5 Awe-inspiring Catholic sites not to miss in Colorado

The Catholic history of Colorado is about 160 years old, a blink of an eye in the millennia of Church history, yet in that short span Colorful Colorado has been home to a number of awe-inspiring Catholics.

The dynamic first bishop of Denver, Joseph Machebeuf, was the basis for the character Joseph Vaillant in Willa Cather's classic novel Death Comes for the Archbishop. Julia Greeley, who may become the first Black American canonized saint, was known as “the Angel of Denver” and is the only person buried in the city’s cathedral. And Mother Cabrini did so much good work there that Colorado honors her every year with their unique state holiday, “Cabrini Day,” on the first Monday of October.

If you happen to visit the Centennial State or you call this beautiful land your home, don’t miss these incredible Catholic sites that reveal so much of the state’s history and character.

Completed in 1912, the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was the result of decades of effort on the part of the city’s early Catholic community. It continues to serve the city’s Catholic community today, including with a lunch program that serves more than 50,000 meals annually to the poor and homeless.

Sometimes called the “Pinnacled Glory of the West,” the building’s elegant Gothic Revival design and twin 210-foot spires made it a Denver landmark that has endured despite destruction from two separate lightning strikes 85 years apart. 

Over the years, Colorado celebrities such as Buffalo Bill Cody and the Unsinkable Molly Brown worshiped there. As part of her cause for canonization, Julia Greeley’s mortal remains were transferred to the cathedral, and she is the first and only person buried there.

In 1979 Pope John Paul II honored the cathedral, designating it as a minor basilica in recognition of its distinguished history and architecture, and offering Mass there as part of the World Youth Day celebrations.

This shrine to St. Frances Xavier Cabrini includes the Stone House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Queen of Heaven Orphanage Summer Camp; a 22-foot statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; and a convent of Cabrini’s order, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini purchased the property in 1910 to use as a summer camp for her local orphanage. The sisters and children hauled water to the camp from the stream in a nearby canyon until 1912, when Cabrini discovered a spring on the property. A replica of the grotto of Lourdes was built over the spring in 1929 and replaced by the current sandstone grotto in 1959. 

The property became a pilgrimage site in 1938 following Cabrini's beatification and was officially established as a shrine in 1946, the year she was canonized. In 1954, a 22-foot statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was erected at the highest point of the site, along with a 373-step stairway for pilgrims to climb, following Cabrini's path up the mountain, marked with the Stations of the Cross.

The Abbey of St. Walburga is a community of Benedictine contemplative nuns who live, work, and pray in a breathtaking valley where the high plains meet the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. 

Their life of prayer bears fruit in hospitality, providing an opportunity for people to come and stay in an atmosphere where they can intentionally seek God. 

The nuns’ daily prayer of the Divine Office and the Mass are open to the public, and they accept reservations for individual overnight retreats. Groups are welcome to make reservations for day retreats. 

They also offer a gift shop and walking paths on their beautiful grounds. If you visit, don’t miss the “Way of the Cross,” a short trail that goes up a hill overlooking the entire valley. 

In 1916, William McPhee, a parishioner of the Cathedral in Denver, owned a large tract of land that is today called Camp St. Malo. He often allowed the parish to take kids hiking and camping on his property, and on one of those trips, campers saw a shooting star that appeared to hit the earth. They went looking for the point of impact and came upon the rock that now stands as the foundation of St. Catherine of Siena Chapel, or “the Chapel on the Rock.” 

The Rock evoked a reminder of Our Lord’s words to St. Peter, “On this rock I will build my Church.” The chapel would not be built until 1936 due to lack of funds, and only after struggles with the Colorado Highway Department, which wanted to use the rock for road base. 

In 1993 Denver was host of World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II. While in Colorado, the pope visited Camp St. Malo. St. Malo was closed to the public so that the Holy Father could rest and pray on site. He had lunch, took a nap, hiked up Cabin Creek, stopped to read German poetry on a rock, visited and prayed at St. Catherine of Siena Chapel, and then (much to the consternation of the Swiss Guard and his secret service!) visited with the cheering crowd lined up on Highway 7. Later the trail he hiked was renamed the John Paul II Trail.

Over the years, thousands of visitors have stopped at the chapel to pray and to enjoy its simplicity and beauty. It is framed against the majestic Mt Meeker and is designated an Historic Site. The tabernacle, the large crucifix, and the sanctuary lamp have been in use in the chapel since the first mass was offered in 1935.

Nestled among the staggering peaks of the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountains stands this beautiful landmark that draws visitors from around the world. 

The Shrine of the Stations of the Cross is a Spanish-Moorish style adobe church that local artist Huberto Maestas built atop a mesa as an act of love and a place of prayer for all who seek consolation and peace. 

The trail to the peak bears a series of bronze statues depicting the Stations of the Cross that made up the last hours of Jesus’ life. The last statue at the top depicts Christ’s resurrection, and alongside the shrine stands a Memorial to the Spanish Martyrs and grotto of Our Lady of Guadalupe, tributes to the deep Hispanic roots of the region.

The Christ of the Mines Shrine is a 12-ton, 16-foot tall statue of Jesus Christ which sits on the foothills of Anvil Mountain. “This alpine statue of Jesus in Silverton is said to protect both miners and local economies,” reads the Atlas Obscura, thanks to the landmark statue’s unusual history.

When the local mining industry hit rock bottom in the 1950s, a local priest and a Catholic men’s group proposed the idea of building a giant statue of Jesus. The statue, made of Carrara marble from Italy, arrived and was installed in 1959 with a plaque that read, “This shrine erected in honor of Christ of the Mines by the people of Silverton to ask God’s blessing on the mining industry of the San Juans.”

Amazingly, a few months after the statue arrived, a new tunnel provided access into the lower reaches of the local mine and the industry once again flourished in the town.

Jesus’ protection appeared evident in 1978, when a lake above the local mine broke through and flooded the underground workings, destroying everything in its path. The sudden flood would have been devastatingly deadly, but thankfully, it flooded on a Sunday night when no men were working. 

Although the mine shut down for a while, no lives were lost. A new plaque was added: “In thanksgiving to Christ of the Mines for deliverance of entire work force when Lake Emma flooded Sunnyside Mine June 4 (Sunday, Mine closed) 1978.”