History of Holy Name and St. Martin of Tours.

This article was composed by Jo Hardesty Lauter (Holy Name Parish) from written accounts provided by the Saint Martin of Tours Altar Society.

Among the early historians were Helen Light of Steamboat, Margaret Rossi, Annabelle Petranovich and Phil Cedillo of Oak Creek.

Special thanks to Virginia Rossi for making this material available to us and to the Hogue Family for sharing with us these wonderful old photographs.

The story of our Catholic Faith and its celebration in Northwest Colorado is inextricably linked with the history of this region and the people who have lived and worshiped here. Together, those who came before us set upon their journeys to eternity blessed and guided by the Church, given sustenance by our Lord through the land. Together, we go forth as did our predecessors with our paths illuminated by the Catholic Faith, hopeful that Heaven might be as glorious a home as is this one that we are so blessed to share. It all began in 1875––just ten years after the end of America’s Civil War.

That year, James Harvey Crawford built the first cabin in Steamboat to be followed by a cluster of settlements that sprung up along the Bear River (now the Yampa) between Soda and Spring Creeks. In 1877, Routt County was created out of the western portion of Grand County.

It was named in honor of John Long Routt, the last territorial and first state governor of Colorado. In 1880, Catholic priests Nicholas Matz and William J. Howlett visited Steamboat to celebrate Eucharist here for the first time. Soon after that visit, Father Howlett reported:

“The vast district of Northwestern Colorado, comprising the counties of Jackson, Routt, Moffat and Grand, has been the slowest part of the state to receive settlers. Cut off by mountain ranges from railroads and markets, it has been left to herds of cattle and a few venture some spirits who cared to brave solitude and privation.”

Father John James Meyers ~

The Mountain Priest ~ served Routt County & the surrounding area from 1907 until his death in 1938.

Said Denver Archbishop Vehr of this faithful shepherd, “I know of no priest more beloved by the people he served.”

The Early Years

Indeed our early settlers were an intrepid bunch––and no less hardy were the priests and bishops who served them. Father Matz was the first ever graduate of the Denver Seminary AND he became the second ever Bishop of Denver. In this latter capacity––with the promise of the Denver, Salt Lake and Pacific Railroad coming to Steamboat––Bishop Matz authorized the creation of Holy Name Parish in 1907, 27 years after his initial exploration of this vast mountain paradise, and 7 years after the ranching community known as Steamboat Springs was incorporated on July 19, 1900.

With what must have been Divine guidance, Bishop Matz––also in 1907––placed Father John James Meyers in charge of the Northwestern Colorado Missionary District for the Catholic Church.

From then until his death in 1938, Father Meyers gave his all to the Church and Her people, celebrating Masses originally in an area that went from Berthoud Pass to the Utah and Wyoming borders. He built the territory’s first Catholic Church, Saint Peter’s, in Kremmling and made this his initial home base.

The faithful traveler came to Steamboat as often as possible, at the outset celebrating Masses in private homes, local halls and public buildings. Early pictures show Mass being held in the Steamboat Pilot office and one account states that Mass and Confirmation were held in the Masonic Hall.

According to public record, on June 5, 1911, Father Meyers bought Lot 11 on Oak Street from a Mr. Smethurst. Father Meyers nailed a giant cross to the roof of the white frame cottage on that lot and––with a few other additions and modifications––converted the place to a house of God. He then moved permanently to Steamboat where he found a home with the large family of Frank M. Light. Six years earlier, Mr. Light and his seven sons had opened the Western clothing store known as F.M. Light & Sons, which remains today a Steamboat icon.

On July 5, 1911, Father Meyers expanded the Church’s real estate holdings when he purchased Lot 12 on the corner of Fifth and Oak. Ten years later, in October of 1921, F. M. Light purchased Lot 10 and gave it to the Church for future expansion. Lot 9 was purchased in 1959 and lot 8 in 1962.

From his home in Steamboat, first by horseback, then later by rail and automobile, Father Meyers traveled several hundred miles each Sunday to missions at Fraser, Kremmling, Oak Creek and outlying ranches throughout his enormous mission territory.

In 1937, thirty years after Father Meyers’ posting to this area, Father Paul D. Slattery visited Steamboat. Soon thereafter Father Slattery reported to Bishop Vehr of Denver that: “Father Meyers’ fortune amounts to about $75 and he is failing rapidly due to his advanced age.”

Father Meyers was born March 8, 1861 at Jefferson City, Missouri, just when the Civil War was beginning to rage. He was ordained a priest at Baltimore, Maryland on March 7, 1884. He relocated to Colorado in 1907 for the benefit of his poor health––then lived to be the oldest priest in the Diocese.

The Mountain Priest as he was lovingly called, passed away on December 31, 1938 at the age of 77. The crowd attending his funeral was too large for the small Holy Name Church. Said Archbishop Vehr of this faithful shepherd, “I know of no priest more beloved by the people he served.”

In Father Meyers’ obituary it was said that “He was never too tired or too sick to travel out in all kinds of weather to administer to his followers and risked danger after danger to visit some dying parishioner, to baptize a new-born baby, or give comfort to some saddened wife or mother. All who knew him loved him . . .”

Father Edward Prinster came to Steamboat in 1939, built St. Martin’s Church in Oak Creek, and died in a tragic accident just before Christmas, 1956.

Archbishop Vehr called Father Prinster “a faithful missionary, a gentlemanly and kindly priest.”

Father Edward Prinster

In April of 1939, Colorado native Father Edward Prinster was appointed pastor of the Steamboat Springs, Mt. Harris, and Oak Creek Churches. By this time, several priests in established parishes were serving the rest of Father Meyers’ mission district. With Mass still being held in a mortuary for the growing Oak Creek congregation, Father Prinster got construction started on a church for this mining town in 1940.

Father Prinster came to be as dearly loved as was his predecessor and during his tenure the Catholic Church in Routt County continued to grow. A ski enthusiast, Father Prinster also played an active role in the development of Steamboat as a winter sports center.

Father Prinster had begun making plans to build a new Holy Name Church to accommodate the expanding Steamboat population when tragedy struck. On December 12, 1956, while removing snow from the roof of the Holy Name Parish rectory, this well-loved pastor fell to his death.

Born in La Junta in 1902, Father Prinster studied at Notre Dame and at St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, where he was ordained in 1930. Upon his passing, two Solemn Pontifical Masses of Requiem were offered for him, one in Steamboat and one at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Denver.

At the Cathedral, Archbishop Urban J. Vehr focused attention on the good that can be accomplished by a friendly and co-operative priest in a largely non-Catholic community. The Bishop called Father Prinster “a faithful missionary, a gentlemanly and kindly priest.”

Father Kenneth Funk

Father Kenneth Funk

On January 1, 1957, Father Kenneth Funk became pastor of Holy Name and St. Martin’s. Under Father Funk’s direction, the new Holy Name Church––of which Father Prinster had dreamed––became a reality, and St. Martins was expanded. Father Funk also endeared himself to his Catholic flock throughout Routt County where he remained until 1970.

Saint Martin of Tours

Just as ranching was originally the heartbeat of Steamboat, coal mining was the reason for the development of Oak Creek. Not far apart in age if not in the basis for their existence,both cities were incorporated in the early 1900’s (Oak Creek in 1907, 7 years after Steamboat) and both areas were served by Father J.J. Meyers from the time the Mountain Priest was placed in charge of the Northwestern Colorado Missionary District.

An interesting story about the Church in Oak Creek appeared in a 1967 publication dedicated to the town’s 60th Jubilee. The article talks about the fact that there was only one Catholic family––the Cozens of Fraser––living in this territory when first it was visited by Fathers Matz and Howlett in 1880. From that inauspicious beginning, the present day Catholic population in this area (actually a higher percentage than the Colorado average) could be viewed as a kind of miracle. No matter how one looks at it, the expansion of the Church in these mountains is powerful testimony to the dedication of the priests who brought the Faith to the wilderness so long ago and who ministered to just a few faithful Catholics during those seminal years.

In the early days, Masses were held for Oak Creek Catholics at the home of Mr. Halbert, who was Superintendent of the Victor American Mine. In 1913 William Hosking built a new mortuary and was kind enough to allow Father Meyers to celebrate Mass there.

“There were no kneelers so they had to kneel on the floor,” said the 60th Jubilee article, which adds, “In those days attendance was very poor.”

Still Father Meyers didn’t give up, and although the Mountain Priest was never able to build a church in Oak Creek, his successor, Father Edward Prinster, undertook and accomplished that task.

Construction of the new Oak Creek Catholic Church began in 1940 and was completed in 1941 for a total cost of $6500. The largest contributors were Mr. and Mrs. Martin Bieschke who donated $1500 through the Catholic Extension Society of Chicago. It is said that these benefactors were given the privilege of naming the new church. Their choice was Saint Martin’s, a name that was used for 53 years.

In addition to the single large bequest, there were many donations from locals and parishioners that made it possible to pay off the new building upon its completion. Even Father Prinster made a contribution, providing six large candlesticks in memory of his parents. The first Holy Mass was celebrated in the new Saint Martin’s Church on Christmas Day, 1941. The Church was dedicated in June of 1942 by Denver Bishop Urban J. Vehr.

Throughout the years, active fund raising and the generosity of parish families have made possible the upkeep and improvement of the original Church building. Fifty years ago, in June of 1957, the St. Martin’s Altar and Rosary Society was organized and has since helped sponsor many important money making activities. In the summer of 1960, a Mothers’ Chapel and a storeroom were added to the church. That same year, kneelers were purchased and in the fall of 1960 excavation began for a basement and church hall beneath the existing building.

To accomplish this risky enterprise, a crew of men from the parish using tractors built a ramp under the northeast corner of the church and hauled out the dirt. Joe Petranovich and Charles Angelo Rossi set off dynamite charges each night to loosen the dirt and jackhammers were used to break up the walls of the old furnace room. Bud Kier was the carpenter on this project, while the rest of the work was done by parishioners including Kelly Klumker, Elmer Mai, Art Brand, Frank Hewes Sr and Jr, Santiago Nieto, Guido and Margaret Rossi, Robert and Joe Rossi, Al Edgar and Russ Crawford. Needless to say, it didn’t hurt that this was a mining town with residents who had a unique understanding of working underground.

The first Sunday in April 1961, a communion breakfast was held in the newly completed hall. Later that year a new choir room was built in the rear of the church. In 1964, interior remodeling began. The upgrades included a new altar and two wide communion rails, as well as carpeting, window glass and a number of other items.

In an incredibly detailed and complete record of church improvements and donations hand written by Annabelle Petranovich we see that updates and modifications continued through at least 1999.

Holy Name Church Expansion

Above, Capital Campaign Logo

Right, Right to Left:

Msgr. George Schroeder, Father Ernest Bayer, Msgr. Tom Dentici.

July, 2007

Below, Portion of church building removed for expansion.

Fr. Ernest on horseback dressed as Fr. J.J. Meyers, with Scott and Trish Flower as native guides.

Msgr. Tom Dentici (pastor from 1983–93) prayed when he and the finance council decided to buy the three small houses on the end of the block. It seemed a wise investment for the future growth of the parish. Msgr. George Schroeder (pastor from 1993–2005) prayed when he began a building fund and started to design a church expansion. 

2008-2011, The Expansion

"We prayed at every Mass from 2008 to 2014, and God stirred many generous hearts. 

"We persevered through the Great Recession which began in 2008, and seemed to linger until 100 local people were put to work by our general contractor, Fox Construction, and nineteen subcontractors. We prayed rosaries of desperation, Divine Mercy Chaplets of trust, and soon we were under construction. 

~ Fr. Ernest.

Fr. Ernest Bayer leads a groundbreaking ceremony Sunday morning at the site of Holy Name Catholic Church’s expansion project. 

2012 Demolition

It sounded like the end of the world when the bucket of the backhoe bit into the roof of the former Holy Name Church. A seam had been cut from the top of the ridge to the foundation and now it was time to remove the back 1/3 of the church, after its walls and roof had sheltered worshipers for forty-eight years. A long screech sounded from the resistant roof as the walls shook and the floor trembled beneath the remaining pews. There, sitting very still in the center of the church, as in the eye of a hurricane, was one of our many devout and beloved parishioners, praying.

Fr. Ernest Bayer wore a white hard hat and a crisp green robe as he led the parishioners in blessing the land that soon will house a 15,382-square-foot expansion to their place of worship.

“It’s exciting and exhilarating and humbling,” Bayer said at Sunday’s groundbreaking ceremony. “It’s a great privilege to bless this piece of land.”

Work is progressing on the Holy Name Catholic Church in downtown Steamboat Springs.
Photo by John F. Russell

2013, "The next 100 Years"

“He said, ‘Build it for the next 100 years,'” Bayer said in September of 2013. “That kind of changed my perspective on the whole thing.” As framing wraps up on the 15,382-square-foot expansion, it is a little bit easier for the Steamboat Springs community to realize what kind of space the church will look like.

With framing complete, the insulation has been sprayed in and work is being done on the electrical and ventilation systems. A still-exposed area near the existing church is where the bells eventually will be installed.

Fox Construction completed the job under budget, in addition to donating the majority of their profit back to the church. 

Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila dedicates the Holy Name Catholic Church in downtown Steamboat Springs.

Photo by Peter Arnold

Dedication 2014

The dedication of the new Holy Name Catholic Church happened on September 12, 2014 to a large crowd of parishioners and religious leaders from the Archdiocese of Denver.

"My heart was filled with joy and gratitude to the Father and to you as I dedicated the new Holy Name Catholic Church. In the beauty of the church, one is able to witness the beauty of God and what he has done through your love for him and your unity in the service of his kingdom. Your generous sacrifices have created a church building that will continue to give glory to the Father in the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ for many generations to come." -  Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila, S.T.L. 

Artistic Rendering of basement area named "The Enrichment Center".

Next Steps 2022 - 2024

Fundraising has started for a basement renovation adding 9200 sq. feet of classrooms, meeting rooms, quiet areas, viewing areas and recreation areas with new kitchens, storage and bathrooms.