By Fr. Louis M. Kirby, O.S.B.

(with continuing updates by Ed Stewart)

The parish of Our Lady of the Assumption in Westcliffe, Colorado has had a varied history. The parish takes in all of Custer County, which in civil affairs, belonged first to Spain and later to Mexico before it officially became a part of the United States of America.

Ecclesiastically, the area was under the Diocese of Durango, Mexico, until the Bishop of Santa Fe was designated governance over all of Colorado. It successively was part of the Archdiocese of Denver and now, is a part of the Diocese of Pueblo.

The earliest Catholic presence could have been the settlers from New Mexico, who attempted to found San Burnaventura, located along the Hardscabble Creek. In 1877, there was a church built in Rosita. Bassickville (Querida) was a mission attended from Ca–on City, but there is no record of a church in Bassickville. In 1880, the church in Silver Cliff became parish church, with Sacred Heart of Mary in Silver Park as its mission.

Westcliffe became the center of population when the railroad terminal was located there. Sometime after 1890, the church building in Silver Cliff was moved to the prairie along Highway 69 South. In the 1930s, Father Raymond Layton, O.S.B. moved the church building to its long-term location at Fifth Street and Rosita in Westcliffe. The parish community currently has a registered population of over 120 families.

From the beginning, the parish was served mainly by diocesan priests who often had to minister to Ca–on City as well. The first pastor to be stationed in Westcliffe for any length of time was Father Robert Servant. Having served as a surgeon in the Franco Prussian War, he was ordained to the priesthood in Denver and served as pastor of Westcliffe from 1890 to 1907. During this time, Westcliffe priests would celebrate Mass in the mining town of Rockvale as described on this wetsite. The Wet Mountain Tribune reported that on January 18, 1907, Fr. Servant, long-time pastor of the Assumption parish, was reassigned to Aspen by the bishop and that no one know who his replacement would be or if there would be one.

Then the August 17, 1907 Wet Mountain Tribune reported that, "Fr. Early, the priest who has recently been appointed to this parish by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Matz, arrived here Thursday evening and will celebrate Mass at the Catholic Church tomorrow".

Father Edward Berkemeyer was pastor from 1909 to 1929. His twenty years of presence is still remembered by the older parishioners. After Father Berkemeyer left the parish, Bishop Tihen of Denver asked Abbot Cytrian Bradley, O.S.B. of Holy Cross Abbey to assume care of the Parish.

Since that time the Benedictines have had care of the souls in Custer County until 2004. Almost all the monks of Holy Cross Abbey have at one time or another served the parish community as pastor.

In July of 1965, at the age of 63, Father James Maher, O.S.B. came to be pastor. Little was it expected that he would continue as pastor for 31 years until his death at the age of 94! Father Maher's two major additions to the parish plant were the parish center and the beautiful bell tower, which houses the chimes so admired by those who live around the church. Three generations of parishioners knew him as their spiritual leader. To see a newspaper article about Fr. Maher and the parish from the early 1980s, click here.

In 1997, Father Louis Kirby came from the Abbey to become the pastor of the parish. Father Kirby spent his time as the pastor, but also continued his duties at the Abbey, which included the Director of Oblates and assistance in coordinating the local prison ministry. Prior to his assignment at Holy Cross Abbey, he was a pastor at St. Mary's in Pueblo. Before that assignment, Father Kirby was a missionary in Mexico for several years. Fr. Kirby retired on October 1, 2004 and moved to a Benedictine Abbey near Kansas City, Kansas. Fr. Vicente Paz en la Casa took over as parish administrator at that time and served until June 30, 2005. At that time Father Vicente Paz en la Casa began as the new pastor on July 1, 2005.

In 2006, plans on building a new church began to move forward with approval of architectural drawings and signing a contract with a contractor. The old church building will need to be torn down. The last Mass in the old building was celebrated by Father Vicente on Tuesday, October 24, 2006, after which the stain glass windows were removed for restoration by Doug Bayer.

Demolition of the old church building took place on January 18, 2007. The foundation of the new church was blessed after Mass on March 4, 2007, and soils from churches and holy sites around the world were added to the soil that will be under the floor where the altar will reside. The concrete slab was completed the week of March 19-22, 2007 and the first wall construction was begun on March 23. The church building was formally accepted by Bishop Tafoya on our feast day, August 15, 2007 in the Rite of Dedication Mass.