Immaculate Conception Church, Seattle 3.96

The story of Immaculate Conception began on September 12, 1891 on the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary. His Excellency, the most Reverend A.E. Junger, established a new parish and dedicated it to Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception on what is now the Seattle University campus.

In 1904, the parish was moved to its present location. The church’s cornerstone was laid on May 4, 1904 and dedicated on December 4th of that year. The church was erected under the direction of (Rev.) Adrian Sweere, who had been at the Immaculate since its beginning. In 1929, the administration of the parish was transferred to the Archdiocese of Seattle and the Reverend Theodore Ryan became pastor. Monsignor Ryan had served as an altar boy at the Church’s dedication Mass in 1904 and later served the rest of his years as pastor of Immaculate Conception until his death in 1960.

At the time of construction the church boasted seating capacity for 950, then the city’s largest seating auditorium, and an equally impressive debt of $65,000 for the cost of construction. The interior hand painted frescoes were not completed until the late 1920s and early 1930s. The cost for the paintings on the walls and ceilings came to about $10,000. From the floor, the highest point of the church dome reaches 150 feet into the air.

The grotto, which is a smaller replica of the Famous Grotto of Lourdes, was designed and constructed in 1930 by Mr. William Morgan, a Protestant, in memory of his daughter whom he had taken to Lourdes a few years before in hopes of a cure. The whole grotto, including the grill work and altar was paid by the Casey Family (of UPS fame), who were longtime parishioners of the Immaculate Parish. In 1961, the Casey Family donated the huge pipe organ, one of the finest in the northwest, in memory of Monsignor Ryan.

The Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board declared Immaculate Conception Church a Historical Landmark in 1974. Today, Immaculate Conception stands as Seattle’s oldest Catholic Church and is home to many African-American, Filipino, Vietnamese and Caucasian families, sharing their diverse cultural values and experiences. Immaculate Conception Church has had a long history in Seattle and we pray it will continue its role in the growth of the Church in Seattle.