New Pastor at Holy Rosary Church

Father Noé Carreón is the pastor at Our Lady of Grace Church in the Swansea neighborhood, serves on the deanery for Northern Colorado, acts as an advisor to Spanish-speaking priests and is a professor of math at Community College of Denver. When Archbishop Charles Chaput first approached Father Noé about taking over Holy Rosary parish following the retirement of Father Joseph Meznar, Father Noé was understandably reluctant to accept the post. Father Noé did accept the appointment on November 7, 2009, and explained to the first newly-organized parish council on January 17, that he realized the assignment to Holy Rosary was "a calling from God."

Father Noé marveled at the beauty of the church with its stained-glass windows, statues and the pattern painted on the interior. Holding up the booklet of the 25-year history of the church, Father talked about the faith and hard work of the Slovenian and Croatian immigrants who built the parish. "Many of the founders of this church dedicated their lives, their efforts and money to this church and we owe it to them to continue their work."

Plans for the parish include repair of the church and convent and restoration of the school for religious education classes. Needed are lay readers for all Masses and Eucharistic ministers - mandating Eucharistic ministers will occur after the 5:30 Mass on Saturday January 23rd, and Sunday January 24th at 9 am. All are welcome at Holy Rosary at 4688 Pearl Street in Globeville. Sunday Masses are at 8 and 10 am, Saturdays at 5:30 pm and weekdays at 9 am. The office is open from 9 am to 1 pm weekdays and the phone number is 303-297-1962.

Hispanics in Globeville

After World War II, the children and grandchildren of Globeville’s pioneers would move out of the neighborhood and another group would take their place.

Hispanics who moved to Globeville were not new to Colorado or to America. Lalo C. de Baca came to Globeville from a farm in Las Vegas, New Mexico in 1936, but can trace his family’s ancestry to Spanish explorer Alvar Cabeza de Vaca, who traveled through northern New Mexico in the early part of the 16th century. Bea Trevino moved to Globeville from a farm near Firestone but her family’s roots go back farther. “My ancestors from my mother’s side all came from Spain. My dad’s mother was an Indian.”

Hispanics came to Globeville for the same reasons as the ethnic groups that preceded them: affordable housing, more opportunity for their children than farm life could offer and jobs that were nearby. In the 1950s and 60s, many of those jobs were in meat packing, the city’s largest industry, at ASARCO's Globe plant and in construction.

Unlike the Eastern Europeans who had preceded them, Hispanics found many of the institutions that were important to them already in place with Catholic Mass at St. Joseph’s Polish or Holy Rosary Church. Improvements in workplace safety also made forming a fraternal insurance association less of a necessity.

Today, 82 percent of Globeville's population has Hispanic heritage and the community reflects that change with church services at the Globeville Community Church at 5039 Lincoln and a Spanish-speaking priest, Father Noé Carreón, at Holy Rosary Church.

What has remained constant in the neighborhood's 150-year history is pride and neighbors caring for one another.