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Show I ; - t ' -r- I 1 REVIEW OF CHURCH- PROGRESS ! IN THE DIOCESE OF DENVER 1 ' - I : : : j ; BY ELIZABETH A. KELLY. ' Christinas, the season of peace -and good will, arouses in the average heart gratitude for the blessings of the year rather than hope for that -which is to come. The diocese of Denver has much J 1o be thankful for in the blessings which have been 3 visited upon the church here, and as if coining from the gray dawn of the early morning out again into the glorious sunlight, the church is once more strong and ready to carry out its cherished plans. The annals of few ""n-. years since the pioneer , '(.IVS f Colorado have .VJV- embraced .so many im- 1 i JV"-5 port ant things in cecles- 1 f " iastical circles. From 1 I ihe 'vlough of despond'' I J ; the church here has come 1 . M' forth pronnVing to ac- .t' ' . couiplish much -during I'SL the, coming year., and i t' I? ',- pointing what has been 1 f C"' J x - done during the past" ! ' K J iwelve-monlli as a guar- f ' XT1" - " anteo of what is to come. J ( S;VYf-. 4 Without any broad t 5V ' 4.-"''"rV " ' stretch of the iinagina- ' VwrCVWi' lion it is easy to see I VjrQ,', how the new cathedral, 1 f'-rrrriS the hope of Catholics of ' v . I v" Denver for years, is no ' lunger an impossibility; s -:i4' to see that a splendid j -d chance of pushing " the abandoned work 1o a rapid compleiion lies in the en-J en-J couraging circumstances that have shaped them- II solves during recent months. Kvery year has witnessed the pmphecy that, the J ( nsuinir season would surely bring about the com- J jiletion of at least a portion of the structure so 5 1 hat service could be held there, but continual dis- J appointment has tit timer caused interest to wane. 4 The fact that no church fair has been held for two years, has oi'icrcd additional encouragement, for ; : tb.cre is such a thing as wearying of the mouey- 1 raising schemes when carried to extremes. When ihe work on the church is resumed it is pretty safe . to say that a magnanimous response will greet the : appeal for financial assistance, for the prospect s now is that, before the church is many years older I 1 Colorado will have -a cathedral which will vie with i the handsome edifices throughout the west. There is a possibility that within the course of a few mouths, the stock in which lhe cathedral build- ! ing fund was invested a few years ago will so great- j ly rie in value that the lost money will be repaid to I the last penny, and that in addition there will be the, as vet, unpaid subscriptions. 1 But enough for what is to come. Throughout the state of Colorado the church has prospered. In every town where there is a resident priest the spiritual wants of the people have been ministered unto and miles of mountain road have been traverssed by mission priests bringing across snowcapped snow-capped peaks 1 he gospel of peace. Xumerous new missions have been established with the improved railroad facilities and the services- of additional 'priests have made it possible to reach at least once a month every part of the state. On Sunday mornings morn-ings priests are able to cover. two widely separated towns for mass early and late, and in this manner lhe church is well looked after far and wide. The ordination of fout new priests for service in this diocese has relieved the congested condition of af- i. fairs, and the cathedral at Denver finds itself doing well with fewer priests than have worked there in years. This is so that the newly settled parts of the state may be looked after. Two of the most energetic ener-getic assistants at the cathedral are laboring in mountains towns with difficult work to accomplish, but with the strength and the zeal to accomplish it. The Church of the Holy Family in North Denver has been pushed practically to completion, and will be ready for services before spring comes. The pastor. Father Lawrence Fedc, S. J., has spent his entire year in looking after the church, iu raising money for the building, and will, during the next year, turn his attention to the erection of a par-, ochial school for the hundreds of children in the vicinity, of the new church. Father Hugh Mc-Mennamin Mc-Mennamin has been authorized to canvass the district dis-trict embracing Montclair, Aurora and Parkhill, with a view to establishing a new parish in that part of the city, and the next year will see him installed as pastor of a church in one of the most widespreading territories in Denver. To place him in charge of t ho projected church, Father McMon-namin McMon-namin was taken from St. Mary's church at Colorado Colo-rado Springs, where he had been since his ordination, ordina-tion, and in his stead Father Louis Hagus, ordained in July, was made assistant to Father Kaber. Father Willipm If owlet t, formerly pastor of the church at Colorado City, has been given a flourishing flourish-ing parish at Pueblo, and as the pastor of St. Ignatius' Ig-natius' church has done much good work already. Father William O'Malley, formerly connected with the cathedral, although he has been at Silverton for a few months, has done excellent work there, and has msrde innumerable visits to missions under his care. Father John B. White, also a cathedral assistant as-sistant has Father Hewlett's place at Colorado City, and is carrying on the good work so well begun. be-gun. Father A. B. Casey, three years ago connected con-nected with the cathedral, has one of the largest parishes in the state outside of Denver, and occupies occu-pies a unique position in the religious circles of (Jreelcy. The population of the town has materially j increased since the sugar beet industry has gained such a firm footing there, and the church is well supported and is accomplishing much good. , At Manitou, Father M. F. Callanan, also formerly form-erly of Denver, has become a favorite with church-going church-going people, and not only Catholics but people of other denominations flock to the little Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, where Father Callanan Calla-nan preaches Sunday after Sunday. Father Michael W. Donovan, ordained a little over a year ago, is still pastor of the church at Georgetown. He has missions throughout mountain towns in the vicinity, and his work has frequently been commended com-mended by Bishop Matz.. The debt on the church has been in part paid and the roof of the structure blown off in a windstorm early in the year has been replaced at an expenditure of something over $GK. During jhe year a handsome residence costing in the neighborhood of $22,000 was presented to Bishop X. C. Matz by the priests of his diocese. This is the first episcopal residence the church has held since the sale of the Stout street property, and adjoins ad-joins the site of the new cathedral at Colfax and Logan avenues. It is one of the most handsomely furnished homes in the city, and was the property of a well known physician. The house was made the gift of the clergy of the diocese and the furnishings fur-nishings were paid for by offerings from the people of Denver who attended the three days' house-warm- , ing. The ,vift was made to Bishop Matz, with little formality, and he has occupied the house since the 1 latter part of September. One of the blessings of the year visited upon the diocese was the settlement of the feud in the Italian colony of Xorth Denver. With the dawn of the pastorate of Father Thomas Moreschiuin. S. M., peace was restored and only last Sunday the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carinel, upon which work had been abandoned long before the death of Father Lepore, was dedicated and formally opened for service. These are but a few of the man;, things which have transpired in the diocese during the year which is nou- rapidly drawing to a close, but they serve to show the activity "which has been experienced expe-rienced and argue well for the advancement which the diocese will experience during the ensuing year. |