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Serving 1,025 families
St. Mary Catholic Church is located in
Montrose, on the Western Slope of the Continental Divide. It is situated in the
Uncompahgre Valley, with the Colorado Rockies to the east, the San Juan
Mountains to the south, Grand Mesa to the north and the Uncompahgre Plateau to
the west. The community has a diverse economy, which includes occupations in
service, retail, agriculture and manufacturing.
The Catholic faith has been a presence in the
Montrose community since 1882, when priests from Grand Junction and Ouray
traveled to Montrose to offer mass and administer the sacraments. Because of the
importance of mining and the large population of Ouray in the 1890’s, Ouray
was designated the mother church, and the church in Montrose was the mission.
That changed in 1906 when St. Mary Catholic Church was officially established.
The small church served its parishioners until it was
destroyed by fire in 1911. After the fire, only the stone walls of the building
remained. Remarkably, the church’s first pastor, Fr. O’Farrell, and the
congregation raised enough funds to rebuild the church within a year of its
destruction. The new church was dedicated on July 28, 1912. The new facility was
built with all the modern conveniences of its time—heating, plumbing and
electric lights. In 1965, the church underwent another renovation, incorporating
many of the changes brought about by Vatican II. After these changes, the
gathering space was complete.
St. Mary’s Catechetical Center has served the
parish and the Montrose community since 1959 as a place for meetings, parties,
receptions and classes. It was sold in 1998 and seven acres of property was
purchased with the intent of building a new place to worship. Construction on
the new church building began in 2000 and was dedicated by Bishop Arthur N.
Tafoya on September 21, 2001.
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