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Nestled in the Animas Valley of the San Juan Basin of
southwest Colorado is one of the oldest churches in the state, St. Columba. To
meet the needs of the Catholics attracted to the San Juan Mountains, who would
seek precious metals and work in coal mines, a parish was laid at 3:00p.m. on
Sunday, June 12, 1881.
St. Columba Church, a frame building that could
accommodate 400 people, is believed to be the oldest existing church in the San
Juan Basin. The Denver Tribune of September 14, 1882, reported that St. Columba
“was an edifice of imposing proportions—the largest in the state of Colorado
west of the plains."
In 1882, Most Reverend Joseph Machebeuf, Bishop
of Colorado, appealed to the Sisters of Mercy, of St. Louis, Missouri, asking
for volunteer Sisters to teach and care among the rapidly growing population of
southwest Colorado. Led by Reverend Mother Mary Baptiste Meyers, the Sisters
made their way to Conejos, and then quickly to Durango.
Together with Fr. Luke Harney, the Sisters
established St. Columba School and Mercy Hospital. With one structure, the
Sisters saw to the education of the parish children, provided a home for
orphaned children and cared for the sick. Many times their pay consisted of wild
game, chickens, eggs and produce. For many years Mercy Hospital was the only
general hospital in the entire southwest.
With leadership from the Church, the Sisters
built an expanded hospital, and in May 1884, a separate school building was
completed. The “Academy” was among the first parochial schools in Colorado.
Today St. Columba consists of a faith community
of 1,000 dedicated families. The present parish campus, with St. Columba as the
cornerstone, includes the parish offices, a pre-school center and a school
encompassing grades kindergarten through eighth.
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