History
History of the Holy Name of Mary Church
Del Norte, Colorado
History of the Development of the Holy Name of Mary Parish
and Construction of the Church building
The following historical account is summarized by Steve Nicolais from the book: ” Mt Lookout “where you can see for two days”” by Ruth Marie Colville, 1995.
Holy Name of Mary Parish and Church have roots that can be traced back in time to the beginning of the of the Catholic church in the San Luis Valley when in 1856, the first Mass was celebrated by Fr. Vincent Montano in a small jacal structure made of logs, poles and earth in the Guadalupe-Conejos Plaza. At that time this was the only settlement on westside of valley. Del Norte was a barren sage plain.
In 1859, settlers came north in 13 wagons and founded La Loma de San Jose a few miles east of Del Norte. Soon more settlements were made nearby along the Rio Grande among them Plaza de los Valdeses, Plaza de Don Hilario, and twenty miles north, the villages of La Garita and El Carnero. During the early years of the development of the plazas and the Del Norte region, the records show that families had to go to Conejos in southern San Luis Valley for baptisms and marriages as no priests came this far north.
Then in 1871 Archbishop Lamy of Santa Fe sent the Priests of the Jesuit Order to reside in Conejos and to serve the people of the Parish of Our Lady. This new parish extended over a hundred of miles on the west side of the valley, covering villages and settlements from Antonito to Del Norte to Saguache and later the mining towns of the San Juans.
During 1871 to 1875 Jesuits of Conejos made hundreds of round trips in two-horse buggies serving the spiritual needs of the La Loma, Del Norte, La Garita and El Carnero and isolated homes to baptize, have Mass, hear confessions, perform marriages, visit the sick and bury the dead. They also celebrated Mass at the plazas on the feast day of the plaza’s patron saint. (A tradition still done today at the various plaza churches in San Luis Valley.
In 1871 at La Garita, the home of Julian Espinosa was substituted as a church. In 1873, after Father. Persone made the 9-day trip and served Mass to 300 people after which a chapel and school were planned. In 1881 the St. Francis of Assisi was built at the Plaza de los Valdezes (Seven Mile Plaza) on land donated by Juan P. Valdez.
For many years there was no fixed Catholic church in Del Norte which was initially a mission of La Garita. Visiting priests from Conejos often went to the Nerio Montoya ranch, one mile west of Del Norte, to serve Mass in a special room or family chapel. Around 1877 a log chapel on north Spruce Street which had apparently the name of ST. Mary’s Church was used, which was described “white as snow on the inside”.
In 1889 the chapel was vacated and a house and lots were purchased on Pine Steet. The house was reconfigured into a temporary chapel. Then on November 13th, 1889, the Right Reverend N. C. Matz declared “…. the main altar of Holy Name of Mary Church”.
The new Del Norte parish covered a large area, and a larger church was needed. So, with tremendous dedication, prayer, and hard manual labor the stone church was built. The construction was built by the faithful of this town. Heads of families worked and sent their sons and hired hands. The women fed everyone.
In August 1898 the cornerstone was blessed, speeches were made from the unfinished wall. Bishop Matz congratulated all for the work, so far, that was done without any debt and said he was confident that “each foot of lumber, coat of paint and every shingle used …would be paid for before the structure was finished”. The Del Norte Cornet Band played, and services were held within the unfinished walls. A copy of the Bishop’s speech and a copy of the San Juan Prospector newspaper were placed in the cornerstone. Imagine what the people of that time gave up to build such a magnificent church in Del Norte. It is truly a historic landmark in our town, with the it bell that tolled every day at 6 am,12 pm and 6 pm plus the solemn tolling for the passing of family member or friend.
Many gifts were received: Vestments from Conejos, 12 stained glass windows from Del Norte families, the rose window above the choir loft from Maria Alta Gracia Montoya. A 1,140-pound bell was donated by Librado Valdez. In 1928 the three beautiful altars in the Del Norte Church were constructed by Marino Orduna. A holy family statuary group was brought over from Spain. In 1936 a replica of the Lempius crucifix from Spain was installed in the adjacent chapel.
Next, is a summary of key information provided to the Rio Grande Museum by Fr. Derek Scott:
On November 12,” 1898, a rather unusual but exceedingly interesting ceremony took place.... It was the consecration of the new Catholic Church” built through the constant and devoted efforts of the Rev. Jesuit Fathers who were in charge of the congregation, Father F.X. Tomassin as Pastor and Rev. Father Good, assistant.
The Church is a handsome stone edifice 78 feet long and 44 feet wide, beneath an imposing belfry which holds a 1000-pound bell from the famous Foundry of Henry Stuckstede. Its sound is excellent and can be heard several miles away in the valley. The new building is purely Roman architecture and has a seating capacity of over 600. The altar table is of rich Italian marble eight feet long and a gift from Right Reverend Bishop Matz, D.D.
The consecration ceremony began at 7:30 am with the consecration of the building, and the altar, followed by the Pontifical Mass. The faithful were dismissed at 1 pm. It was a gala day for Del Norte and not only the Catholics of the town were present at the Church, but a goodly number of non-Catholic residents were present, as well as many families from afar.
After the gospel, Bishop Matz spoke in English and Spanish, congratulating the people and encouraging them to be liberal to their Church. In doing so, they would thus show their appreciation of their past as well As their pastors.
The Church is under the patronage of the Holy Name of Mary and does credit to the noble Fathers in charge, as well as to the Catholics, both the Hispanic and Anglo Americans of Del Norte and surroundings.
It is important to note that Holy Name of Mary was the first church consecrated in Colorado due to the fact that the church was finished without any debt, which is the condition needed for a sine quo non for consecration. “Finally, we must not omit a word of thanks to the goodly number of non-Catholics who generously contributed to the erection of this temple which is and should be the pride of Del Norte.”
Lastly, “the following are the names of 33 of the sponsors for the new Church, who represent the 3,300 souls of the whole Parish, one for each hundred: Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Chisholm of Del Norte, Mr. and Mrs. Luis Montoya of Del Norte, Mr. and Mrs. N. Williams of Del Norte, Mr. and Mrs. Mr. and Mrs. A. Pfeiffer of De Norte, Miss Hecker of Monte Vista, Mr. Joseph Partee of Monte Vista, Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Welch of Centerview, Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Sabine of Alamosa, James Roper of Alamosa, Mr. and Mrs. Crescencio Torres Of La Garita, Mr. and Mrs. Felix Chaves of Carnero, Mr. and Mrs. Juan Chaves of Saguache, Mr. and Mrs. Librado Martinez of Plaza Valdez, Mr. and Mrs. Gabino Valdez of Plaza Valdez, Mr. and Mrs. O’Brien of South Fork, Mr. John Murphy of Orient Iron Mines, Mrs. M. Biedell of Bonanza, Mrs. McMullen of Fort Garland, and Mr. and Mrs. Candido Cantu of Del Norte.
A final word is a plea for help for a bright the future for Holy Name of Mary Church
We know that the ancestors of many of our present and past parishioners and non-Catholic friends and citizens of the Valley were participants responsible for the funding, gifting, construction, opening and celebration of the new Holy Name of Mary Church in 1898. They should be very proud of their family’s legacy and we hope will continue their families legacy by helping get the Church repaired and reopened.
Questions or Comments? Please contact Greg Porter @ 719-849-8415 or gregporter0756@gmail.com