Square towers, a central circular window, and stained glass grace this Catholic church, which long represented the heart and soul of Butte’s Irish community. St. Mary’s Parish, founded in 1902 by Bishop John Brondel, encompassed a neighborhood of miners and tradesmen. Fire destroyed the original St. Mary’s Church on Wyoming Street in August of 1931. Pastor J. M. Nolan and his congregation laid the cornerstone for this church the following December on land donated by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. The new St. Mary’s remained an integral part of community life until the parishes of St. Lawrence O’Toole and St. Mary combined in 1978. Today St. Mary’s houses the headquarters of Our Lady of the Rockies Foundation.
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