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St. Mary's Church
Office hours: Monday &
Tuesdays 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. |
Address: 650 Elm Avenue; Las Animas, CO
81054-1738 *
Mailing Address: 714 Elm Avenue,
Las Animas, CO 81054-1738 |
| Phone: 719 456-1104 *
Email:
stmaryla@yahoo.com |
| Pastor: Raymond P. Grimes |
Summer Mass Schedule:
Saturdays: 5:30 p.m.; Sundays: 9:00 a.m. * Holidays: To
be announced.
Weekdays: 8:00 a.m. |
| Winter Mass Schedule:
Same as summer schedule. |
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| Our mission... |
| We, the parish community of St. Mary, are a
people of racial mix, but unified belief. We are called to
be ministers of God's word in our own special way by leading,
listening, and helping others. We believe in one God who
forgives all. We believe in community support by welcoming
newcomers and working with old friends. Above all, we
serve God, and with His help, we serve our families, friends,
the elderly, our youth, those in need, and your parish community
to the best of our abilities. This is St. Mary's Parish,
where we serve and minister to one another with God's help and
the Spirit's assistance. |
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STAFF |
| Rev. Raymond P. Grimes, Pastor
& Youth Director |
| Diane Spano, Music Director |
| John Spano, Parish Council President |
| Jeannie Telck, Business Manager |
| Barbara Muniz
Secretary |
| Cruz Martinez,
Maintenance |
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HISTORY |
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Las Animas is located in the Arkansas Valley, east of La
Junta, west of Lamar. It is situated in a predominately agricultural area.
The first Catholic church in Las Animas had a rocky
start. It was established in 1875, but within a year, after a breech of
contract, the church was sold and turned into an enclosed barn and corral.
Luckily, in 1877, a court mandate ordered the church be remanded to the priests.
During the 1880s Pueblo priests from St. Ignatius and St. Patrick’s served the
church, and occasionally a priest traveled to Las Animas from Holy Trinity in
Trinidad.
Then in 1892, the church collapsed due to
severe weather. As there were no other churches in the Arkansas Valley east of
Pueblo, Fr. Donnelly of La Junta raised enough money to replace the ruined
church with a chapel. For the next decade, St. Mary’s Social Society charged
25˘ to attend “high five” parties in order to raise funds for a new church.
The new church was established in 1910, and assigned its first pastor. It served
the Las Animas community until it was replaced in 1928.
The church that stands today was built in 1928 for
$30,000. Ten years later a rectory was built, and nearly ten years after that,
barracks from La Junta Air Base were turned into a parish hall. The parish
continued to grow with the addition of the Shrine to our Lady of Grace, (1958),
a memorial to early parishioners and priests who served Las Animas, and St. Mary
School (1963). These additions completed the parish plant.
Due to financial difficulties the St. Mary School
was forced to close in the early 1980s.
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