HOMEPAGE for this issue: November 16, 2011 // Download PDF Version // Click to install/update Adobe Reader on your computer

St. Catherine of Siena Church to mark centennial anniversary with yearlong celebration

By Nissa LaPoint

Coming to Mass at St. Catherine of Siena Church every Sunday is like coming home for Sherry Hansen.

As a Catholic convert and a parishioner for 30 years, her attendance at the Denver parish has brought her peace and the people she’s come to know made an indelible mark on her life.

In recognition of the parish’s impact on her, she will attend the series of celebrations the church is planning, leading up to its 100th anniversary in May 2012.

In fact, Hansen, other parishioners and the entire Archdiocese of Denver is invited to attend the church’s centennial shindig, which kicks off 10 a.m. Nov. 26 with a celebration of its dedication.

“This is the birthday of the church itself,” said Ron Guerrero, who is on the parish’s Centennial Celebration Committee.

St. Catherine of Siena Parish formed May 2, 1912, and the first Mass was held at the Bungalow Theater at West 42nd Avenue and Hooker Street on May 19. The parish’s current church at 4200 Federal Blvd. was dedicated by Archbishop Urban Vehr on Nov. 27, 1952.

The celebration of the church and its history is also of great importance to Guerrero, who attended St. Catherine of Siena School and has been a parishioner since 1978. He particularly remembers the day he was confirmed in 1987, when Archbishop James Stafford, now a cardinal, celebrated the Mass and participated in an anniversary ceremony afterwards, he said.

“That’s one of the reasons why I’m all over this,” said Guerrero, who has been planning the centennial events with the committee since January. “It brings back great memories.”

After the first event Nov. 26, the centennial celebration will continue in 2012 with a family pizza and movie night Feb. 10, a live performance of St. Catherine’s life by actress Sister Nancy Murray March 25, a Bella Notte gala to benefit the parish school April 14, a St. Catherine feast day event April 29, a centennial Mass and reception May 6 and a festival June 1-3.

“We want to remind current parishioners of the rich history that they have and also the responsibility they have to carry it forward,” said Hansen, who is also on the planning committee. “We also want to invite and remind the neighborhood as a whole that we’re here.”

The festival will be a special time for the parish and a chance to fund the celebration while raising money for a 36-page church history book and paying for some parish renovations, said Father Gregoire Vidal, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena.

After the dedication Mass Nov. 26, there will be an opportunity for children to participate in games and others to learn about the church’s architecture and its symbolism—with its arches, gold gilding, brickwork and mosaics, St. Catherine’s is arguably among Denver’s most beautiful churches, Guerrero said.

“We figured we’d use this dedication Mass to bring in more people,” he said. “We’re trying to make this a huge event, even in the neighborhood itself.”