Heritage Museum & Ursuline Western Province Collection

The Ursuline Centre is home to the Heritage Museum and the Ursuline Western Province Collection–a carefully preserved body of artifacts, records, and material culture that reflect more than a century of Ursuline life, education, and mission in Montana and throughout the West.

The collection includes antique furnishings, musical instruments, books, artwork, and religious objects, many of which were used by the Ursuline Sisters in their daily work as educators. Among its most powerful pieces is the Ursuline Western Province Collection—on loan to the Ursuline Centre from the Sisters of the Ursuline Western Province. This collection are gifts offered by Native American families in gratitude for the education of their children—objects that carry both historical and cultural significance. This unique collection is temporarily on loan until repatriation efforts to return the items to their respective tribes is complete.

Together, these materials offer a layered and often personal record of the Ursuline presence in the region. They provide insight into the Native students’ perspective and the Academy’s role in education and into the broader story of mission life in the American West.

The museum is not large in scale, but it is deliberate in its preservation. Each room and object invites closer attention. This is a collection best experienced in person –where the objects, the building, and the stories they hold can be encountered together.

  Guided tours are available for individuals and groups and offer additional context for the collection and the building itself. We are pleased to welcome visitors by appointment.

To schedule a tour, please call 406-452-8585.

Discover Our Historic Rooms & Collections

See these historic rooms and collections for yourself on a guided tour of the Ursuline Centre, where the building, artifacts, and stories of more than a century of Ursuline life come together.

THE GREEN PARLOR

This parlor was the formal visiting room where the sisters entertained their visiting families and other visitors who came to the Academy. The deceased sisters were also laid in state in this room before it became the practice to hold the wake and funerals in the chapel. The Green Parlor is also the birthplace and home to the then College of Great Falls, now known as the University of Providence here in Great Falls! The nursing college was the community’s first college and was a collaborative effort between the Ursuline Sisters and the Sisters of Providence.

MOTHER RAPHAEL SCHWEDA ART STUDIO

High atop the Ursuline Centre, the fifth story Art Studio showcases the talents of Mother Raphael Schweda who for 50 years taught art classes. As evident from the various pieces of her work that are on display in the studio, not only was Mother Raphael an accomplished painter but she was also a talented sculptor, set designer, costume designer, and pastel artist. The views of the city are breathtaking and undoubtedly provides inspiration for the students and Mother Raphael.

URSULINE CENTRE CHAPEL

Located on the 3rd floor, the jewel of the Ursuline Centre is the exquisitely beautiful chapel which has graced this historic structure since 1912. The murals of Saint Ursula and Saint Angela Merici, painted on canvas by Mother Raphael Schweda, were hung in 1927. And Mass is celebrated here on Sundays at 10:00am, as well as Holy and Feast Days.

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THE BISHOPS PARLOR

Built for the intended use of visiting Bishops and dignitaries, the Bishop’s Parlor provides a quiet atmosphere with original pictures and bookcases from St. Peter’s Mission. The adjacent bedroom and private bath have been refurbished with several of the original furnishings and beautiful cherry wood dressers. Today, numerous groups rent the Bishop’s Parlor as a charming and special haven for their speaker or leader during their overnight stays.