A History of St. Mary Parish

1901 - 2001

The First 100 Years

"Will you please hereafter take care of Littleton giving them Mass twice a month on Sundays?" With these words, on September 7, 1900, Bishop Matz assigned Richard Brady to the small Catholic community south of Loretto Heights College along the South Platte River.
-- Colorado Catholicism: The Archdiocese of Denver 1857 to 1989 by Thomas Noel

1900-1920

Thus the Catholic community of Saint Mary was founded in 1900 in Littleton, Colorado. Beginning with only 45 members in December of that year, St. Mary's Catholic Church has grown into a diverse community of over 3800 families and more than 10,000 members.

• In 1900, Bishop Nicholas Matz of Denver appointed Father Richard Brady to administer a newly formed parish in Littleton. On December 9, 1900, he called a meeting of parishioners; 45 attended. They committed to building a church on the site donated the day before, December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, by Joseph Bowles. To this day, December 8 remains the patronal feast day of the parish. The land for the church, valued at $550.00, was at the corner of Powers Avenue and Nevada Streets and was 75 feet by 125 feet.

• On July 21, 1901, ground was broken and in less than three months the structure was built. Father Brady celebrated the first Mass in the new church on October 11, 1901.

• Father Brady did not live at the parish because he was only able to come for Mass twice a month, riding from Loretto Academy in a black carriage pulled by his horse, "Jack."

• In 1914, Father Brady was replaced as pastor by Father Edward Clarke, who became the first resident priest in Littleton. The only property the parish owned was the church, therefore Father Clarke lived for a time with parishioners. In 1917, they purchased a rectory for their pastor on Nevada Street. They also began to set aside money to achieve their dream of building a Catholic school.

• Father Clarke’s pastorate was cut short when he suddenly took ill with the Spanish influenza that ravaged Europe and North America in 1919 and struck down millions of people. In March of that year, the influenza claimed his life.

• The new pastor, Father Charles Hagus, only stayed a year before being transferred to Sterling, Colorado. Yet during his abbreviated pastorate, the Altar and Rosary Society began its weekly church activities and remains active today.

1920-1947

• On May 13, 1920, Bishop Tihen appointed Canadian born Father Joseph Desaulnier as permanent pastor. During his tenure, the parish grew from 101 names to over 140 names, necessitating the remodeling and enlarging of the church.

• In August 1928, Father Gregory Smith arrived at Saint Mary's as the new pastor. He told the parishioners that his three goals for the parish were to form more parish organizations, complete the church building plans, and further develop the religious education program for children. Also that year, Father Smith brought the first Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet to teach religious education classes, keeping alive the dream of a parish school someday. This was the beginning of a long and happy relationship with the Sisters that continued until 2001 when both Sr. Ellen Roach and Sr. Cabrini Oldani retired from parish ministry!

• In 1932, Father Leo Flynn arrived as the new pastor of Saint Mary's. Due to the Great Depression, there was little change in the pattern of parish activities during Father Flynn's pastorate; instead he struggled like everyone else to keep the parish afloat financially. He often went without his salary to ease the parish debt.

• In 1938, Father Flynn was transferred to a parish in Denver, and Saint Mary's would be without a permanent pastor for some time. The diocese was plagued with a shortage of priests, so it wasn’t until 1947 that a permanent priest was assigned to St. Mary’s.

• During that time, St. Mary’s was delighted to send their first priest for ordination, Father David Maloney. He later became an auxiliary bishop for Denver and then in 1967, became the Bishop of Wichita, Kansas.

1947-1960

• Finally, in 1947, a whirlwind blew in as a permanent pastor: 34-year old Father Fred McCallin. This bundle of energy with the Irish twinkle in his eye was a man of broad vision and strong conviction. He would serve the longest term as pastor of Saint Mary's, 21 years from 1947 to 1968!

• Impressed with the parish, Father McCallin sought to bolster what was already in place, and also to create new programs. He arranged for the church at Nevada Street to be decorated for Christmas with a Nativity scene including 23 life-sized mannequins, 225 Christmas trees and 1,000 lights using the creativity of Gene Kramer, still a parishioner to this day. This custom would delight the entire community for years.

• On May 18, 1950, construction of a new parish hall was completed on the vacant lot across the street from the church.

• By 1951, the effect of the post-war baby boom was already being felt. For years, Saint Mary's parents carpooled their children to Saint Louis Catholic School in Englewood, but the school was now near capacity. Father McCallin had made sure that the new hall was designed in such a way that part of it could be converted to classrooms. Having obtained a commitment from the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet to staff the school, Father McCallin set about converting the upper story of the parish hall to four classrooms. The lower level would double as a parish hall and school cafeteria. Father McCallin also purchased a house across the street from the school and converted it into a convent with ten bedrooms and a chapel (the house still stands today to the south of the Nevada campus school).

• On September 4, 1951, the new Saint Mary's School opened, staffed by three sisters with an enrollment of 110 students from first through sixth grades. In 1952, an additional classroom was opened to add a seventh grade, followed by an eighth grade the next year. The first graduation exercises were held on June 6, 1954.

• As the parish population continued to grow, the new school became overcrowded. In the late-1950’s, Father McCallin enlarged the school by adding a one-story addition to the north side, adding two more rooms to the center linking the new north wing with the existing parish hall, and building an annex across the street. All this construction gave the school a total of 13 classrooms for 700 students, seven sisters, and six lay teachers. Father McCallin also worked to keep the parish financially soluble, to build community, to cultivate education and to nurture the parish's spiritual life.

• In 1959, another priest, Father William Sievers, was assigned as the first assistant pastor. Other priests from the seminary as well as the Redemptorists were brought in to help as the parish continued to grow. It soon became evident that the small church on the corner of Nevada and Powers with its seating for 250 was becoming more and more inadequate.

1960-1980

• Father McCallin approached Archbishop Vehr and asked for permission to purchase property south of Ridge Road on Prince Street. Permission was granted and a fund drive raised the necessary money to finance the project. Seating capacity in the new church would be nearly 800 in a parish of 1,400 families. The church interior and furnishings were provided through memorial donations. Archbishop Vehr dedicated the new church on September 13, 1962.

• The old church remained standing until it was torn down in 1979. The cornerstone of the old church had been moved to the new Father McCallin Memorial Prayer Garden located on the south side of the church. The year 1901 is still visibly carved into the stone. Thus, the three Saint Mary's churches - the original 1901, the 1962, and the expanded 2001 - are united within the context of the garden to symbolize our continuity as a parish. We are blessed to have many families still in the parish who worshipped in all three churches and who sacrificed to accommodate our growth over the years with building projects as needed.

• The Nevada campus could no longer accommodate the large number of students enrolled in the parish school, so in 1964, a new school building on the Prince Street site was ready to welcome grades six through eight, while first through fifth grades stayed at the Nevada Street school. After the devastating Platte River flood in 1965 which damaged the convent, plans for a new rectory and convent on the Prince Street site became more immediate. Construction on these was completed during the summer of 1966.

• Father McCallin's tenure at Saint Mary's came to a surprise end in January 1968 when Archbishop Casey assigned him to Divine Redeemer parish in Colorado Springs. Father McCallin returned to Saint Mary's after his retirement and resumed some of his priestly duties. After his health began to fail he moved to Mullen Home where he lived until his death in March 1999.

• After Father McCallin's departure in 1968, Father Michael Kavanagh arrived as the new pastor. Prior to his arrival in Littleton, he was pastor at a small parish of 60 families in Woodland Park. At Saint Mary's he would shepherd a parish of 1,800 families. Father Kavanagh met the challenge of being chosen to pilot a new parish council program. He worked with the council to write a new constitution and by-laws for the council. In addition to establishing a model for parish councils, Father Kavanagh was also responsible for implementing the directives from the Second Vatican Council which included celebrating Mass in the vernacular, turning the altar to face the people, and calling on lay people to serve in various liturgical ministries. With the new Mass, people had to learn when to sit, stand and kneel. In December 1970, women religious and lay people received the privilege to help distribute Holy Communion at Masses. Also introduced at this time was congregational singing. Folk Masses would come into vogue, and "home Masses" became popular.

• Within the next 10 years, three men were ordained as priests from St. Mary’s Parish.

• In 1973, Father Kavanagh was transferred, and was replaced by Father Alimena as pastor. Father Alimena founded the Sunshine Club which is still active today, and established many other church community ministries. By the end of 1975, there were more than 2000 families registered with St. Mary’s. Once again, it was time to build – this time with a religious education center and school gymnasium. In 1976, St. Mary’s celebrated their 75 year Anniversary. That same year, St. Mary Choir was chosen to sing at the 41st International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia.

1986-2001

• In 1986, Father Alimena was replaced by Father Joseph Monahan as Pastor. Many construction projects dominated his pastorate. Archbishop J. Francis Stafford dedicated a new school building on the Prince Street campus in 1993. Also during this time period, new stained glass windows for the church depicting the mysteries of the Rosary were installed.

• By 1992, the number of registered parishioners had swelled to 3,200.   Father Monahan left Saint Mary’s in 1997, and was replaced by Father David Blue Jacket.

• Father David Blue Jacket arrived in the summer of 1997. In 1998, he celebrated his 10 year anniversary as a priest.

• In 1999, Father David, the Pastoral Council, the Finance Council, and parishioners sought to address several needs, including the continued growth of the parish, overcrowding at Masses, and the pending priest shortage. The following year in 2000, construction began to expand the church and add another hall adjacent to Marian Hall.

• The jewel of the project was the addition of the Magnificat Adoration Chapel which is located at the front of the Church with large windows facing Prince Street. It was hoped that the clear visibility of the chapel from the street would send a clear message to the Littleton community that the presence of Jesus always dwells with us. This witness to consolation and hope was a direct response to the tragedy at Columbine High School months before.

• The first Mass in the newly completed church was celebrated on Christmas Eve, 2000 - the eve of the parish’s 100th anniversary!

• The year 2001 was the parish Centennial Anniversary and also the school’s 50th Jubilee. St. Mary’s celebrated throughout the year. In February, the Vienna Choir Boys gave a concert in the new church, in April on Good Friday the traditional “Tenebrae Service” was magnificently sung by the choir, and the parish’s newly expanded pipe organ was dedicated in June.  Since that time, th parish community hosted a variety of concerts, including religious, secular, and the popular “Coffee House Series.”