Week of June 18, 2003

Order leaves legacy of tradition, faith as church receives new pastor

Laurie Dunklee

In 1911, a young Italian priest bicycled out to Welby, a small farming community on the northern outskirts of Denver, and said Mass in the local grocery store. In 1912 a church was built and the Servites, an Italian order, took charge of Assumption Parish, which they served until last week.

Now the Order of the Servants of Mary, or Servite Friars, are leaving Assumption.

"Because of the aging community of Servites in the U.S., the order can no longer staff all of the parishes they have," said Servite Father Hugh Guentner, pastor and administrator of Assumption since 1997. "Few new vocations are coming in, so it was the difficult decision of the friars of the province to pull out of some parishes."

The Servites are giving up five parishes nationwide, as well as several in Australia and South Africa. There are approximately 100 Servite priests and brothers in the United States, according to Father Guentner. The Servite community, begun in Italy in 1233, is comprised of lay men and women, nuns, brothers and priests.

"Leaving is hard for us because of all the years we've spent here," said Servite Father Gabriel Ramaciotti, administrator and former pastor at Assumption. "It's hard on the parishioners, too. They're not happy that we're leaving, but they understand the circumstances."

The Servites came to Denver from Chicago, where they served Italian congregations.

"Mother Cabrini had been to Denver and when the pastor at Mount Carmel died, she suggested to Bishop Matz that he bring the Servites out here," said Father Ramaciotti.

The Servites served in the Denver area at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Holy Trinity and Our Lady Mother of the Church parishes in addition to Assumption. Today Mount Carmel is the order's only parish.

Assumption was a lively parish comprised mostly of Italian farming families in the early days. Parishioner Rocco Rotello recalled that when he was a boy the priest would come out to bless the fields. Rotello, 70, was "born and raised in the parish" and sings there for weddings, funerals and other occasions.

"The priests were part of the people, not separate," he said.

The school, opened in 1920, was served by Servite nuns until 1978. Still going strong, the school is financed partly with proceeds from church events, including the spaghetti dinner.

"The spaghetti dinners go way back," said Father Ramaciotti. "In the old days, the women would cook for three days before the dinner. On Thursday they'd wash the china, on Friday they'd cook the meatballs and on Saturday they'd make the sauce. They'd cook in the school, and before there was running water, they'd run a garden hose up to the second floor to cook the spaghetti."

Another important tradition is the annual bazaar, held on the last weekend in July.

" Thousands of people come and it's a social time as much as anything," said Father Guentner.

Beginning July 1, Father Peter Dinh will be Assumption's new pastor.

When Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., celebrated the confirmation Mass in May, he said the new pairing of pastor and congregation is appropriate.

"The young priest coming to serve this parish is of immigrant background, just as this parish was started by those new to our lands," he said. Father Dinh is of Vietnamese descent.

"This parish has changed a lot in 91 years," said Father Ramaciotti. "Now it's an urban community of people with diverse cultural backgrounds."

"But I hope we can keep some of the old traditions," said Rotello.

On Pentecost Sunday, June 8, Auxiliary Bishop José Gomez, S.T.D., celebrated a "Festival of Gratitude" at Assumption for the ministry of the Servites. Approximately 500 parishioners and friends attended the special Mass.

Servite Fathers Ramaciotti and Guentner, and Brother Phillip Eikmeyer are temporarily assigned to Mount Carmel and will live there while they wait for their new assignments.