Our history
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the birth of the new parish
In December of 1949 Bishop Charles D. White carved into the parishes of St. Anthony and St. Francis of Assisi to form a new parish named after his own patron saint, St. Charles Borromeo. Father Oakley F. O'Connor was named pastor. On July 23, 1950 parishioners of the newly created parish started celebrating Sunday Masses in the auditorium of Finch School. The six hundred and fifty young, progressive-minded families went to work almost immediately on two important projects: a school for the children and an auditorium that would serve as a temporary place to hold Mass.
In the fall of 1951 St. Charles School opened its doors to one hundred eighty-five students in grades first to fifth. At this same time, the parishioners moved from Finch School to their own auditorium for the celebration of Mass. By 1954 the school had expanded to include eight classrooms – yet, due to the rapid growth in parish population, another wing of classrooms was needed.
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The building of St. charles
Construction plans were drawn up for the wing as well as for a convent to house the teachers at the parish school, the Sisters of St. Francis (Glen Riddle Foundation). The convent was completed in May 1956 and a month later the first eighth-grade class graduated from the school. In 1957 the fourth and final wing of the school was begun and with its completion, the parishioners turned their sights to a new and bigger project: the church.
Father O'Connor had been making plans for this parish church since 1951. By 1958 he had settled on a very modern design that reflected the dynamic enthusiasm and spirit of the parish. The design was considered both ultra-modern and unconventional; in fact, it was one of the first churches of its kind in the United States. The Spokane firm of Funk, Murray & Johnson, which had designed the school, also designed the 1959 church. Their design with its distinctive roof of three-inch-thick concrete secured on only three legs is known in architectural terms as a “hyperbolic paraboloid.” However, the church is also an unbalanced hyperbolic paraboloid because the portion of the shell covering the seating area of the church extends much farther from the two points of structural support than does the portion over the entrance and baptistery. At the church's completion in mid-1961, it was the largest building of its type in the world.
In December 1960 the building was complete except for the stained glass windows which were held up in France. Enthusiasm was so high that parishioners began attending Mass in their new church on December 8 of that year. The church was officially dedicated by Bishop Bernard J. Topel on October 25, 1961.
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Artistic value
The graceful, soaring outer shell of the church is only part of the story of St. Charles. Its floor plan is unique and the stained glass windows by Gabriel Loire of Chartres (France) are magnificent. The “sky windows” just below the roofline create the illusion that the ceiling floats over the pillar-less interior. Also complementing the unique architecture is the artwork of Harold Balazs. His 17' mounted contour sculpture of St. Charles graces the front brick wall and his torched-fired enamel panels on the front doors narrate the life of Christ. Outside the church, his 92' campanile fountain with copper fillets, decorated with arabesques of vines and grapes, greets churchgoers. Particularly spectacular is Balazs's torch-cut iron baptistery gate in the narthex which depicts the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist and the figurative torch-cut steel base of the marble altar representing saints who are listed in the Eucharistic Prayer I of the Mass. So, too, is the silver-plated steel reredos crucifix surrounded by the symbols of the four Evangelists. It is no wonder this church has been called “a gem” - not only for the Diocese of Spokane but also for the City of Spokane and the State of Washington.
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