Happy Feast Day! This weekend we celebrate the 800th Anniversary of the “Transitus” the death of our Patron, Saint Francis of Assisi

Happy Feast Day!  This weekend we celebrate the 800th Anniversary of the “Transitus” the death of our Patron, Saint Francis of Assisi. You will notice special Bible Readings, Prayers, and Songs at Mass for this Solemnity of our Patron Saint. 

Near the end of his life Francis wrote, “I have done what was mine to do, may the Lord teach you yours.”  Well, after we paid off the debt on our current church on Thanksgiving Day last year, you started asking me:  “Now what, Father?  What’s next?” That’s why we did a feasibility study in the Spring to discern a new mission for our parish - south of here - in the Crystal Valley area.  The full report is at our website.  

We then began a strategic planning and implementation process for this mission that involved the Diocese of Colorado Springs, our Pastoral Council, Finance Council, and a small group led by parishioner, Rick Egitto.  We found a beautiful site:  1140 Lake Gulch Road, very close to the intersection with Crystal Valley Parkway.  This property has 44 acres with a house already built (a future rectory!)  We hired a Land Owner’s Rep firm, Legend Management from Littleton to conduct the due diligence on the property and to work with Douglas County on next steps for future development of a church.  Their full report is on our website.

What would this mission be?  It would be a future new parish to serve Castle Rock.  (For 138 years there has been only one:  Saint Francis!) What would be our first step?  Our first step is to purchase this property.  What is the impact on Saint Francis?  The impact is similar to having a new baby!  We love and provide for the new baby and help it grow.  The cost of the land purchase is 2.3 million dollars. We appreciate your generous donations to make this possible!  WE NEED 600,000 DOLLARS TO CLOSE THE PURCHASE.  The closing date for the purchase is October 15.  Following the successful purchase of the property, we will host events at the house there and welcome your ideas for designing a new church!

As we await the appointment of a new Bishop for our Diocese and his approval to keep moving forward, we are very excited to share this update with you on the Feast of Saint Francis.  Saint Francis began a great missionary movement 800 years ago.  May we continue to be missionaries here in Castle Rock and walk faithfully in his footsteps!  Thank you for your love and support!

Fr. Mark Zacker

Pastor