Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Poplar, Montana

09/04/2026

✝️ Mass will be held at the Cultural Center again this Sunday and the following Sundays.

08/30/2026

✝️ Here are some scenes from Sunday Mass today at the Poplar Cultural Center, with Bishop Fleming and Father Akama presiding.
Thanks to the nearly 100 people who attended and to the Fort Peck Tribes for loaning the center.
The pictures are photos of the art and stained glass windows that were lost in the fire, which is still under investigation.

08/29/2026

Here’s a story that ran this week in the Fort Peck Journal about the reactions from past and former parishioners as the Our Lady of Lourdes Church was burning.
As the shock subsided, memories from life in the church began to flood social media.

AS CHURCH BURNED, PARISHIONERS SHARED MEMORIES AND EXPRESSED SORROWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

By Rich Peterson
For The Journal
As firefighters raced to douse the flames that destroyed Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Poplar Monday, past and present parishioners from across the area and country took to social media to share their personal stories of life.
Many recalled priests, nuns, catechism classes, Harvest Dinners, Mardi Gras, and of course the thousands of baptisms, weddings, funerals, first communions.
​Some recalled attending Head Start classes at the center and other numerous community events.
It was the shock of seeing the online photos of the fire that people woke up to early Monday.
Terrance Gourneau, whose family members have been parishioners for decades, said he took a different route to work Monday morning to avoid seeing the blaze, which burned most of the day.
​“I didn’t want to see it at first,” he said.
For him and many others, the building carried so many memories that it was devastating to see it burning.
​“I remember making my first communion on the day we buried my dad. I remember when I was little how full the church was with big families, the Christmas midnight mass and Christmas plays I was in,” Gourneau said.
Allison Failing Harrison, a member since birth who attended Mass each week with her family, said the fire sparked a lot of memories from its history: pews filled with families, vacation Bible school, midnight Mass, and junior high dances with Father Pete (Guthneck).
“Our Lady of Lourdes was a central gathering place for so many. A host to many events, church and non-church related. A safe place for gathering. Four walls that held precious memories and stories. One could visit there and feel those memories in quiet solitude,” said Failing, who is also a parish council member.
Many on Facebook, Catholic and non-Catholic, described the church as a sanctuary or a pillar and cornerstone of the community.
“It also comforted us during our greatest losses and gave us hope knowing our loved ones will be ok and so would we. It was more than a Church, it was home, too,” Gourneau said.
Roxanne Beauclair Salonen, who attended the church with her family when she was between the ages of two and eighteen, first saw the news on a friend’s Facebook post. She thought it was the Wolf Point church that caught fire, since her friend lived near there, but soon realized it was the church from her childhood.
“I was devastated,” Salonen said, reading about the fire and seeing the photos from her home in Fargo, N.D.
​And like many that began finding out about the fire, the memories of Our Lady of Lourdes began flooding back. For her, that included the arson fire that destroyed her childhood home in Poplar back in 2005.
“So now there have been two fires that have taken my memories from me. However, they are not gone. Perhaps they are stronger than ever now, because with the burning of this beautiful and memorable church, they are flooding back—all that Our Lady of Lourdes meant to me, then and now,” she said Monday.
Bishop Roger Fleming of the Great Falls-Billings Diocese was in Poplar Monday and shared that the church was insured and plans now are to rebuild.
​That was good news for parishioners and many others.
Despite the sorrow that surrounded Monday’s fire, others also shared the humor in their memories of the church.
“Later, church was really a place where we built relationships and grew up together. But we weren’t always perfect. In high school, we pulled a prank on Sister Pat. She was going to show us a slideshow and some of the guys (I won’t name names) put a cassette of AC/DC in the tape recorder to go along with the slideshow. Sister Pat was not amused!” Beauclair Salonen said.
Bishop Fleming will be in Poplar Sunday to say Mass at the Cultural Center at 11 a.m. ✝️

08/28/2026

MASS IN POPLAR SCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY, AUG. 30
✝️
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church of Poplar will be holding Sunday Mass, August 30th at 11:00 at the Cultural Center.

Bishop Jeffrey Flemming will be presiding. ✝️

08/26/2026

Here’s a brief story in this week’s Fort Peck Journal about the history of Our Lady of Lourdes since its dedication in 1968.
Thanks to Connie Frerich Schulz for the background information and Roxanne Beauclair and the Diocese for the photos

FATHER PATRICK RYAN LED THE CHARGE TO BUILD A NEW CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1967

​By Richard Peterson
​For the Journal
The history of Our Lady of Lourdes goes back to 1925 when the former white church was built. It stood on the southwest corner of the property directly along U.S. Highway 2, according to the book, “A Church Blessed,” published in 1985.
In the late 1960’s the church had been dubbed the “white elephant” because it had aged beyond repair.
​Father Patrick Ryan, the parish priest in Poplar until 1967, was overheard by Parishioner Annie White Eagle talking about his dream for a new church in Poplar: one with semi-circular seating, his desired positioning of the alter and the structure that would surround those qualities.
The architects took his dream to paper, and the 300-seat church project was set into motion, according to the book.
Unfortunately, Fr. Ryan would never step foot into the new parish. In 1967, as construction was underway, he told the congregation during his mass his plans for the new church and how it would look inside. He also announced he had a major illness and would soon be returning to his home in Ireland. News reports from then mentioned how many in the congregation were in tears during his announcement, according to the book.
He died in Ireland on December 6, 1967, just six months before the new church was dedicated.
​However, Annie White Eagle’s husband, Roscoe, used his artistic talents to paint a portrait of Fr. Ryan at the new altar performing Mass.
The portrait hung in the front lobby of the church and was one of the many art pieces destroyed in Monday’s fire.
​“We had unique art on display that was unable to be saved. I feel like as parishioners, we took that art for granted. Even though we knew the value of it. The stations of the cross, photo of Joseph Red Thunder administering communion, painting of Father Ryan. I'm sure there were others,” said Allison Failing Harrison, a lifetime member and also served on the Parish Council.
Also, among the ruins were the stations of the cross painted by Rosco White Eagle, a well-known artist. The subjects in the painting were all Indian in Native dress. Fellow parishioner Mike Voeller made the tipi-shaped wooden frames.
The church featured two stained glass windows above the main entrance. One of St. Patrick, in memory of Fr. Patrick Ryan, and the other window featured St. Kateri, a Mohawk who is the patron saint of environment and ecology and the first Native American saint.
​Parishioners raised funds for the windows, produced by Reinhardt’s Art Glass Studios in Winona, Minnesota, at a cost of $720 each back then but were priceless in today’s era.
The new church was dedicated on May 10, 1968. A day later, the ordination of former priest and Poplar resident Ralph J. Patch occurred.
The old white church was finally demolished in 1973 by Pete Loegring’s crew.

08/26/2026

It is with heavy hearts that we share that Our Lady of Lourdes parish church in Poplar caught fire early this morning. Despite the heroic efforts of several local volunteer fire departments, the building was lost. Thankfully, no one was injured in the blaze.

At this time, the cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated by civil authorities.

Bishop Jeff traveled to Poplar today to be with Fr. Akama and the parishioners during this tragic time. He asks our entire diocesan family to please keep the people of Our Lady of Lourdes in your prayers. Please join him in praying the rosary, placing the community under the loving protection of their patroness, Our Lady of Lourdes.

08/25/2026

Anyone want to share their stories about Our Lady of Lourdes? Give her a call.

08/25/2026

05/28/2026

Gospel of the Day (Mark 10,46-52)

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me."
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage; get up, he is calling you."
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."
Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2026/05/28.html

04/04/2026

✝️ SATURDAY AND SUNDAY EASTER WEEK SERVICES SCHEDULE

Saturday, April 4: Easter Vigil, 7 pm
Sunday, April 5: Easter Mass, 11 am

🌺 Everyone is welcome