OUR LADY OF GRACE (1978)

Wattenberg was established halfway between Brighton and Fort Lupton when the Denver, Laramie & Northwestern Railroad built to the site in 1909. Hispanic farm workers who settled there arranged to have Joseph P. Trudel offer Mass.

Wattenbergers waited patiently for Father Trudell to roll into town in his old black Buick and ring the bell of the tiny chapel, which some whispered had been a Penitente morada. They met in this humble structure until the owner of an abandoned pea cannery donated his building. Parishioners contributed labor and materials, including two pot-bellied coal stoves, to convert the cannery to a church. The stations of the cross were donated by St. Leo's in Denver, while the pews came from Regis College, the statues of Joseph and Mary from St. Anthony's in Sterling, the altar from St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, and the stained glass windows from St. Augustine's in Brighton.

Parishioners petitioned Archbishop Vehr for a priest but were told they would have to guarantee a Sunday collection of $30. This was no small goal for the poor flock, but Piedad and Toribio Tafoya undertook the task. When they had the money, they called Greeley, and St. Peter's or Our Lady of Peace sent a priest. In more recent years, this tiny but determined parish has been tended by the pastor of St. Williams in Fort Lupton.