Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena The Diocese of Helena () is the Catholic diocese for western Montana with its cathedral located in Helena, the state capital. The diocese was erected from the year-old Vicarate of Montana on March 7, 1884, while Montana was still a territory. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Portland, which encompasses Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Before becoming a diocese, this was the Vicariate of Montana (covering the whole territory and then state of Montana). For its first twenty years, the diocese served all of Montana. In 1904 the new Diocese of Great Falls-Billings
Helena Historic District (Helena, Montana) lasted 30 years and Helena became the state capital. The city grew from south to north along Last Chance Gulch, its main street, and hence the evolution of architectural styles can be traced. At the southern end the road is narrow with small log and stone buildings and at the northern end the road is wider and has large stonework homes. Few major downtown buildings were built in the years immediately after the Panic of 1893, which among other problems, caused the closing of the local silver mines. This resulted in downtown Helena having a sharp division in its older