ESTES PARK, Colo.—Our Lady of the Mountains parishioner Rob Pieper recalls standing outside the rustic church as a boy to hear Mass through open windows if his family arrived too late to get a seat inside.
“Before the church built on, it would be standing room only,” Pieper said about the log and stone structure set on a hill in Estes Park. The restaurant owner and parish committees member added he feels honored to have been part of the church’s history, off and on, for nearly 60 of its 75 years.
Our Lady of the Mountains Church will mark its 75th anniversary with a 10 a.m. Mass June 30 celebrated by Archbishop Samuel Aquila and concelebrated by the pastor, Father Faustinus Anyamele, as well as visiting priests and former pastors. The parish choirs will perform prior to the liturgy. After Mass, a jubilee plaque will be dedicated, followed by lunch and entertainment. (For planning purposes, an RSVP for the luncheon is required.)
“What we are celebrating is not necessarily the sanctuary or the structure or the stained glass,” Father Anyamele said. “But the dedication of a place set apart for the formation of souls. This parish has nurtured souls upon souls…. That is the whole essence of this celebration.”
Although the current church was dedicated in 1949, it was preceded by a small frame mission chapel built in 1915 by famed pioneer priest and historian Father William J. Howlett. Called St. Walter’s, the chapel was seeded by $500 given by Patrick Walsh. His wife Catherine later gave another $250. The couple were Iowans who summered in Estes Park. Their gifts were made in memory of their son, Walter, who had died at age 20 a few years earlier. Another tourist, Chicagoan George J. Cooke, donated $750. Father Howlett’s family gave $418.90.
Father Howlett, a tireless church builder, celebrated the first Mass in St. Walter’s on Aug. 29, 1915.
By 1941, the 170-seat mission chapel was no longer large enough, and the three-acre site on which the present church sits was purchased. Delayed by World War II, construction on the current church—no longer a mission and renamed Our Lady of the Mountains—began in 1947. Featuring moss rock from the historic McGraw Ranch, native granite and peeled logs, the picturesque church offered double the capacity of St. Walter’s and was heated for year-round use. It was dedicated on June 9, 1949.
A two-story parish center was added in 1977. It was renovated in 2008 to provide a 200-seat overflow area and an addition to the church. Both projects preserved the church’s original architecture.
Estes Park is named after Joel Estes and his wife Patsy, who relocated their family from Kentucky in 1860 to become the area’s first permanent residents. They homesteaded for six years. Today, nearly 6,000 people live in Estes Park (2021 Census ACS). That number grows to 11,000 when adding unincorporated Estes and the communities of Allenspark, Glen Haven and Drake. Estes Park is considered the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park.
“We can swell to a community of 125,000 or more on any given day during our peak visitor season as some 4 million people come through Estes to enter Rocky Mountain National Park (annually),” noted Patti Brown, a parishioner, journalist and editor of the soon-to-launch Estes Valley Voice.
“Our parish not only serves the Archdiocese of Denver but, in a sense, the whole world,” Father Anyamele said with a chuckle. “People come from other states and many countries. Our Lady of the Mountains becomes their home parish during their visit. This parish is a place that brings people together.”
With some 350-400 registered families, Father Anyamele said, the parish is sustained by the generosity of its members as well as—echoing the first donation to erect St. Walter’s—its visitors, whose financial contributions provide vital support.
“We are grateful to God, who has made this 75th anniversary possible,” Father Anyamele said. “And to each and every member of the parish, our visiting brothers and sisters, and the archdiocese, all of whom continue to support the parish in her ministry.”
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The original St. Walter's chapel, built in 1915, served the community for 30 years before the current church building's dedication in 1949. (Photo: DCR Archives)
The current church building was completed and dedicated in 1949. (Photo: DCR Archives)
Home to countless travelers from around the world, Our Lady of the Mountains "brings people together," Father Faustinus Anyamale, the parish's current pastor, said. (Photo: DCR Archives)
Archbishop Urban Vehr visits Our Lady of the Mountains Church in 1949. (Photo: DCR Archives)
Parishioners and visitors gather outside of the newly dedicated Our Lady of the Mountains Church in Estes Park in 1949. (Photo: DCR Archives)
The parish underwent renovations to construct a new parish center in 1977. (Photo: DCR Archives)
"What we are celebrating is not necessarily the sanctuary or the structure or the stained glass, but the dedication of a place set apart for the formation of souls," Father Faustinus Anyamele, the parish's current pastor said. (Photo: DCR Archives)
Archbishop James Casey visits Our Lady of the Mountains Church on Nov. 24, 1977. (Photo: DCR Archives)
(Photo: DCR Archives)
Mass celebrated at Our Lady of the Mountains Church in 1977. (Photo: DCR Archives)
(Photo: DCR Archives)
The current church stands as a beacon of faith, hope and love in Estes Park, welcoming thousands every year. (Photo by Roxanne King)
Parishioner Susan Lowe is a transplant. Now widowed, Lowe and her husband retired to Estes Park from Texas 27 years ago. A daily communicant, she has led the parish’s Scripture study for 20 years.
“The parish is very important in my life—it’s my rock, really. And it’s made of rock!” she said with a laugh. Lowe described what the parish anniversary means to her and her faith in one word: “Sustainability.”
“My faith has helped sustain me during difficult times,” Lowe said in her faith story published on the parish website and in the local newspaper. The story series is a jubilee project of the parish.
Lowe credits Scripture, the sacraments—especially the Eucharist—and the parish community with nurturing her faith.
“When Jesus said in the Lord’s Prayer ‘give us this day our daily bread’ … he was talking about the Eucharist,” Lowe told the Denver Catholic. “We Catholics have the opportunity to receive Jesus every day. It’s a total gift.”
Pieper, a Nebraska native whose farming parents bought a cabin in Estes Park for vacations and weekend trips when he was a boy and later retired there, moved there himself after graduating from college. Married and the owner of two local restaurants, Our Lady of the Mountains is his church “home.”
“The first time I was in Our Lady of the Mountains, I was probably in the womb,” he said, adding that when he drifted away from the church as an adult, the pastor reached out to him, saying, “We’re here for you if you ever need us.”
“That stuck with me,” Pieper said. “I was welcomed back with open arms. It’s a very welcoming place—you feel that when you walk in.”
Hailing from Mexico, parishioner Crystal Marquez met her husband while visiting Estes Park nine years ago. Now a homemaker with three children, Marquez serves as a lector for the Spanish-language Mass and translates for Spanish-speaking students in the religious education program. She also assists with parish celebrations for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Posadas and May Crowning.
“The church is beautiful, and the faithful are, too,” she said. “I thank God for giving me the opportunity to be part of this parish. I’m excited to be part of this big (jubilee) moment.”
“We want everyone to feel welcome. That is the spirit that governs our parishioners: it’s in our mission statement,” said Father Anyamele. “We are focused on what unites us: assembling together in the house of God, answering to that invitation of love and participating in the Eucharistic banquet…. Allowing Christ to form us so we can go into the world and begin to act, so people can experience (Christ’s love) and give glory to God.”
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Our Lady of the Mountain’s 75th Jubilee Celebration
When: 10 a.m. Mass June 30
Where: Our Lady of the Mountains Church, 920 Big Thompson Ave., Estes Park, Colo.
Includes: Mass is preceded by music and followed by the blessing of a memorial plaque, lunch and entertainment.
RSVP: To attend the luncheon, please click here.