Holy Rosary Parish

Among the Eastern European immigrants seeking religious liberty, economic opportunity and freedom from serving in the Austrian army were Slovenes and Croatians, who began arriving in Globeville during the 1880s. They had been farmers in the old country, but with little education, few urban skills and no knowledge of the English language, they were relegated to industrial jobs in mills and smelters. Their one avenue for spiritual and cultural expression, as well as a connection to the Old Country, was their Catholic faith, and it was their hope to build a church of their own. 
Slovenes and Croatians in Colorado had already established ethnic parishes - St. Mary's in Pueblo in 1894 and St. Joseph's in Leadville in 1899 - but it would be a longer process for those in Globeville.
Denver's Bishop Nicholas Matz urged all of Globeville's Catholics to attend St. Joseph's Polish Catholic Church and discouraged the establishment of another ethnic parish just a block away. But St. Joseph's was very small, the Polish pastor Father Jarzynski didn't speak Slovenian or Croatian and made no arrangements to bring in a priest who could. Periodically, Slavic priests from Pueblo, such as Reverend Ignatius Burgar or Father Cyril Zupan, would travel two hours by train to say Mass, hear confessions and conduct funerals at St. Jacob’s Tavern. With such sporadic attention to their spiritual needs, many people just quit attending Mass. 
Leaders in the community decided to take matters into their own hands, and on October 20, 1916, held a meeting in St. Jacob's Tavern with leaders from several fraternal lodges, dramatic societies and glee clubs. A decision was made to begin raising money in the neighborhood, appeal for funds from lodges in Leadville, Aspen, Salida and Pueblo and wait. With the death of Bishop Matz in August, 1917, a committee approached his successor Bishop J. Henry Tihen for permission to start a parish for Slovenians and Croatians. Years of planning and saving allowed the parish to move quickly after receiving the Bishop's blessing, with the ground breaking ceremony on May 27, 1919, and the completion of the building on February 20, 1920. The church was dedicated on July 4, 1920 with Bishop Tihen praising the parishioners for their efforts - reminding them that poor people, rather than princes, built the great churches of Europe.
Holy Rosary now serves the descendants of the Slovenian and Croatian founders, the Hispanic community of Globeville and new urban pioneers settling the neighborhood.

Laying the cornerstone, 1919 photo ® Mary Lou Egan

Dedication, July 4, 1920. Photo ® Mary Lou Egan

Holy Rosary Church, 2012. Photo ® Mary Lou Egan

Holy Rosary Parish

The youngest of the three churches receiving historic designation in Globeville, 

Holy Rosary Church, convent and school State Register 3/10/1999, 5DV.349

Historic churches in Globeville

Shot-gun houses fill the long, narrow lots, iron and wooden fences define each yard and sheds, re-purposed chicken coops and barns line the unpaved alleys. Economically, Globeville is a poor neighborhood, but historically, tiny Globeville is rich. Each small home contains the story of an immigrant with a low-paying job, sending for relatives from the Old Country and building a better life in America. Hard-working and painfully frugal, these newcomers saved and planned for a generation to build their own ethnic churches, a link to their native cultures and a celebration of the freedom of worship that brought many here. By 1920, the neighborhood was home to three Volga-German congregations, a Russian-Serbian Orthodox Church, St. Joseph's Polish Roman Catholic Church, Holy Rosary Church, the Greenwood Methodist and the Seventh Day Adventist Churches. As the founders passed on and their descendants assimilated and moved away, congregations would struggle and not all the churches would survive. 
As the remaining parishes reached milestone anniversaries, parishioners experienced a renewed interest in their ethnic heritage, and looked for ways to celebrate their legacy with official historic status. Three of Globeville's ethnic churches have received historic designation: St. Joseph's Polish Roman Catholic Church is on the National Register, while both Holy Transfiguration Cathedral and Holy Rosary Parish are on the Colorado State Register. St. Joseph's at 517 East 46th Avenue, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The listing from the National Register states that "the Gothic style church was constructed in 1902 to serve Polish immigrants in the Globeville suburb of Denver." What the description doesn't say is that Globeville's Poles were from the Russian-controlled Plock region of Poland, where their religion, language and culture had been suppressed, that they would save for nearly 20 years, and then petition the German-born Bishop Matz to build a parish "exclusively for the Polanders." The congregation obtained Father Jarzynski (a Holy Cross priest from the same Plock region as many parishioners) and held Mass, confession, baptism and marriages in the home of Frank Wargin until the church was completed on Christmas Day, 1902. The church was a connection to Poland at a time the nation had ceased to exist, and much of the life of the Polish community was centered around St. Joseph's. There were processions for the feast of Corpus Christi, blessings of food before Easter, as well as Mass after the secular celebrations of Polish Constitution Day and the birthday of Casimir Pulaski. There was the Polish Literary Club, an organization for young people, that produced Polish plays, raising money for the parish and entertaining the community. There were also choirs, music performances, fraternal organizations, mock Polish weddings and parish bazaars.
The parish survived the Depression, World War II, assimilation, the division of the neighborhood by interstate highways and inadequate services from the city of Denver to make it for 110 years. With an infusion of new arrivals from Poland and enthusiastic support from the descendants of the founders, St. Joseph's is again the source of Polish culture, with Masses in both English and Polish, Polish language classes, Polish music and dance performances. Visit the website, or stop by (Lent is coming!) and experience the rich faith, food, culture and traditions of Poles in Globeville.  
St Joseph's Polish Roman Catholic Church

Funeral at St. Joseph's circa 1910, Photo® property of Mary Lou Egan

St. Joseph's circa 2013, photo® property of Mary Lou Egan