A Parish on Collyer Street
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church sits on the corner of Collyer Street and Fourth Avenue in Longmont, Colorado, a single block of worship, school, and parish offices that has anchored the local Catholic community for more than a century. Parishioners and visitors arrive each week for Mass in English and Spanish, for Eucharistic adoration that runs around the clock, and for a food bank that distributes groceries to more than 200 Longmont households every week. The parish is part of the Archdiocese of Denver, and its roster of nearly 3,500 families makes it one of the larger faith communities in northern Colorado.
The church is open to anyone who walks through its doors. Visitors who want a quiet stop before heading back to the highway are pointed to the Perpetual Adoration chapel on the east side of the building, where they can sit with the Blessed Sacrament for a few minutes. Newcomers who want to put down roots are welcomed through a registration process and invited into a wide range of ministries, from choir to food bank volunteers to small faith-sharing groups. The parish is proud of both its longevity and its growth, and its website describes the community as one that strives to live out the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ through faithful liturgy, formation of children, service to the poor, and the ongoing formation of adults.
From a Mission Church to a Debt-Free Parish
The parish history begins in 1881, when Fr. J. W. Cummings was appointed pastor of the Catholic community in Longmont. Plots of land at Third and Fourth Avenues and Collyer Street were donated for a new church, and on June 24, 1882 - the feast of St. John the Baptist - Bishop Joseph Machebeuf came down from Denver to dedicate the building. In 1888, Rome transferred the parish to the Benedictine Fathers, who shepherded it for the next 73 years.
By the turn of the century, the little frame church on Collyer could no longer hold the growing Catholic population. A larger stone church was built on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Collyer, opening for services on March 13, 1906 and blessed by Bishop Nicholas Matz on July 2, 1906. A year later, the Sisters of St. Francis, originally from Milwaukee, opened a school first called St. Joseph's Academy - the forerunner of today's parish school.
By 1960, the 55-year-old stone church had again become too small. Pastor Fr. Martin Arno, O.S.B., oversaw the demolition of the old building and construction of a new church on the same site, with seating for 760 and a full basement for parish activities. Archbishop Urban Vehr celebrated the first Mass in the new church at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve 1963, and the present sanctuary is the same gathering space used today. On September 26, 1971, the parish marked the end of Benedictine leadership and has since been staffed by priests of the Archdiocese of Denver.
Growth continued through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and in 1999 an addition opened that provided a Eucharistic Adoration chapel, middle school classrooms, meeting rooms, a gathering hall, a gift shop, and parish offices. A 2001 "Share the Vision" campaign funded a new gymnasium, classrooms, energy-efficient windows, air conditioning, updated lighting, a computer lab, new playground equipment, and landscaping. The $7.5 million debt for all those improvements was paid in full by June 2010, and the parish has described itself as debt-free since. Today the parish numbers more than 3,500 families, the school enrolls roughly 333 students from preschool through eighth grade, and the Food Bank serves over 200 families every week.
Mass on Collyer Street: English and Spanish
The Mass schedule reflects a parish that takes bilingual worship seriously. Weekday Mass is offered Monday through Friday at 8:15 a.m. and 12:10 p.m., with the noon Mass livestreamed for those at home or at work. On Thursday evenings, a Spanish Mass - Jueves Santa Misa - is celebrated at 6:00 p.m.
The Saturday Vigil schedule offers two Masses: 5:00 p.m. in English and 6:30 p.m. in Spanish. Sunday brings five Masses: 7:00 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 4:00 p.m. in English, with the 10:30 a.m. Mass livestreamed, and 12:30 p.m. in Spanish. Confessions are heard on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. and on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., and priests are available for appointments outside those hours. Baptisms are celebrated on the fourth Saturday of every month at 10:00 a.m. in English (or by personal scheduling with a priest) and on the first and third Saturdays of the month at 10:00 a.m. in Spanish.
Permanent Adoration Around the Clock
One of the distinctive features of the parish is its Perpetual Adoration chapel. The chapel is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and anyone is welcome to come adore the Lord during those hours without signing up. Parishioners who commit to a regular weekly hour are given after-hours access, so the chapel remains a place of prayer 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Coordinated adoration is arranged through longmont.weadorehim.com, where visitors can browse available hours and sign up for a weekly commitment.
The Parish School on the Same Campus
St. John the Baptist Catholic School shares the Collyer Street campus with the church. The school enrolls roughly 333 students from preschool through eighth grade and has been recognized locally as the top school in Longmont. Curriculum combines academic coursework with Catholic identity, daily prayer, sacramental preparation, and service opportunities, and graduates routinely move on to area Catholic and public high schools. The parish operates a School Endowment Fund, established more than 20 years ago, that provides tuition assistance to families who want a Catholic education for their children but cannot afford the full cost. A SCRIP gift-card program supplements the endowment, letting parishioners buy grocery, restaurant, and retailer gift cards through the parish and channel the rebates directly to tuition assistance.
The Food Bank on South Lincoln
The St. John the Baptist Food Bank, located at 804 S. Lincoln Street in Longmont, is one of the largest parish-based food pantries in the area. Open Tuesday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., it provides weekly pre-assembled boxes of groceries to households in the Longmont community. The food boxes are sized for the household and built around pantry staples - cereal, canned vegetables, canned and dried fruit, canned pasta meals, canned chili and stew, canned meats, canned tomatoes and pasta sauce, canned soup, nut butters and jelly, dry and canned beans, rice, dry pasta, instant meals, boxed macaroni and cheese, and cooking oils - plus rotating donations of non-dairy milk, gluten-free and dairy-free items, granola and protein bars, baking mixes, bread, condiments, juice, diapers, baby food, formula, and pet food.
Clients do not need to be parishioners to receive help. New clients complete an intake form (available in English and Spanish) with basic household information, dietary restrictions, and a photo ID, and the food bank aims to give weekly assistance for up to six months before a check-in. The pantry delivers within Longmont city limits - north to Highway 66, south to Pike Road, east to County Line Road, and west to Grandview Meadows - and also serves Boulder and Weld Counties through in-person pick-ups. The food bank is not government-funded. Its support comes from the parish community, Community Food Share of Boulder and Broomfield, and donations of money and food from individuals and partner organizations, with most of the labor provided by volunteers.
Volunteers staff the warehouse on weekly shifts, drive regular delivery routes, pick up donations from local partners, and assist with intake. Drivers must submit a current driver's license and proof of insurance, sign the Archdiocese's Driver Agreement, and complete a set of driving safety videos. The food bank cannot accept court-ordered community-service volunteers, though it does welcome youth volunteers fulfilling academic requirements. Donations of food, money, sturdy boxes the size of milk crates or produce boxes, and clean one-dozen-size egg cartons are all welcome.
Becoming Catholic: OCIA
Adults who want to enter the Catholic Church, or who simply want to learn more about it, take part in the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA). The parish describes OCIA as a year-round process of prayer, reflection, and learning that allows for continual discernment of God's will. There is no commitment to register - the parish welcomes anyone who wants to explore the Catholic faith.
Classes meet Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. August through April, and Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:15 p.m. May through July. Full initiation takes place with the reception of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion, generally at the Easter Vigil. Children who have reached the age of reason but are under 16 enter the Church through the parish Religious Education program. For Catholics age 16 and older who need Confirmation or First Communion, sacramental preparation is also done through OCIA. Danielle Coon serves as OCIA Coordinator.
Children's Faith Formation and the Restored Order
The parish practices the Restored Order of the Sacraments of Initiation, the arrangement used throughout the Archdiocese of Denver. Children prepare for and receive First Penance in second grade, then continue into a year of preparation that culminates in both Confirmation and First Holy Communion in third grade. The parish describes Holy Eucharist - not Confirmation - as the sacrament that fully initiates a person into the Catholic Church.
The Religious Education program is built around parents as the primary educators of their children. Parents are required to attend a weekly class on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., using the Project Nazareth curriculum, and children preparing for sacraments attend Sunday classes from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. Sacramental candidates are required to attend a retreat at the end of the year, and Confirmation candidates must also submit a saint report and select a sponsor whose parish priest completes a verification letter from the Archdiocese. Children in grades 1, 4, and 5 who are not preparing for sacraments are also offered regular faith formation classes.
Children who have reached the age of seven and have not been baptized enter the OCIC, a two-year program that prepares them to receive Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation at the Easter Vigil. Registration for the program opens in July each year, with classes beginning in September. Marla Zubrinic serves as Faith Formation Coordinator and Youth Director.
Youth: Totus Tuus, Youth Group, and Retreats
Summer catechesis at St. John's takes the form of Totus Tuus, a parish-based program run by college students and seminarians from across the country on teaching teams of four. The day program for grades 1-6 runs Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and culminates each day in a Mass open to parents. The evening program for grades 7-12 runs Sunday through Thursday from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., with adoration and Confession on Tuesday nights. The week closes with a celebration night on Thursday.
During the school year, the parish Youth Group meets every Sunday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., immediately following the 4:00 p.m. Mass. The night opens with a shared meal, then moves into games, talks that connect faith to daily life, small group conversations, service projects, and prayer. There is no cost to participate. The parish also sponsors two retreats: Mountain Madness, a middle school retreat for grades 6-8 at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, and Steubenville of the Rockies, a high school conference for grades 9-12 at the Gaylord Rockies Resort. The parish's Children of Mary Sodality, currently being reactivated after COVID, offers young women Marian devotion, service, and community, with a particular interest in re-forming the parish's May Crowning tradition.
Serving at the Altar: Liturgical Ministries
Maggie Howard directs the music and liturgy program, which includes more than a dozen ways to participate in the Mass. Ushers greet parishioners, help them find seats, and take up the collection. Lectors proclaim the readings. Sacristans prepare the books, vestments, and vessels for each celebration. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion assist with distributing the Eucharist during Mass or Communion services, and may also be commissioned for the Homebound Ministry that brings Communion to the sick and housebound.
Altar Servers are boys in fourth grade through twelfth grade who have received First Holy Communion. They are scheduled one or two times a month and serve at weddings, funerals, and other parish liturgies. Training is offered three to four times a year, with ongoing quarterly meetings.
Music is led by multiple choirs. The Women's Choir - "Just the Girls" - rehearses on the first and third Sundays of each month for the 4:00 p.m. Mass. The Grand Staff Adult Choir, for sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses, rehearses every Tuesday evening and sings at the 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass and major liturgical events. Children's choirs include Quarter Notes for preschool and kindergarten, Half Notes for grades 1-3, Whole Notes for grades 4-8, and the Grace Notes Bell Choir for fifth grade and up. Cantors, song leaders, accompanists, and instrumentalists are selected by audition.
Community Groups and Small Faith Communities
Adults at St. John's find community through a long list of parish groups. Men of Faith meets Thursday mornings during the school year at 6:00 a.m. in Benedict Hall for breakfast, a DVD presentation by a Catholic scholar, and small-group discussion, wrapping up by 7:30 a.m. Exodus 90 is a ninety-day spiritual exercise for men built on prayer, asceticism, and fraternity, with men meeting in groups of five to seven.
MUMS - Mothers Uplifting Mothers Spiritually - is a mother's group that meets on average twice a month during the school year, on the first and third Thursdays from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. in Benedict Hall, with babysitting available. The Altar and Rosary Society gathers once a month as a large assembly and meets in smaller Circles throughout the month. Members pray the rosary, serve funeral dinners to bereaved families, sew purificators and quilts, clean and press linens, purchase communion hosts, support missions, coordinate Pope's Closet (clothing and diapers for inner-city babies served by the Sisters of Mercy), and host the annual Mother/Daughter breakfast.
The Double Nickel Club, a seniors' group, meets on the third Thursday of every month at 5:45 p.m. in Benedict Hall for a potluck and conversation. The Blue Army - the World Apostolate of Fatima - prays the rosary every Wednesday from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel. The St. Anne's Mission Rosary Guild meets on the second Thursday of every month at 12:45 p.m. in Benedict Hall to make mission rosaries for distribution around the world. The Lay Carmelite Community meets once a month on Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. in the St. Catherine room. The Knights of Columbus, Council #14898, holds business meetings on the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. in Benedict Hall and planning meetings on the third Wednesday in the St. Catherine room.
Outreach Ministries: Walking with the Vulnerable
Beyond the Food Bank, the parish runs several ministries that walk with people through vulnerable seasons of life. The Elizabeth Ministry responds to the joys and sorrows of a woman's childbearing years - pregnancy, miscarriage, infant or child death, fertility concerns, adoption, and special needs - through prayers, meals, gifts, and friendship. The Homebound Ministry brings the Eucharist to parishioners who cannot attend Mass, with Extraordinary Ministers visiting the sick and homebound and priests available for Confession, Anointing of the Sick, and pastoral visits.
The Respect Life Ministry works within the parish and the broader community to affirm the dignity of human life from conception to natural death. Friends of St. James is a confidential lay-ministry of listening and Catholic care, offering one-to-one visits that bring Holy Communion to those unable to attend Mass. Not Just Knitting makes warm hats for the homeless and Food Bank clients, afghans for the parish Jesse Tree project, baby items for the Gabriel Project, and shawls and slippers for nursing home visits, meeting the second Friday of each month. The parish also maintains a sister-parish relationship with a community in Uganda, supporting it with food, monetary donations, prayers, and building supplies.
Sacraments and Sacramental Records
The parish celebrates all seven sacraments. Baptism requires parents and godparents to attend a preparation class - in English on the first Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. for first-time attendees, or by appointment for those who have taken the class before, and in Spanish on the first Thursday of the month at 7:00 p.m. The class fee is $25 per person. Godparents must be confirmed Catholics living in harmony with the faith, and they must provide proof of Confirmation and, if applicable, marriage in the Catholic Church.
Couples preparing for marriage must contact the parish at least eight months before their desired wedding date, in keeping with Archdiocesan policy. Preparation includes regular meetings with clergy, the FOCCUS inventory, an NFP class on natural family planning, and a marriage retreat weekend. Funerals are coordinated through the parish office, with the Altar and Rosary Society providing funeral dinners for bereaved families. The Anointing of the Sick is available by appointment through the parish office; for emergencies, the parish maintains a 24-hour line at 303.678.7608. Men and women exploring a vocation to religious life or Holy Orders are encouraged to speak with Fr. Humberto Marquez or Fr. Jose Delgado, and can also contact the Archdiocese's Vocations Office and Office of the Diaconate.
For anyone needing a replacement Baptism, Confirmation, First Holy Communion, or Marriage certificate, the parish has online request forms with a $10 replacement fee. Adult certificates are released only to the adult named on the certificate or to the requesting parish.
The Gift Shop and Parish Communications
The SJB Catholic Gift Shop carries rosaries (many handmade), Bibles, Catholic children's books, medals, jewelry, statues, crucifixes, and greeting cards for First Communion, Confirmation, Baptism, wedding, and anniversary gifts. Shop hours are Wednesday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Friday 9:00 a.m. to noon, Saturday 3:30 to 4:45 p.m., and Sunday 8:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The shop also takes appointments through Nancy Olivari, the Gift Shop Manager. Volunteers are welcomed for a once-a-month commitment.
The parish uses Flocknote for weekly email and text updates. Anyone can join by texting "Longmont" to 84576 for English or to 202-765-3441 for Spanish. The parish livestreams the noon weekday Mass and the Sunday 10:30 a.m. Mass; livestream links are posted on the parish website. Online giving is available through ParishSoft, and donations can be directed to the parish, the Food Bank, or the School Endowment Fund. For legacy giving, the parish office can be reached at extension 111 to discuss bequests, planned gifts, and other arrangements.
A Stewardship Parish in the Archdiocese of Denver
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church lives within the Archdiocese of Denver and follows its sacramental and safe-environment policies, including the Called to Protect training required of any volunteer working with minors and the pastor verification letter required of Confirmation sponsors. The parish's own catechetical mission is built around four commitments - faithful liturgy with Jesus truly present in the Eucharist, the formation of children in both parish Religious Education and the parish school, the service of the poor through the Food Bank and other outreach, and the ongoing formation of adults through classical study and modern media, including a free parish subscription to Formed.org. With more than three thousand families, a debt-free campus, a school, a food bank, a Perpetual Adoration chapel, and a Mass schedule that runs in both English and Spanish every day of the week, the parish continues the work that began on June 24, 1882.