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This page was last edited on 03/26/2008 

As YOU APPROACHED THE CHURCH, the FOCAL TOWER rising in front of the building drew you. Plans call for a bronze sculpture of Thérèse as a young girl to be placed in that space. She will be depicted as the "real" Thérèse; not a myth, not that of a haloed face with angelic eyes, cradling roses—but the strong and determined young lady who had set her sights on entering the Carmelite Convent in Lisieux, France at the age of fifteen. The very same young lady who met obstacles face to face and went so far as to travel with her father to Rome where she personally asked the Pope for special permission to enter the convent before the required age. She will beckon to us to turn away from worldly distractions and enter into a holy space which houses the Eucharist—a space in which we will greet each other and together sing praise to God.

Around the FOCAL TOWER is a circular garden of roses, which will eventually grow into a hedge. Thérèse spent a great deal of time in the garden of the family home, Les Buissonnets, which is filled with rose trees. She also loved the countryside of Normandy in France, which was rich in wildflowers. Her autobiography is teeming with references to flowers, birds, stars, the sea, sunsets and clouds.

Many of the elements of the Carmelite Convent at Lisieux, France, where Thérèse spent the last few years of her life until her death at age 24, are incorporated into the new building: the cloister, the pillars and arches, the towers, even the color of the brick and roofing are reflections of what you would see at the Carmel as its stands today. The dormer windows recall the attic windows of their childhood bedroom in the family home, Les Buissonnets.
 

From the focal tower, you were welcomed into the CLOISTER. In the early Church, a cloister was a place where churchgoers could refresh themselves with shade and water before entering the holy space. Later, a cloister was a place attached to a monastery where monks or nuns could recreate themselves or pray, sheltered from the elements. There was such a cloister in the Carmelite Convent in Lisieux and Thérèse mentions it often in her autobiography. In the center of the cloister is a FOUNTAIN, a symbolic reminder of the wells our Hebrew ancestors pitched their tents beside as they listened to God's voice We use the cloister area in the Shrine parish as a space where we can gather for recreation and for community events.

The FOUNTAIN in the cloister reminds those coming to church of our ancestors, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Rachel. These patriarchs sought out wells and fountains and built altars to God beside them. The shape of the fountain is a pinecone, which symbolizes life renewed.

As you pass through the doors into the narthex, the BAPTISTERY, you are immediately aware of the font with moving, living water. Through Baptism, we enter into the community of the Church. It is fitting that the baptistery is the first symbol we encounter. The baptismal font allows for the immersion of infants and the pouring of water over the entire body of a child or adult, to recall the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. Above the baptistery is the tower, which is like the one Thérèse saw through the window from her sickbed. An image of Mary, the Mother of the Church, looks over the baptism font, the womb of the Church. This image, La Vierge Du Sourire, the VIRGIN OF THE SMILE, was beloved of St. Thérèse. On the opposite wall, is a brass book containing the names of all those in whose memory the church was built.

You move through another set of doors into the nave, the PLACE OF DIVINE WORSHIP, where we gather as a faith community—a place for praying and singing, for listening and speaking, for reconciling—a place where the sacred mysteries are recalled, made present, and celebrated.

The fan-shaped ASSEMBLY SPACE invites us to participate in the Liturgy. The altar is fashioned with twelve arches, recalling the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles. Again, we are reminded of the place where Thérèse spent her last years—the Carmel with the barrel ceiling and the wooden floor of the sanctuary.

Above the sanctuary hangs the GREAT CRUCIFIX, the reminder of what we do at the altar—making present in an un-bloody manner—the great sacrifice of Jesus of Calvary. This crucifix was brought from the former church and links us with all those who offered the same sacrifice since the community began. On the south side of the sanctuary is the choir area with the excellent organ and piano and places for other instruments and their musicians, and for the choir members who represent the heavenly choir singing God's praises.

The dome over the BLESSED SACRAMENT CHAPEL where the Eucharist is reserved for those who are sick is similar to the ones over the tabernacle area in the chapel of the convent of Lisieux.

The ROUND WINDOW above the tabernacle was installed in 2005 and reflects the same theme and picture found on the tabernacle door: chalice, wheat and grapes. A circular border of vivid blue ties it in with colors of the other stained glass windows. The window itself was made by an artist, Will O'Brien of Colorado springs. Also, note the soft blue lighting in the tabernacle.

The THREE FACETED GLASS WINDOWS in the sanctuary symbolize the Creation. The center window symbolizes the creation of light, the south window the creation of earth and sky and sea, and the north window the creation of the human race.

The SHRINE CHAPEL, which is accessible from outside or from the cloister, is open all day for private prayer and for daily Mass. The altar is at the east end of the chapel. Behind the altar is an etched glass screen depicting the garden of the family home of Thérèse with the famous "little flower" splitting a rock. Thérèse practiced great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle.

The dramatic structure of the chapel with open beams and a skylight, again, echoes the convent in Lisieux.

 

An image of OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE, patroness of the Americas, given by Bishop Tafoya, hangs in the chapel.

 

 

 

The shrine area is set apart from the chapel by a GREAT IRONWORK SCREEN recalling that Thérèse was a cloistered religious. She had separated herself physically from the everyday world. On a plinth behind the screen is a massive woodcarving of St. Thérèse, a gift of Bishop Willging to the parish in 1952. The five faceted glass windows at the west end of the chapel represent five flowers favored by St. Thérèse which also represent her virtues: LOTUS- triumph over evil; OLIVE- peace; DAISY- innocence; VIOLET- humility; and, ROSE-joy.

The RECONCILIATION CHAPEL is entered from the Shrine Chapel. This is a space set apart for the confession of and forgiveness of sins in the Sacrament of Penance. It is designed to offer a choice between a face to face encounter between the penitent and priest or the anonymity provided by a screen. The large window, which makes up one wall of the chapel, depicts the sinful human being bathed and cleansed by the grace of God,

 

 

The HOSPITALITY ROOM, where we gather after Mass for refreshments and fellowship, is entered through either the cloister or the baptistery.

 

In this room are hung large photographic prints of St. Thérèse at various stages of her short life, and of her parents. This is a room dedicated to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, which images are in the place of honor, to the Martin family to which Thérèse belonged, and to our own parish family and our guests.

A brief history of The Shrine of St. Thérèse

IN 1946, BISHOP WILLGING purchased a two square block area for church, rectory, school, playground, parking lot, and landscaping. Rev. Joseph Warnat was appointed pastor, and he supervised the work and contributed his artistic talents. The cornerstone was laid January 2,1949. The church seated 400 parishioners and cost $150,000.00. The Shrine of St. Thérèse was named for the principal patroness of the Pueblo Catholic Diocese.

In September 1949, a school was opened with 60 students grades first through eighth. The enrollment increased and in 1956, an all-purpose building was built to accommodate the 300 students and 750 families. In 1971, the parochial schools in Pueblo were closed.

Priest of the Diocese who served as pastors at the Shrine of St. Thérèse since 1948 were the following:

• Msgr. Joseph F. Warnat; October, 1948 through November, 1973
• Rev. Frederick D. Dean; November, 1973 through June, 1974
• Msgr. George T. Holland; June, 1974 through July, 1981
• Msgr. Peter F. Maas; September, 1972 through June, 1984
• Rev. Louis C. Stovik; July, 1975 through July, 1983
• Rev. Paul P. Mendrick; July, 1981 through August, 1984
• Rev. Joseph McGuinness; July, 1983 through September, 1992
• Rev. Leo Bonfadini; August, 1984 through June, 1987
• Rev. Edward Petit; July, 1987 through July, 1989
• Rev. Vicente Paz en la Casa; September, 1992 through June, 2003
• Rev. William "Liam" Courtney; July, 2003 to present

A building fund was started in 1989 to build a new church. It was completed in October, 1994. The old semi-basement church was demolished. The ground plan for the new Shrine of St. Thérèse Church is similar to that of the first St. Peter's built in Rome by Emperor Constantine. The decorative style and motifs are based on the simple beauty found in the home of St. Thérèse in Alencon and in the Carmelite Convent in Lisieux, France.