Archives and Records
1867: Our Lady of Good Help Church
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In 1867, the Reverend Francis Xavier Prefontaine rented a cabin in Seattle and converted it into a small chapel to perform Mass while he worked to raise sufficient funds to build Our Lady of Good Help Church. Despite Bishop A.M.A. Blanchet's warning that Seattle had little potential as a mission, Fr. Prefontaine gained the Bishop's permission to establish a permanent parish. The building was constructed starting in 1869, and became the first Catholic Church in Seattle. By 1882, the church had become too small to accommodate the nearly 300 parishioners. Fr. Prefontaine remodeled the church, which continued to serve as a central base for the priests traveling to missions in the Puget Sound area.
In 1903, Father Prefontaine's faith in Seattle bore fruit as Bishop Edward J. O'Dea moved the See of the diocese from Vancouver to Seattle. Fr. Prefontaine entered a well-deserved retirement in 1903, and was further honored by being named Monsignor in 1908. He died in 1909 in his home, having faithfully served the diocese for 42 years.
Our Lady of Good Help was used by Bishop O'Dea as a pro-cathedral in 1903. As Seattle's downtown became more crowded, in 1905 the church was demolished and rebuilt on a new site. In 1912 it was closed as a parish church because of its close proximity to the new St. James Cathedral, and was instead included as part of the Cathedral parish. Although the original building is gone, Our Lady of Good Help is still remembered as the first Catholic Church in Seattle.
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