All Saints marks a milestone

Ten years ago, on Oct. 11, 2014, Lewiston’s Catholic community gathered to consecrate a new $10 million church building and the official blending of three separate Catholic parishes.

Friday, the community will gather again for a 5:30 p.m. Mass followed by a reception and party to celebrate All Saints Catholic Church’s 10th dedication anniversary.

The Rev. Mike St. Marie said the church continues to grow and thrive, in spite of initial growing pains.

“Overall, I think the reality is, now that things have settled down, the parish seems to be moving forward with a healthy collaboration,” St. Marie said. “The physical location has been an adaptation for a lot of people. But, by and large, folks seem pretty content.”

All Saints was the result of a diocesan decision to shut down the three original churches — St. Stanislaus next to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center; Our Lady of Lourdes on 21st Street; and St. James in the Lewiston Orchards — and combine the parishes into one congregation.

Michael Brown, a spokesperson for the Boise Diocese at the time, said the move “was tied to concerns about serving three communities while facing a decreasing number of priests. The merging of three parishes into one best utilizes the limited personnel resources and enables more effective use of them to meet the multifaceted mission entrusted to the Catholic community in Lewiston, now and into the future.”

In 2006, the diocese bought 39 acres of land between Warner Avenue and 14th Street from the Lewiston School District for $1.12 million, which was $500,000 more than the appraisal price at the time.

Brown said the diocese paid more than the appraised value because the land was bought at auction in competition with developers seeking to profit from potential future sales. The cost of construction came mainly from parish funds, a six-year fundraising capital drive and the sale of the three former church buildings.

Church members held committee meetings to decide what the parish needed to serve the combined community — and the ultimate result was a 55,000-square-foot building with a main sanctuary, meeting rooms, religion education rooms, a choir practice room, a large social hall, a modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances, bathrooms, administrative offices and a library.

The Portland, Ore., architectural firm of William Wilson produced the design and Kenaston Corp. of Lewiston was the main contractor.

In addition to the church, the former Tri-Parish Catholic School, which had been adjacent to St. Stanislaus, moved next to All Saints in 2018. The school has educated children in the community since its founding in 1884. It currently serves about 250 children in pre-K through eighth grades.

St. Marie said he tries “not to repeat the sin of King David and take censuses,” but there currently are about 1,000 families registered with the church and a couple hundred more who regularly attend, which is an increase in attendance since the church was dedicated in 2014.

Besides the dedication anniversary Friday, St. Marie said All Saints will hold a pit barbecue on Nov. 3, which is a project that hasn’t been done for a few years.

“We’re just kind of playing it low-key,” St. Marie said, “but, God willing, in 15 years when it’s the 25th anniversary they can have a big wingding.”

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.