This ingenious priest also constructed a statue of Saint Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus, which stands in the church today. Over a frame of molded metal he draped canvas, shaped it like a robe, or cassock, and then painted it with black tar to resemble a “blackrobe” - the Indian name for Jesuit missionaries. He then carved the life-like face and hands holding a missal, which he also fashioned.
From Tomaso, his cat, Father Ravalli plucked tail hairs for his paintbrushes. Tin cans and cracker boxes provided material for wall protectors and tabernacles, and cigar boxes became little drawers, part of the unique desk he used in his home, now on display at the Mission Center. The books he acquired were a lending library for the community.
With a hand lathe he fabricated an altar railing, made a baptismal font, and painted the Stations of the Cross on burlap. Completed by the end of 1866, the chapel was now large enough for Indians and whites to worship together; the Indians situated on the floor, the whites on benches in the back and in the gallery.
This is the present chapel on the grounds of the restored mission complex, in Stevensville, Montana — the oldest permanently settled community in the state — where Father Ravalli’s artistry remains. All, but the stations on burlap, lost to time, are preserved there.
Father Ravalli never spared himself in serving the Indians and the white settlers who had moved into the community and surrounding area. Stevensville pioneer Elijah Chaffin and his family became Father Ravalli’s close friends; so close that Father referred to the Chaffin’s house as his “second home,” and once sent word with “Lige” to tell Mrs. Chaffin to “put on a pot of beans.”
From the little cabin he built as a home, he dispensed medicines through the first walk-in pharmacy in Montana. He often hospitalized patients at his home. Once he traveled 80 miles to Cottonwood (now Deer Lodge) to care for a man with a broken jaw. From the blacksmith he obtained the smallest drill in stock and some fine wire. He drilled a small hole in each side of the fracture, ran the wire through the holes and cinched the ends together, then molded a tight splint made from tin to the man’s face, and then covered it with a bandage. The man recovered quite nicely.
Frozen toes, fingers, arms, and legs were quite common during severe winters. Father Ravalli often amputated them when they couldn’t be salvaged.
Article comments
1 - S.Smith
As we consider moving to Ravalli County, I wondered where Ravalli came from or what Ravalli means.
Thanks for the Biographical information. It's a good name.