghost was formally estab- lished as part of the Catholic presence in the area. Bishop August Schinner later dedicated Holy Ghost Church on Sept. 22, 1918.

That first church served the community for decades before being destroyed by fire on Oct. 10, 1954. Accounts of the fire describe an unusually quiet fall afternoon in Valley, with many local men away deer hunting. E.J. Stroyan later recalled being at the family’s Stroyan Rainbow Service Station with his mother Clara, his sister Jackie and Arvin White when Jackie suddenly saw smoke rising from the church. “Smoke!” she yelled, according to Stroyan’s written account. “The church is on fire.” The alarm sent people rushing toward the building as smoke poured from the roof. Jackie Stroyan Franks, who was about eight months pregnant at the time, was among the first to notice the blaze and report it. The exact cause of the fire was never determined. Father Pius Mutter later said defective wiring in the choir loft was one possible explanation. Some parishioners also wondered whether incense used during Mass earlier that day could have played a role. With the building gone, parishioners attended Mass at Jump Off while plans were made to rebuild in Valley. The new church was constructed on the same site. Timberrib Co. completed the roof and upper portion of the structure, while parishioners and friends contributed labor and materials for much of the remaining work.

The first service in the rebuilt Holy Ghost Church was held Oct. 1, 1955, with Father Mutter officiating. The building was formally dedicated May 24, 1956. According to the church history shared by Franks, 36 priests attended the dedication along with a large gathering of parishioners. The destruction of the first church inspired parishioner Agnes Waitts to write a poem titled “Our Little Lost Church in Valley.” The poem mourned the loss of the building while looking ahead to what the congregation hoped would come next. That rebuilding effort became part of the parish’s identity. A rectory was located about a block below the church beginning in the early 1950s, and another was constructed on Fifth Avenue in 1962. Parishioners again supplied significant portions of the labor. Sid Kulzer engineered the project and Pete Skok served as head carpenter. Families including the Goforths, Hurbis, Murbachs, Sueberts, Stroyans, Tomshas and Waitts helped with the work, while the Newberry family of Chewelah completed the brickwork. The rectory was eventually sold in September 2018.

Over the decades, Holy Ghost was served by a long succession of priests. Father Joseph DaLio was among the parish’s longest-serving pastors, serving from 1969 until April 1991. Father Al Grasher began serving the parish later that year and eventually also served Chewelah as Catholic parishes in the area began to share priests. Father Vincent Gilmore has been the pastor at St. Mary of the Rosary and Holy Ghost since May 2022. Then in 2024, Holy Ghost became part of St. Mary of the Rosary Catholic Parish as all Catholic church locations in the central Stevens County area were consolidated as one parish that fall. As one parish, all programs, ministries, finances and administration are handled under one administration based in Chewelah.

Sunday’s final Mass marked the end of regular worship inside the Valley church. The building may soon change hands, but the story of Holy Ghost Catholic Church remains part of the history of Valley.