Cathedral of Saint Helena: Montana's Gothic Crown

The Cathedral of Saint Helena rises above the Montana capital with twin spires modeled after the Votive Church in Vienna. Construction began in nineteen oh eight and took sixteen years to complete, with the Gothic Revival building formally dedicated in nineteen twenty-four. The cathedral was financed largely by Helena's Catholic community, many of them Irish immigrants who had come to work the mines and stayed as the city grew into a territorial and later state capital.

The interior contains stained glass windows imported from Munich, Germany, and the building's exterior stonework was executed by craftsmen brought from Europe. At nearly two hundred thirty feet, the spires are visible from much of the Helena valley. The cathedral sits on the National Register of Historic Places and remains an active parish church, its scale a reminder of the prosperity that copper and gold once brought to this remote corner of the northern Rockies.