The first priest to come to Snohomish was the Rev. D. M. Cesari, a Spanish missionary who arrived by steamship on December 2nd in 1877 to baptize George Giorgi, duly recorded in Latin. He named the little mission here in honor of "Our Lady of Mt. Carmel," a title of the Virgin Mary.

In 1886, Father Michael McCauley was appointed the first resident pastor. In short order, he purchased an old skating rink for the lumber to build the first version of this building, measuring 28 feet wide and 55 feet long, and boasted of an 80 foot high spire. By the time he left in 1890 the name had changed to St. Michael's.