History of St. Daniel the Prophet Parish

Many parishes are pretty much alike, concerned with the practice of pastoral theology, religious education, liturgy, etc., but Ouray parish has one more feature that makes it quite unique, and that is its geography, both horizontal and vertical.

On the opening page of the first volume of the Ouray Baptism Register there is written the names of the places included in the parish boundaries, “Ouray, Silverton, Ironton, Red Mountain, Rico, Ridgway, Dallas, Telluride, Montrose, and Delta.” Not only will the reader of today be impressed with the immense distance spanned by all those locations, but it becomes all the more memorable when he realizes that this area contains the most rugged part of the San Juan mountain range with its 14,000-foot peaks, the Million Dollar Highway, Red Mountain Pass, Molas and Coal Bank, Lizard Heard and Dallas Divide, besides the other passes once routinely climbed by early clergy without benefit of road or jeep.

The first parish assigned to take care of Ouray and Silverton was Holy Name of Mary at Del Norte in the San Luis Valley. On page one of the first Baptism volume of Del Norte parish, Joseph P. Machebeuf, Vicar Apostolic of Colorado, wrote in his own hand that Fr. Thomas A. Hayes was assigned to take care of Rio Grande, Saguache, and Hinsdale counties (with the main towns of Del Norte, Saguache and Lake City) and also “the new mines of San Juan.” (July 9, 1877.)

The first Baptism at Silverton was given by his successor, Fr. John M. Brinker, on August 13, 1878. The first recorded baptism for Ouray reads, “In this mission (Ouray) of Del Norte on the 8 th of Sept. 1878, I the undersigned priest in charge baptized an infant born on the 14 th of November 1877, which I called Leona, legitimate daughter of Daniel Shea and Mary Kimberlin.

Sponsors Dunkan McDonald and Alice Griffen, John. H. Brinker.” (Vol. 1, page 19, No. 2., Baptism Records of Del Norte.) Those missionary journeys are all the more amazing today when we realize that these circuit riders traveled over Stoney Pass through Cunningham Gulch into Silverton and over to Ouray on horseback without benefit or roads, just trails. It wasn’t until November 1884 that the toll road from Silverton to Ouray was opened. (High Country Parish by Nellie Hill, pp. 13-14.)

Thus was Ouray cared for periodically until a very remarkable chain of events unfolded in 1883. Bishop Machebeuf, Catholic Bishop for all of Colorado, sent Fr. Robert Servant, a young assistant pastor from the cathedral at Denver, to Gunnison to tour all the missions west of that place and see what’s out there. Fr. Servant left Gunnison March 29, 1883, and came to Montrose two days later. He met Mr. McCaffrey, a businessman, who told him he did not know of any Catholics in Montrose other than himself. But, he said, you go to the Uncompahgre Cantonment (a military post 6 ½ miles south of Montrose, later called Fort Crawford) where you will find most of the soldiers are Catholics. The quartermaster, Lt. Patrick Hanson, and his wife, are Catholics and they will give you all the information you need. Fr Servant visited the military post and held services for the soldiers.

While there, Lt. Hanson told him that some 18 miles south, there was a lady extremely ill, and that he should call on her. A buckboard, two mules, and a driver were placed at his disposal and off they went. The next day they came to the house at the hot springs (around Ridgway) where he found the old lady, Mrs. Cuddigan. It was there that he met Dr. Rowan of Ouray. That night Fr. Servant stayed at the home of Mrs. Cuddigan’s son, Michael. This is the same Michael, who along with his wife Maggie, was later “lynched by a mob of ruffians” at Ouray, January 18, 1884. (Burial records at St. Daniel Church by Fr. Servant.) Meanwhile Dr. Rowan returned to Ouray and mentioned that the priest had attended the dying woman. “What! The priest there! We must have him here!” someone said.

The next morning there came to him Mrs. Thomas Knowles, Mrs. March and eight or ten more, and there was no peace for him until he had promised to go to Ouray. He requested them to notify everyone immediately, to secure the courthouse, and assured them that he would be there at 6:00 p.m. to hear confessions, and to say Mass at 6:00 a.m. next day. He heard confessions until 12 o’clock that night, and held a meeting of the prominent ladies, who organized the first Altar Society. At the Mass in the courthouse, more than 100 received Communion. He told the men about the zeal of the ladies, and asked them to select a location for a church. He appointed Mr. Knowles and his partner, Mr. Marcus, as a committee.

At breakfast, Mr. Knowles told Fr. Servant that it would be unnecessary to build a church, because there was one already built that was for sale. They went to see it, peeped through the windows, and, as it pleased them, arrangements were made to secure it. Fr. Servant left at 8 o’clock for the Uncompahgre Cantonment and Montrose, and from there proceeded to Delta and Grand Junction where he arrived Friday evening, the end of April 1883. (Taken from Fr. Howlett’s unpublished manuscript at archives in Denver Chancery Office, and from “Parochial Beginnings in Colorado,” unpublished thesis by Fr. Martin F. Hasting, S.J.) In the records of St. Peter’s Church, Gunnison, you will find five baptisms entered for Hot Springs, Ouray Park, under the date of April 25, 1883. (Vol. 1, p. 3, nos. 1-5.)

Then on April 26, Fr. Servant had a baptism at Ouray, and two more on April 27, 1883.

The first week of June, 1883, Fr. Servant was made pastor of a new parish, St. Joseph, in Grand Junction.

Ouray was one of the missions assigned to him. He took care of it until November of 1884 when “the formal opening of the Ouray and Silverton Boulevard occurred” (from High Country Parish: the History of St. Patrick Catholic Church, Silverton, Colorado, by Nellie M. Hill).

From November of 1884 Fr. Ley, the pastor of St. Patrick, Silverton, took care of Ouray until it became a parish with its own resident pastor in 1886.

On April 21, 1883, Sheriff Adelbert Parsell issued a Sheriff’s Certificate of Sale which stated that on that date, between the hours of nine o’clock in the morning and the setting of the sun, the same day, he exposed for public sale the little white Presbyterian church on the southeast corner of Block 26, and that T.W. Knowles bid the sum of $303.14, therefore, being the highest and best bid, the said property was sold to him. Mr. Knowles would be entitled to a deed for said premises on January 21, 1884, unless the same be redeemed according to law.

On July 16, 1884, T. W. Knowles sold the property to Bishop Joseph P. Machebeuf as Catholic Bishop of Denver and Colorado. Payment was listed as $325 and it also included the obligation of paying the $600 mortgage mentioned earlier. (Ouray County Courthouse records.)

Now that the Catholics had a church building of their own, they chose a name for it, St. Patrick. It’s noteworthy that the Catholic church in Silverton (1882) had already been named St. Patrick, and the Catholic church to be built in Telluride in 1896 would also be named St. Patrick.

A detailed account of the history of this little church can be found in Ouray County Historical Magazine, Vol. 1, No.1, pp. 38-49, “A House of Worship,” 1984, written by the pastor of St. Daniel.

On August 16, 1884, Fr. Edmund Ley arrived at Silverton to become the first resident pastor of San Juan County (High Country Parish, by Nellie Hill, p. 13).

In his report to the Bishop of Denver (now found in Pueblo Chancery Archives), Fr. Ley showed that he had his missionary work cut out for him. He was assigned four counties along with the home base of Silverton with its Catholic population of 875.

Missions in San Juan County included Howardsville (Catholic population of 80), Animas Forks (45), Mineral City (65), and Chatanooga (25).

Hinsdale County had Lake City, Catholic population of 160, which he attended every month, and Capitol City (35) with services every three months.

Ouray County had the town of Ouray, Catholic population of 675, and 8 children attending Sunday school, with Sunday Mass every month. Red Mountain town had a Catholic population of 115, with Mass three times a year. Dallas had 15 Catholics, with Mass twice a year. Placerville had 12 Catholics with Mass once a year.

San Miguel County had Mass every month at Telluride for 215 Catholics, once a month at San Miguel with 70 parishioners, once a month at Pandora for 190 members, and three times a year at Ophir for 75 members.

Fr. Lawrence M. Halton replaced Fr. Ley as pastor in 1886. Fr. Halton moved his residence to Ouray, probably because it was easier to reach the many missions for which he was responsible from that point. (High County Parish by Nellie Hill, p. 17) There was no rectory yet in Ouray so Fr. Halton stayed in a room at St. Joseph’s Hospital next door when it was built in 1887.

Besides all the other missions just mentioned, he now went to Montrose for Mass also.

In August of 1888, a young priest, Fr. James J. Gibbons, was appointed pastor of this wide-spread parish. In 1898, he published an account of his mission work as pastor of St. Patrick’s parish, Ouray, from 1888 to 1892 (In the San Juans: Sketches).

In his new parish, there were only two churches, one at Ouray and one at Silverton, 27 miles distant from each other. There were also 20 missions or stations with new ones spring up as mines were opened or sawmills set up. He wanted a church about every 10 miles, so he built one at Ironton in 1890, which he named St. Joseph, and one at Ridgway in 1891, which he named St. Mary.

The first baptism at St. Mary’s in Ridgway was held Dec. 14, 1891, Patrick Harold Craven. (Ouray Baptism Register, Vol.1, p. 25, No. 3.) The little frame church burned shortly before Nov. 5, 1937, “probably by some fanatic or firebug.” (From letter of Fr. Roy Breen, Montrose, in the Pueblo Chancery Archives.) A check of $500 was received for the insurance.

Little is known about St. Joseph’s Church at Ironton.

Photos by Henry Jackson show a white church on an Ironton street, but it can’t be identified with certainty as St. Joseph’s. Anyway, the town has long ago become a ghost town, along with so many other mining camps and towns. The bell, however, survives in another bell tower service the people of St. Michael’s parish, Delta. It is marked “Ironton, 1890.”

Fr. Gibbons must have liked bells, for he bought bells for each of the new mission churches and one for St. Patrick’s at Ouray. The Ouray bell, ordered from the Hy.

Stuckstede Bell Foundry Company of St. Louis, Mo., with the invoice dated April 20, 1889, cost $116.52. (From book of invoices and receipts kept by Fr. Gibbons, St. Daniel parish files.) This bell has been transferred from the former St. Patrick’s church to the present St. Daniel church and is still occasionally used, for example, after a baptism ceremony to welcome a new member into the parish community. The bell is inscribed, “St. Patrick’s Church, March 17, 1889.”

The mention in the opening paragraph about this parish and its extensive geography is further supported by the following clipping from the Ouray Herald supplied by Dr. Doris Gregory.

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Fr. Ferrari’s Farewell Card. March 6, 1908 Everything has an end, and so also my pastorate in Ouray—after eleven years and four months. With pleasure during my incumbency have seen four Parishes established out of the one confided to me, when I came on April 5, 1896. Telluride, Delta, Montrose and Ouray are now separate parishes, and each one with a priest in attendance. In 1896, I was the only pastor over the four counties.

During the aforesaid time I have extinguished a debt of $1,160 in Montrose and built a residence for the priest in that town. I have built a church in Delta, and I have seen a church erected in Telluride. The only debt unpaid is $5,562.28 due me for the greater portion, namely of salary, at the rate of fifty dollars a month still unpaid.

The amount of this debt shall not be claimed by me, therefore I leave Ouray without debt.

——–

From 1931 to 1940, the priests at St. Mary’s Montrose cared for Ouray, Silverton, Telluride and Nucla. In a report to the Bishop of Denver in 1931 concerning the Ouray mission, Fr. D.A. Barry states that there were 15 families attending Mass, 58 adults, that the total Catholic population was about 116 persons, quite a few had fallen away from the Church, there were about 30 children, there was a church built of wood, 50 x 30 feet, with seating capacity of 150, (the) Altar Society had 15 members, and that Mass was offered there three Sundays every month and also Holy Days of obligation. (Pueblo Chancery Archives.)

Fr. Joseph Lane says in a “financial statement of the Catholic Church in Telluride, Silverton, Ouray, and Nucla branches” from Oct. 16, 1937 to Dec. 31, 1937, that there were 73 families or persons contributing from Silverton, 34 from Telluride, and 26 from Ouray. (Pueblo Chancery Archives.)

On Jan. 22, 1938, Fr. Lane again sent a lengthy report concerning the missions to Bishop Vehr of Denver.

Concerning Ouray he had this to say, “Ouray’s Mass attendance exceeds the other missions. The indifference of a majority of the men, in the main, miners, is in part offset by the zeal and activity of the women. Fr. Keller reorganized the Altar Society, and it has continued to function splendidly since his departure. There are 52 known Catholic families (and this number is quite accurate by actual survey). About 20 of this number attend Mass regularly each Sunday. One matter has been disheartening, namely, reception of Holy Communion. Seven persons received Holy Communion on Christmas Day, which fact was the subject of the sermon the following day.”

Concerning parish property, he states, “The church in Ouray is in splendid condition. The parish house, however, is in wretched condition. The Altar Society has papered it recently and made it partially inhabitable. The place is rented at the present time.” (Pueblo Chancery Archives.)

In a financial statement of 1943, Msgr. Warnat gave the following statistics: 57 families or adults at Ouray, and 28 children listed as giving contributions; 106 families or adults at Silverton, 63 for Telluride, and 9 for Nucla. (Pueblo Chancery Archives.)

Fr. Clement Firko gained some for Ouray in his 1945 report; 82 families or adults and 27 children for Ouray, 112 families or adults for Silverton, 52 for Telluride and 10 for Nucla. (Pueblo Chancery Archives.)

In his 1946 report, Fr. Firko showed a loss for all but Silverton: 73 families and 24 children for Ouray, 148 families or adults for Silverton, 57 for Telluride, and 8 for Nucla. (Pueblo Chancery Archives.)

As the years went by and the parish grew in numbers, it became apparent that a larger church was needed. Fr. Joseph Halloran, pastor of St. Patrick’s, expressed the need in a letter to the Catholic Church Extension Society, April 15, 1954. “Ouray is the home base for the priest who takes care of three-and-a-half counties in this rugged section of the Rockies. The priest at Ouray must care for churches in four towns, plus offering Mass in a mine building in a fifth. Ouray itself has now a small church with a seating for about 90, but we manage to pack over 140 into it with many of these standing. With the tourists in the summer time, some just don’t get in at all. The need is very definite. We would like to build a new church with a seating capacity of 250.” (St. Daniel parish files, Ouray.)

The decision was made to build a new and larger church on the same corner location where the old one was standing.

What should be done with the old one? Fr. Halloran, pastor also of the far-off mission at Nucla, knew they needed a church there, so in June of 1954 he had the church at Ouray sawed in two lengthways, loaded on trucks, and hauled over to Nucla where it was set up again, this time on a full basement instead of one side on stilts. With its new location came new life and a new name, Our Lady of Sorrows.

“And so it happenedConstruction of the church of St. Daniel the Prophet, which cost $60,000, was begun in August of 1954.

Building funds and pledges from the 110 families in the Ouray parish were augmented by a $10,000 gift from Mrs. Daniel Flaherty of Chicago. The latter sum was forwarded through the Catholic Church Extension Society, which aids in the building of mission churches.

The 40×80-foot building was first opened for services in December, 1954, and dedicated June 29, 1955. The structure seats 250 and also contains the pastor’s house and garage in the rear. A social hall and kitchen are in the basement.” (From “Mission Church for Miners” by James F. Phelan, the Denver Post, Feb. 5, 1956.) It was the custom of the time that a donor for a church building could designate the new of the new building.

Mrs. Flaherty had lost her husband in death in 1954, so she named the new church ‘St. Daniel the Prophet’ in memory of her deceased husband, Daniel F. Flaherty.

When Fr. Halloran designed this church, he sought a structure that would symbolize the historic mining community and its beautiful natural setting. He used the basic materials of the region and incorporated them into the design. (Architectural details are described in a separate story.) Furnishings were chosen to carry out the theme of this mountain mission for miners.

About two years after the church was built, the people completed the project by building the rectory behind the church. Now everything was all in one unit and under one roof. The rectory incorporated into its design the little old house build by Fr. Gibbons when he first came in 1889. This historical fact explains the rather quaint arrangement of the present rectory and why visitors often get confused in trying to find their way to the upstairs.

Before closing, one more affectionate recognition of an old friend, our nomadic St. Patrick’s church is in order.

On August 18, 1977, Fr. Sylvester Schoening, pastor of Telluride and Nucla, announced in his Sunday bulletin that the Centennial Celebration of the former St. Patrick Church would be held at Nucla, September18, 1977.

Everyone was invited to attend; a special invitation was extended to the Presbyterian congregation and the parish of St. Daniel, both in Ouray. This is what he had to say in giving a little historical background for the guest of honor on its 100th birthday.

“The church building has an unusual history, serving three different congregations. It has moved some 80 miles during its 100-year life. The move from Ouray, up Dallas Divide, down the San Miguel Canyon, up Norwood Hill, and on to Nucla must have been an exciting journey for the old church. Most buildings lead a more sedentary life. Ordinarily, pastors are moved, not the church, but this time it was the other way around.”

Our people from Ouray send their warmest congratulations now for its 110 th anniversary. We would like to repeat a blessing for it that we gave in 1984.

“May the Lord of us all continue to watch over this beloved little church, this symbol and reminder of His presence among us. May He hear the prayers of all who come to His House and bless them in return for their humble and sincere worship.” (Ouray County Historical Society Magazine, Vo. 1, No. 1, p. 49.)

Since the time that the present church and rectory have been built and paid for, things have gone on quietly with ordinary routine maintenance and improvements. Some of these activities or improvements since 1954 would include: the old hospital next door was bought and sold by the parish and is now a flourishing museum; a new metal roof was installed on top of the old wooden shingle one so that the snow would slide off and not cause an ice build up; carpeting installed in the church and house; the main altar is now facing the people and the sanctuary rearranged; many new sanctuary appointments and vestments have been purchased; bought a new Baldwin 520 organ; Schulmerich Carillion Bells have been installed for church and tower; floor tile laid in hall; the grounds have been improved with landscaping, trees and flowers; and reprinting Fr. Gibbons book.

The general population of the city of Ouray has dwindled over the years, the many mining towns and camps have disappeared, but we’re growing again in Ridgway and in housing developments along the river and highway.

Today we are most grateful that our parish has survived a century and is in good shape to begin a second one. This is no mean accomplishment in a mountain area where the ghost towns far outnumber the living ones.

Then, too, instead of trying to cover a parish of four counties as others have had to do before us, now we are down to just two, one for Ouray parish and one for Silverton, even though there is quite a respectable mountain road between, Red Mountain Pass, elevation 11,018.

So today we say thank you Lord, and thank you to all who have cared for us or helped us the last 110 years, and we ask Your blessing on us as we courageously face the future with its uncertainties.

St. Daniel church architecture and design

Father Joseph Halloran (pastor, 1952-1961) designed the current church building. The following information was published by the St. Daniel parish on the occasion of the 110 th anniversary of the parish in 1987.)

God has singularly blessed the mountain town of Ouray with one of the most beautiful settings ever created. No man could help but realize the indebtedness he owes to His Maker as he stands in the midst of the Ouray valley.

With sincerest appreciation to the Creator, the people of Ouray and all those who helped in the building of this edifice have wanted to capture a small spark of the natural surrounding of Ouray and mould it into a temple for the worship of God.

With this motive in mind, the stone, wood and metal has been collected to represent the community in which the building resides. The decorative colored rocks rise from their natural habitat, climbing high into the slender tower as if it were a finger of God pointing to the sky, resembling the many-pinnacled spires that God Himself has left for man’s admiration.

One might like to name the stones’ origin by pointing out that the rose ones come from cliffs near the Mickey Breen Mine southeast of Ouray. The slate and purpled rocks are from Riverside (Mine). The green granite once supported the former church on this spot, being part of its foundation. The red sandstone was found at the entrance of Ouray below the American Lead and Zinc mill.

The various tans and browns are taken from the cliffs of the Million Dollar Highway. Then too, you will notice the sparkling specimens of gold, silver, lead, copper and zinc dug from deep inside the towering mountains and given to the church by the Camp Bird and Idarado mining companies. Even the rose and red Roman brick which modernly characterize the building has been chosen to resemble the stacked layers of stone rising as a curtained backdrop for the church.

The metal work studding the façade would tell you this church is in a metal mining town and the upright logs describe the forest growth upon the hills.

Perched on top of the stone tower is a metal cross colored in gold and silver forged at the Camp Bird mine from heavy metal formerly used in the mine. The copper bell, now turned a pleasant green, was forged in the east and has an inscription reading “St. Patrick’s Bell, Ouray, Colorado, 1887.” Perched in its arched belfry, it rings out now the same sweet tones that Ouray has heard for the last half century.

The white marble statue of Christ of the Mountains stemming from the stone façade is merely a poignant reminder that when you look upon the beauties of nature, there you should see its Creator. The window below the statue, with its lead lines and colored glass, makes an attractive appointment for the front of the building.

As you enter, you pass beneath the cross, the symbol of faith, to which the building has been erected. Faiths like that of Daniel the Prophet, who insisted on worshipping God, even if the royal lions of disbelief were opened to swallow him. The practice of his belief prevented them from swallowing him.

On entering the church, one immediately notices the altar, with its canopy supported by two large columns.

The altar itself, raised three steps above the sanctuary floor, has four carved polychrome crosses at the corners. Then in the center, we find the embellished Chi Rho designed which is a monogram of Christ showing that the altar symbolizes Christ in the Church. Thus symbolically it says, “This altar represents Christ with the wounds on His hands, feet and side.”

The golden tabernacle sets in the center of the altar containing the Blessed Sacrament of Christ dwelling body, blood, soul and divinity under the appearance of bread. It is flanked on either side with three candlesticks with their waxen candles as sentinels guarding the dwelling of God among men and ready to light His coming in the sacrifice of the Mass.

The large, hand carved crucifix over the altar brings forcefully to our minds the redemptive act of Christ as He, the God-man, willingly gave up His life for us human beings. The artist seems to have caught the moment of the redemption in this carving for viewed from the right hand side Christ is alive in the agony of death, but viewed from the left, He has died.

A statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus showing his heart of love for men and beckoning us to come to him is on the right hand side of the altar. St. Therese, the patroness of the Diocese of Pueblo, is on the left, sending down showers of roses graces she begs from the merciful hands of God.

On the left side of the altar, Mary is pictured with her Divine infant Son, making the beautiful Madonna, who has never been tainted by any sin. St. Joseph is pictured as the sturdy and holy carpenter that he was. On looking upon him as the model of workmen, we might see a miner’s hammer and beam in the hands of the foster father of Christ.

The red stone used behind the altar and on the side walls would seem to bring the red mountain cliffs to the inside of this building as a backdrop for our indoor praise just as He has placed it naturally on the outside.

Inset on the stone sidewalls are 14 hand-carved Stations of the Cross forming exquisite mediations on the passion of Jesus Christ.

On each side of the church, biblical inscriptions have been chosen as a decorative scheme to beautify and inspire at the same time. On the right hand side from the book of Daniel III, 53, is a quotation from the Canticle of the Benedicite, bringing to our minds the three young men, Sidrack, Misack, and Abdenago, who were placed in the fiery furnace because they would not worship false gods. When God protected them from the burning flames, they broke out in this canticle of praising God in all His creations including “Let the mountains and the hills bless the Lord.”

On the left hand side of the church, we have words from the 129 th Psalm, which in Ouray are applied to the work of the community, mining. “Out of the depths, I have cried to thee, Lord hear my prayer.”

The beamed effect of the windows are reminiscent of mining timbers are the metal grillwork again resorts to the idea of the type of mining done here. The vine design of the grill work is to symbolize the mystical body of Christ, using the example of our Savior when He said, “I am the vine and your are the branches.” A person becomes, remains and grows in the mystical body of Christ principally by the sacraments. So jeweled glass medallions of the sacraments are woven into the metal grillwork.

The choir balcony is backed with strips of varied wood that might symbolize pipes from an organ that is in the balcony. A cross effect is also achieved with the woodwork upon which hands a picture of St. Patrick as if to remind the older parishioners of he little church named in his honor, formerly on this corner. A small statue of the present patron of the church, St. Daniel, is found on the balcony and opposite is St. Anthony. In the center, a geometric design depicts the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit whom we worship in this temple. A picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, imported from the basilica in Mexico City, is in the cry room. Also a statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague, overlooking the baptismal font is found in this room.

The heavy pews tinted with pine-green, the beamed effect of the Communion tables and altars, the sturdy arches, and squared purlins were all chosen to dramatize the rugged character of the land about Ouray as well as its industry, The Phillipine mahogany ceiling, the California redwood siding, the Oregon fir beams and purlins, the sandblasted fir sanctuary, oak floor and pews, brings a mixture of woods in harmony, blending like the mixture of trees blend harmoniously on the mountainside.

St. Daniels was made to help man live in Ouray as Christ made His Church to help man live in heaven.