Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
Jun 5, 2002
Shrine of St. Anne in Arvada to dedicate new parish center
Archbishop Chaput to bless $4.2 million McCormick Center June 9
By Alwen Bledsoe
Shrine of St. Anne Parish in Arvada is about to open its newest addition — the McCormick Center. The $4.2 million parish center has been in the making for 14 years and will soon be home to celebrations, gatherings and parish life.
The new building will be dedicated June 9 after a 12:30 Mass celebrated by Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Father John McCormick, affectionately known as Father Mac, was pastor of the parish from 1988 to 2001.
"From the very beginning I realized we needed new facilities," he said, explaining that the restrooms were some of the most inaccessible in the archdiocese, that space was severely limited, and, most problematic, the parish had no extra land to build on. But small step after small step has finally culminated in the new center.
Father Mac, though, felt the archdiocesan Hearts On Fire campaign, which raised money for archdiocesan needs as well as for individual parishes, should take precedence over fund-raising efforts for the building project, he said. So, year by year as the church had extra money, it bought adjacent land and houses, even eventually tearing down Father Mac's house, he said.
In May 2000 Father Mac celebrated his 25th anniversary as a priest and completed his 12th — and what normally would have been his last — year at Shrine of St. Anne. But the archbishop granted him one more year to see his building project through.
"A great big thank you to Archbishop Chaput because if the archbishop had not allowed me to spend that final year there, it would have taken another priest four or five years to get up the momentum to do it," Father Mac said.
The church hired an architect and professional fundraisers who consulted with the staff on effective fund-raising strategies, and by the end of the year raised around $2.5 million in pledges, according to Father Mac. The church broke ground in May 2001, just in time to see its beloved priest off.
Actual building for the center, located at 7555 Grant Place, began last June, and though it won't be entirely finished for the blessing, it will be useable, said Father David Croak, current pastor of Shrine of St. Anne. An expanded parking lot and further landscaping are also in the works, he added.
"We're all excited about it and looking forward to the completion," he said of the new building.
Parishioners have been meeting in the church's basement, but now wedding and funeral receptions, meetings, the monthly Sunday breakfast and post-Mass doughnut and coffee gatherings all have a new home in the roomier facilities offered by the new center, he said. The center will also be used for religious education, Father Croak added.
"We really did not have adequate meeting space," he explained, later adding, "This will be much more convenient for parishioners."
"I think it's a real source of excitement and pride among the parishioners," he added. "It's a huge accomplishment and I think the parishioners have really supported it with their enthusiasm and finances. I think it'll increase the participation of parishioners in the life of the parish."
According to Father Mac, the new center will seat 320 and is the largest meeting center in Olde Town Arvada. The building project also brought to Shrine of St. Anne "a huge kitchen, meeting rooms, updated restrooms, a cry room added onto the church and also a new rectory and home for the priest," Father Mac explained. The old parish center will now be used as a youth center, he added.
"It's wonderful. It's the future of St. Anne's," he said of the new center.
Father Croak took on pastorship of the parish last June and credits Father Mac and Business Manager Rich Haataja with ushering the project into reality. "It was really kind of their dream," he explained. Father Mac also praises Haataja for his role in the building process. "He was a dynamic force," he said. "Without Richard it couldn't have been finished." The center is named after Father Mac, an honor he originally tried to refuse, Father Mac said. "I said I didn't want to be a ghost at St. Anne's, but then at my going-away part, the staff gave me an envelope. Inside it said, `It will be called the McCormick Center, and you can't do anything about it,'" he remembered, chuckling. "It's a great honor for me and I'm tremendously honored by it." Father Mac will return to the parish June 9 to see the opening of his namesake. "It's going to be a grand center. It really will," he raved.
Contact Us
