Week
of
October 24, 2001
Inside the Register
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St. Joseph Redemptorist to celebrate renovation
Inner-city parish invites all to Mass with archbishop Nov. 4
By Roxanne King
For
a time, St. Joseph Redemptorist Church in downtown Denver was in such
disrepair that many thought it was closed. But recent efforts to replace
crumbling stonework and clean grime-covered brick are returning the 112-year-old
church to its former glory.
Symbolizing the parish's commitment to walk through the new millennium with restored pride are gleaming oak doors, near replicas of the originals, which will replace battleship-gray steel ones before Archbishop Charles Chaput celebrates Mass in the parish gym 1 p.m. Nov. 4. All are invited.
"I want people to see what's been done and that we want to continue," said the pastor, Redemptorist Father Kyle Fisher.
Alumni, especially, are invited to the liturgy, tours and reception being held to showcase ongoing renovations, he said.
"People have said they were embarrassed to drive by," Father Fisher said as he led the Register on a whirlwind tour of the largely Hispanic, low-income parish at 6th Avenue and Galapago Street. Pointing to the main doors, he said, "I call those the barn doors, they're not fitting for a church."
Neighbors Genesis Inc., an international positioning and communication consulting firm, donated the new doors scheduled to be installed this week. Serendipitously, the company was able to provide a woodworker from among its
employees to craft the doors for the church named after a carpenter, said Genesis partner Tim Croasdaile.
"We have a bond with the St. Joseph community that goes back to the early 1980s when Genesis moved into the old grade school," Croasdaile said. "We have been participating with Father Kyle and Sister Alicia (Cuaron) in a number of activities to help renew the parish because we feel it's such an important anchor to the community. We feel our destinies are intertwined."
Help has come from other quarters as well. The Colorado Historical Society jump-started the renovation with a $100,000 grant and the Archdiocese of Denver helped by loaning the parish $30,000 so the parish could also get a matching grant from the historical society. The archdiocese also kicked in a $17,000 grant to install new gutters and drainspouts. Father Fisher believes Mother Cabrini's intercession provided another $9,000.
"When I found out Mother Cabrini used to come here I began to pray (for her intercession) and everything I've prayed for, I've gotten," the priest said with a smile. Standing between the rectory and church he explained that the road separating them used to flood. To fix it, he said, "I needed $9,000 and within 10 days I had it because of Mother Cabrini.
"I come out here on rainy days and watch it flow — that's my thrill, because it goes where it's supposed to," he said grinning.
But he doesn't expect the good saint do everything. He's rolled up his sleeves and stripped and sanded window frames and now the main doorframes of up to 10 coats of paint with help from parishioners and seminarians. His example and enthusiasm has been contagious, parishioners said.
"Our offertory has doubled since Father Kyle has been here," said longtime parishioner Lena Martinez, 73, a member of the parish Leadership Board.
"It's not a big parish, we don't have a lot of parishioners because it's downtown."
When he arrived at the parish three years ago, just 35 families received offertory envelopes and collections averaged $1,000, the pastor said. Now 200 families use envelopes and weekly contributions average $2,500. Some 600 families worship there, Father Fisher said.
Built in 1889, the red brick church is unique in that the sanctuary is on the second floor, above the parish hall. It's the seventh oldest church in the diocese and the second oldest parish, Father Fisher said. At
one time boasting both elementary and high schools, the secondary school closed in the early 1970s and the grade school in the `90s.
Covered with the pollution of 40,000 cars whizzing down 6th Avenue daily, the church's shabby exterior hid a vibrant parish life. Today, the old high
school houses nine non-profits providing services ranging from legal aid to health fairs as Centro Bienestar under the direction of Sister Cuaron, a Marycrest Franciscan.
The locker room in the gym was recently remodeled and offers showers and laundry services to the homeless. Nonprofit Broadway Assistance Center uses the parish hall three days a week to distribute food and clothing to some 300 families and one night weekly it serves a hot meal to as many as 400 needy.
"Some people have said they thought the parish was abandoned," said alum Raul Ponce, 47, who attended all 12 years of school at St. Joe's. Now a field engineer who lives in Englewood, Ponce volunteers at the center and is on the parish's Capital Campaign Committee. "We want for when people drive by to say, `What a beautiful church.'"
To fix the many problems facing it, including reframing the stained glass windows in danger of falling out, the parish needs about $4 million, Ponce said. And how the parish will pay the $6,000 bill for the new doors' hardware is still a mystery.
But the parish is stepping forward in faith.
"To understand what that parish has accomplished with so little is a miracle," Croasdaile said. "I think the renovation is like the crowning achievement of a parish that continues to revitalize itself. It's just the spirit of the place. It's just marvelous what's going on."
The parish hopes that alumni and former parishioners will come forward to help, Ponce said.
"St. Joe's bulldogs, where are you? We need you," he said