Our Lady of Guadalupe & St. Patrick Church

Office hours:  Monday - Friday
8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Address: 202 Lincoln Avenue, La Junta, CO 
Mailing Address:  P.O. Box 1181, La Junta, CO 81050-1181
Phone:  719 384-4342 or Toll Free:  1 800 529-5561 *  Fax:  719 384-7894  * 
Email:  ljcp@bresnan.net   *  Website:  www.olgsplajunta.org
Administrator: Rev. Alphonsus Ihuoma
Summer Mass Schedule:  Saturdays:  4:30 p.m.; Sundays:  8:30 a.m.; 10:30 a.m. * 
Youth Mass: 10:30 a.m. * Weekdays:  Monday:  Communion Service 7:00 a.m.;
Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.; Wednesday - Friday: 7:00 a.m.
Holy Days of obligation:  7:00 a.m. & 12:10 p.m.
Winter Mass Schedule:  Same as summer schedule.
 
Our mission...
Our mission is to make Christ fully present within and among us by worshipping and using the talents of all parishioners, proclaiming and witnessing the Word of God, especially to our children, providing works of mercy and justice to our parish and community.  We do this as a parish family, in the hope of bringing all into the Kingdom of God.
 
STAFF
Rev. Alphonsus Ihuoma, Administrator
Deacon Douglas Manley
Travis Murphy, Bookkeeper
Katherine Lopez, Office Manager
Pat Wake, Religious Ed. Coordinator
Cecilia Miera, Kitchen Manager

Stanley Werner, Parish Council President
 
HISTORY

La Junta Catholic Parish serves the city of La Junta and the surrounding communities of Cheraw, Kim and Swink, which are located within fifty miles of La Junta. Within these areas, the parish serves 1,036 registered Catholic families. Located in the Arkansas Valley, in the southeastern corner of Colorado, the communities are dedicated to agriculture and ranching.

La Junta Catholic Parish was established in 1982 from the consolidation of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. St. Patrick’s Parish began in 1885. But it wasn’t until 1894 that the actual church was built on land purchased nine years earlier from the Santa Fe Railroad. The church, located on 2nd Street, served the area until 1941, when a new brick building was erected on 7th and Raton. Later a school was opened and a convent acquired to house the Benedictine Sisters who administered the school.

 Our Lady of Guadalupe began in 1910 as a mission of St. Patrick’s Church. The adobe building was located on 3rd and Maple Street, and alternated its status as a mission and as a parish. In 1923 a new structure was built to replace the old adobe building. (That edifice is the present site of La Junta Catholic Parish). In 1961, Our Lady of Guadalupe opened its own Catholic School. For fourteen years the two schools, St. Patrick’s and Our Lady of Guadalupe, were a worthwhile addition to the parish community. However, due to the prevailing economic conditions and increasing costs, both schools were closed in 1971.

 In 1982, LJCP decided that maintaining two churches, two rectories and two school buildings was consuming too much of the parish’s time, talent and resources. Consequently, the properties of St. Patrick’s Church were sold and all parish activities were centralized at the former Our Lady of Guadalupe. Since then, the separate Catholic congregations have united in faith and mission.