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On June 28, 1972, Archbishop James Casey assigned George Weibel to establish a parish in the Columbine area. The first Sunday Masses were celebrated in Columbine Hills Elementary School in September with 862 worshipers. By December 1973, Casey appointed Father Weibel as pastor and formally established the parish in the growing Columbine area. New parishioners named the church Columbine Catholic Parish after the Colorado state flower, the columbine. In Latin, the word means “of the dove,” so that for Catholics the beautiful blossom also symbolizes the Holy Spirit.
The cornerstone was laid for the new church on June 30, 1974, and the first masses were celebrated. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini was designated by Archbishop Casey as patroness of the parish.
Three years later in September, 1977, a large addition to the original building was completed, including a multipurpose area for use as Sunday Mass overflow seating, recreational activities, a nursery, religious education offices, youth ministry offices, and classrooms. By 1979, the parish had grown to 1,200 families.
In April, 1981, a rectory was completed providing additional office space as well as living quarters for Father Weibel.
In September, 1984, Father Roger Mollison was installed as pastor. After 13 years with the parish, Father Weibel was transferred to Our Lady of Lourdes in June 1985. In August of that year a Perpetual Adoration Chapel was completed.
In November of 1988, the parish name was changed to St. Frances Cabrini to honor the first American Saint, Mother Frances Cabrini. By 1988, the parish had grown to almost 1,500 families and plans to build a new worship space were being formulated.
Following a sermon on child abuse by Father Mollison, a couple offered to convert their house into the St. Joseph Home for Abused Children. It opened October 1986, with the official sanction of Jefferson County Social Services. Another couple, with five children of their own, volunteered to run the home with the help of dozens of other parishioners who have been trained by the county social services department. Columbine parishioners provisioned the house, and a physician in the parish agreed to be the pro bono publico doctor for the home. This effort to deal with abused children is just one of the ways that members exemplify the work of the Good Samaritan.
In 1988, Columbine worked with St. Gregory Episcopal Church next door to build an ecumenical prayer garden, which straddles their common boundary.
In 1989, Father Mollison was reassigned and Father Richard Ling became the third pastor for the church. The dream to build a new church continued. In January 1993 Father Ling was assigned to Notre Dame Parish and Father Darrell Schaeffer took over on temporary assignment until Father Ken Leone was named pastor in July 1993.
Under Father Ken Leone’s leadership, construction plans and initial fund raising was completed for a new church. Ceremonial groundbreaking was celebrated on July 7th, 1996, the 50th anniversary of Mother Cabrini’s canonization. The first Mass was celebrated in the new church in January 1998 and the new St. Frances Cabrini church was dedicated on February 8th, 1998 with Archbishop Charles Chaput presiding. The new construction included a new worship space, a new adoration chapel, new office space for the Pastor and staff, a parking lot and a double car garage addition to the rectory. The original church facilities were converted into office space for youth ministry, religious education class rooms, a music room and a parish hall .
Also in 1998, a new kitchen was provided and equipped by the Knights of Columbus and is used for Parish breakfasts, Lenten Fish Fries and many other parish and community functions.
On Sunday, Nov. 8, 1998, St. Frances Cabrini was designated as a Regional Hub Parish for the National LIFE TEEN Program. Fr. Ken Leone and Bishop Sam Jacobs of Alexandria, Louisiana concelebrated the ceremony.
In September 2001, the parking lot facilities were expanded to add 135 new parking spaces to accommodate increasing needs. The parking facilities now provide for over 500 cars. Also in September 2001, a statue of Mary holding the Baby Jesus was donated by the Knights of Columbus and erected in front of the Church.
By 2002, the congregation had grown to over 3,600 families, which necessitated additional facility modifications that were completed in October 2002.
These include:
1.- The purchase of a new house for the Pastor and assistants. This house located near the parish provides living quarters for the Pastor, the assistant Pastor and two additional priests or Seminarians.
2.- The conversion of the old Rectory into a Community House which will be used for counseling services, small group meetings and support groups.
3.- Modifications to the Parish Hall to provide multiple meeting rooms, improved acoustics, air conditioning and lighting.
4.- Converting the two car garage into a maintenance shop, office and security surveillance center.
In June 2005, Fr. Ken Leone was reassigned to Church of the Risen Christ and Fr. Sean McGrath became the new pastor of St. Frances Cabrini.
Cabrini Community House
In May 2002, following the priests move off the Church property, remodeling of the rectory to make it into the Cabrini Community House, a place of prayer, healing & community, began and was completed in September 2002. Also, extensive work began to identify a small network of professional counselors who would be willing to do their counseling from the Cabrini Community House. The house is also the location for the Pastoral Counseling Center. Currently, approximately 10 individuals who represent various areas of counseling expertise are available to do counseling from the house. They meet with parishioners in the Cabrini Community House and work on a sliding fee scale to make professional help affordable for all.
The objective of Cabrini Community House is to provide a space that has the look and feel of a warm, welcoming home where small groups can come together to share their faith, to pray together and to build community.
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