by Sondra Nishkian Sieg
October 2 marked the anniversary of the death of Father Antonio Ravalli, S.J., for whom this county is named. Father Ravalli’s journey began in the medieval city of Ferrara, Italy and ended in his own handcarved bed at St. Mary’s Mission in Stevensville.
Ravalli had uncommon talents. Throughout his transplanted life, his mind seemed filled with visual memories of his beloved Ferrara. Biographer Lucille Evans writes that the wife of Colonel Gibson of Fort Missoula asked Father Ravalli if he wanted to return to Ferrara. The aging priest answered, “Yes, I have often hungered for my native land and for my own people.” His eyes filled with tears and he continued, “but then the sacrifice would not have been complete.” The weary priest then buried his face in his hands and sobbed like a child.
Father Antonio Ravalli, S.J.
Father Antonio Ravalli accomplished more in one lifetime than most people could accomplish in many lifetimes. Lying on his own handcarved bed, tired and weakened by strokes, Father Ravalli’s 40-year Montana missionary service ended on Feast of the Angels, October 2, 1884. The time was 8 a.m. and the clock he purchased in Missoula is stopped permanently at that hour. He was 72-1/2 years old. As he requested, he was buried close to St. Mary’s Chapel in the Indian Burial Grounds. He rests in the shadow of St. Mary’s mountain, his head to the east toward Ferrara, Italy and his feet to the west toward the Bitterroot Mountains. In contrast to his aristocratic beginnings, he was buried in a simple wooden coffin made by a local carpenter for $4.00. Three years later a twenty-two-foot marble monument from Helena Marble Works was erected at his gravesite from community donations.
Interior arches of Santa Maria in Vado Ferrara, Italy, Father Ravalli’s home church.
He earned his name, “Leonardo of the Rockies” through his artistry as a painter, sculptor, and accomplished craftsman.
The name Ravalli dates back to 1460. Father Ravalli was born into a wealthy Ferrara family on May 12, 1812. All his siblings joined religious orders. He was ordained in 1843 and joined Father Pierre DeSmet in Antwerp for the arduous journey to the Pacific Northwest. He was 32 years old. While Father Ravalli’s head was filled with many memories, the small trunk he carried from Italy contained only a few items. He brought medicines, including live smallpox vaccine, a few medical instruments, tools and medical and architecture books. He used his live smallpox vaccine to vaccinate the Salish. Later when a smallpox epidemic broke out among the Nez Perce tribe, who feared vaccination, Father Ravalli gained even more credibility since the Salish had not succumbed to the disease. Father Ravalli started Montana’s first pharmacy and bottles containing his original tinctures are on view at his pharmacy on the Mission grounds. He performed life saving amputations and always refused payment. The stretcher he built is on view at the Mission Museum. Between his duties as priest, physician, surgeon, pharmacist and teacher, he found time to create what is now a Montana masterpiece. It is inside the tiny jewel, St. Mary’s Chapel, that visitors can see Father Ravalli’s true genius. To complete the chapel, Father Ravalli masterfully carved a wooden cross to rest on top of the red dome. The cross with filigree at its center and perfect proportions stood against the Montana Big Sky for 137 years. Due to deterioration from the elements, Father Ravalli’s original cross is now preserved in a case inside the chapel backed with blue velvet from Ferrara. Bill Taggart of Corvallis perfectly replicated the new cross in 2003.
Interior of St. Marys Chapel in Stevensville. All contents and altar carved and by painted by Father Ravalli.
Today the name Ravalli lives on in our county as banks and businesses take his name. With miles and miles between Ferrara, Italy and Stevensville, Montana, Antonio Ravalli, “Leonardo of the Rockies,” could surely relate to the words of beloved American poet, Robert Frost, “…But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.”
On left, four brass candle sticks on altar of Father Ravalli’s Ferrara church. On right, six candle sticks hand carved and painted gold by Father Ravalli in St. Mary’s, Stevensville.
In 2004, Sondra Nishkian Sieg (Sandy) and her husband James successfully located the Ravalli family in Ferrara. At the Siegs’ invitation, Carlo and Cristina Ravalli visited Stevensville in 2005.