Saint Mary Help of Christians Parish and School

In 1891 Bishop Nicholas Matz of Denver asked Father Boniface Wirtner, OSB, archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania to establish a parish for German speakers, which included Slovenians and Slovaks who were residing in an area of Pueblo, Colorado known as the Grove. Father Wirtner established the church in an abandoned broom factory.

By 1895 they raised enough money for the construction of a combined church and school building. The new pastor Father Cyril Zupan, OSB, asked Mother Theresa Krug, OSB, the prioress of Saint Scholastica Convent in Chicago for teachers. She sent Sister Magdalene Becker, OSB, Sister Leocadia Tomazewska, OSB, and Sister Perpetua Powers, OSB.

On June 3, 1921 Pueblo experienced its greatest flood which severely damaged the parish buildings. When the water of the Arkansas River subsided, the parish voted unanimously to purchase new property for Saint Mary Church and School. The new school was built using the bricks from the demolition of the Eiler Smelter smokestack. Parishioners and their children all worked together to clean the bricks. In the meantime, Sisters and children had to suffer many inconveniences. They used a large barn including the hayloft as a chapel and classrooms.

The parish was a fertile ground for vacations to our community. Depending how you count, 25 women from Saint Mary Help of Christians became Benedictine Sisters of Chicago. The Benedictine Sisters assisted in with the new liturgical changes of Vatican II which were put into effect at Saint Mary on November 6, 1964.

In 1970, Saint Mary Parish and Mount Carmel joined efforts and established a new school named Queen of Peace School. However, in 1971, Bishop Charles Buswell closed the Catholic schools of Pueblo. The parish asked that three Benedictine Sisters remain in Pueblo to teach catechism to the high school and grade school children.

The remaining sisters also established a pastoral ministry under the direction of Sister Jeanne Hegarty, OSB. They visited and ministered to the sick, shut-ins, and elderly. Other specialized services included grief recovery sessions, classes and workshops on death and dying, reconciliation, counseling and crisis work. In the 1980s Sister Mary Susan Remsgar, OSB, further developed the parish religious education program to meet the needs of all. The catechists, aides, and students used the newly renovated Saint Mary school building.

The parish established the liturgical ministry to make praise and worship as meaningful as possible. 1980 Sister Marie Merkle, OSB, became coordinator. She worked with many who ministered during liturgical celebrations, and also assisted in the liturgical education of the parish.

The Benedictine Sisters rented the convent from the parish as a living space for retired Sisters from the West who continued to minister through prayer and home visits until 1995.