Marymount Hermitage
2150 Hermitage Lane
Mesa, Idaho 83643-5005
The Hermit Sisters of Mary, are seeking God revealed in Jesus Christ and made known in the Catholic Church. They are a Catholic community of Hermit Sisters living in the desert mountains of rural Idaho, in between Cambridge and Council. Their home is called “Marymount Hermitage.” They are not cloistered religious, but their way of life is strictly contemplative.
The Hermit Sisters of Mary make a lovely addition to the Weiser River Valley Catholic Community and their hemitage provides a wonderful place to make a retreat and find Jesus more deeply in your heart.
http://www.marymount-hermitage.org/
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary is a mission attached to the St. Agnes Parish in Weiser. A few miles northeast of what is now Cambridge was a town called Salubria, where the first Catholics in the area celebrated Mass. In 1883, Fr. Francis Hartleib was one of the first true pioneer priests who ministered throughout Boise, Idaho City, Centerville, Pioneerville and more outlying settlements without churches Placerville, Silver Mountain, Caldwell, Emmett, Weiser, Salubria, Cambridge, Council, & Mountain Home. Masses were said at ranch houses and other places. Fr. Hartleib made two trips a year to visit all of his far-flung parishes. He came to Weiser by handcar on the railroad, then went by stage on to Salubria and Council, then back to Emmett. November 1, 1900, Weiser was elevated to a parish and the pastor Fr. van Nistleroy extended his territory from Caldwell to Emmett, Payette, Cambridge, Salubria, Council Valley, Cuprum, and Landore.
The original church in Cambridge was built in 1913 by Fr. Lambert C. Godschalx. It was a small frame church, built on donated property from Dr. Charles Schmitz, with aid of $500 from the Catholic Church Extension Society and having a total cost of $2000. The Extension Society furnished the altar and other furnishings and the McDonalds gave a 1913 Estes pump organ.
On August 1, 1947, Fr. Robert J. Waldmann, while serving as an administrator and substitute in the Weiser Valley for a few months, wrote to Bishop Kelly speaking of his experiences. “Only yesterday, I received two converts into the church at Cambridge.I think both can be called converts as the husband was only baptized in the Church and otherwise knew nothing about the faith. When I first went out to see this family, I found out that had been studying the Catechism by themselves for nearly two years and were reciting the Rosary in common in the evenings. The couple gives every evidence of being a very good Catholic Family.” When I was around Cambridge, I said Mass at the Church and with a little encouragement, every family there was at Mass at least once during that time. The attendance at Sundays is increasing a little by now. There is another person who belongs to no religion at all at Cambridge who is coming to Mass now andI am sure with God’s grace she will make up her mind to join the Church some time.”
When Fr. Francis P. McGlinchey came in 1949, Cambridge mission had 15 families and the stations of Mesa, Council, and New Meadows together had 15 families. Fr. Robert L. Smith came in 1968, during which he remodeled Holy Rosary Church at a cost of $16,000. In February of 1970, there is an article in the newspaper, written by Mrs. Vincent Schwartz stating, “Remodeling of the church in snow in progress under the direction of R. M. Mott and associates of Boise. Designer/architect is Gerald Sprute” and in a later article, “Dedication ceremonies held Sunday afternoon for the recently remodeled Catholic church in Cambridge. Bishop Treinen of Boise said Mass for the dedication ceremony.” “The remodeling included a new addition which provided a cry room, two rest rooms, a modern confessional, a furnace room, a storage room, and a hall that is separated from the main body of the church by a folding door, which permits the hall to be used as an extension of the church when necessary. The sanctuary of the church was completely remodeled with walnut paneling along the back wall, and new tabernacle, altar, and sanctuary crucifix.” In addition to the above mentioned improvements, the exterior of the church was completely resided with redwood siding, and the church was then stained and painted inside and out.
Holy Rosary has remained a mission of St. Agnes up to now. In 1949, the mission was said to have 15 families and in 1993 there were 29 families registered, of whom two had Midvale addresses. Although the mission is small, it is very close-knit and the spirituality that exists is strikingly apparent to anyone who visits. As a mission of St. Agnes in Weiser, Holy Rosary is currently being served by the pastor of St. Agnes, Fr. Gabriel Morales and various assisting ministers, including Fr. Thomas Keller a hermit who lives at Mesa.
(History has been compiled by Deacon Francis Wander)