Longmont parish to build new church

By John Gleason

There’s a new Catholic church in Longmont’s future. 

Actually, the project is construction of a new $4.5 million facility for St. Francis of Assisi Parish, which will have the distinction of being the first Catholic church built in Longmont in 125 years.
Father Frank Maroney, V.F., pastor at St. Francis for the past four years, said the population of Longmont, like other communities along the Front Range, continues to grow and the time for a new facility is at hand.

First organized in 1982 the parish, then called Spirit of Peace, shared facilities with Westview Presbyterian Church.  Father Maroney said that over the years the relationship between the two churches was good, but as time went on and the city’s population continued to increase, the two churches found themselves in scheduling conflicts.

“When I became pastor here in 2005, I was given a simple directive by Archbishop (Charles) Chaput: grow the parish to serve the Catholic community of Longmont,” the pastor recalled. “It was time.”

A year ago, the Catholic parish moved from its original location at 1500 Hover Road to an interim site at 2410 B Trade Centre Ave., three miles to the south. As a sign of their new start, parishioners selected St. Francis of Assisi as their patron and renamed the parish in his honor. In the last year the number of parish families grew from 300 to nearly 500. 

Parishioner Yvonne Green-wald said that it is time for the parish to move forward with building its own church.

“There is an excitement among the people,” Greenwald said. “When discussion first came up about a new church, support from the community was nothing short of overwhelming.”

The two-phase plan calls for an initial ground breaking in October 2011, with plans for completion a year later.  Phase I will include the building of a worship space with seating for 450; classrooms, a meeting room, a youth and music room, some office space, a small kitchen and a meditation courtyard.

Down the road, Phase II calls for construction of a sanctuary with seating for 1,000.  The initial worship space will then be converted to a parish hall, and remodeling and expansion will be done to the classrooms and office space.   

This is the first new church construction Father Maroney has been a part of.  He admits that the plan is ambitious and a bit daunting. He credits his parishioners’ for the support that has brought the project this far.

“Everything that we’ve done in the last three years has been a simple step-by-step process,” he said.  “What could be seen as a long time goes fast when the whole parish is involved.”

Funding for the project comes from a four-year capital campaign, which will give the parish sufficient time to collect the required funds before ground is broken, in this case, $2.25 million. The Archdiocese of Denver requires 50 percent of the total amount be collected before construction begins. 

Despite the economic downturn, parishioners have pledged generously to the campaign. Kicked off Nov. 9, $1.25 million has already been pledged.

“The backing of the parish is strong,” Greenwald said. “And we’re looking to the future.”