About Cathedral of Saint Mary · Colorado Springs, Colorado
St. Mary's Cathedral is the mother church of Roman Catholicism in the Pikes Peak region of Colorado, the seat (cathedra) of the Bishop of Colorado Springs, and the principal parish of the Diocese of Colorado Springs. Located at 22 West Kiowa Street in downtown Colorado Springs, it is a Gothic Revival landmark designed by the architectural firm Pease and Barber, with the basement level completed in 1891 and the upper church dedicated on December 19, 1898. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982 as 'St. Mary's Catholic Church,' the cathedral serves a diverse, bilingual community offering Mass in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language each week, alongside vibrant music, faith formation, deaf-community, and outreach ministries.
- Established
- 1891
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary (parish title 'St. Mary's'; the patroness of the Diocese is Our Lady of Guadalupe)
- Rector
- Very Rev. Jaimes Ponce, J.C.D. (Rector; also serves as Judicial Vicar of the Diocese)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Colorado Springs
Why belong here
St. Mary's is the cathedral-parish of the Diocese of Colorado Springs — the Bishop's own church — and the oldest Catholic community in the Pikes Peak region, so registration gives families a recognized home in a downtown parish with unusually wide sacramental reach. The cathedral offers Sunday Mass in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language (the only ASL Mass in the city), a thriving children's and youth music program (the St. Cecilia Schola Cantorum) and an SATB Cathedral Choir, weekday Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, RCIA, marriage preparation, a deaf-community ministry, and a direct partnership with the adjacent Catholic Charities Marian House and Bishop Hanifen Center for charitable outreach.
Mass times at Cathedral of Saint Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday: 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Wednesday: 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Friday: 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Saturday: 3:00 PM – 3:45 PM
- Wednesday evening (8:00 – 9:00 PM) also listed on the parish website
Adoration times
- Thursday: 7:30 AM – 11:50 AM (Exposition after the 7:00 AM Mass; Benediction at 11:50 AM) — every Thursday morning except Holy Thursday
- Wednesday evening Holy Hour (8:00 PM – midnight) also listed on the parish website
History of St. Mary's Cathedral
Catholic worship in the Pikes Peak region pre-dates Colorado Springs itself: Fathers Machebeuf and Raverdy celebrated the first Mass on October 14, 1860, in an unfinished stone house in Old Colorado City. After almost three decades of home Masses and moves through the Gazette offices (1873), a Generals Palmer-donated chapel at Rio Grande and Sahwatch (1873–1882), and a rectory fire (1884), the parish purchased the present Kiowa Street block in 1888 from adjacent Loretto Academy land. The basement church was dedicated on Palm Sunday 1891 by Bishop Matz, and Bishop Matz returned on December 19, 1898, to dedicate the upper structure. Bell towers (1902), steeples (1907), Gothic arched ceilings, the side-aisle windows, an apse renovation with stained glass (1923–24), limestone facings (1930), and a 1963 modernization rounded out the pre-Vatican-II building. On November 10, 1983, Pope John Paul II erected the Diocese of Colorado Springs and chose St. Mary's as its cathedral; Bishop Richard Hanifen was installed on January 30, 1984. A 2003 renovation made the cathedral a Vatican-II-faithful liturgical space, and a 2022 restoration built a new high altar of Colorado Yule Marble.
- 1860 — First Mass in Old Colorado City
- 1873 — Public Mass in the Gazette reading room; Palmer donates first parish property
- 1876 — First parish church finished
- 1888 — Property on Kiowa Street purchased for $3,100
- 1891 (Palm Sunday) — Basement church dedicated
- 1898 (Dec 19) — Upper church dedicated; transept windows campaign launched
- 1902 — Bell towers installed
- 1907 — Towers extended; steeples added (east = 73 ft)
- 1916 — Pipe organ replaced
- 1923–24 — Apse and clerestory stained glass installed
- 1930 — Limestone facings at three entrances; rose window reconfigured
- 1963 — Interior modernization (lighting, sacristy, pews)
- 1983 (Nov 10) — Diocese of Colorado Springs erected by Pope John Paul II
- 1984 (Jan 30) — Bishop Richard Hanifen installed; St. Mary's named Cathedral
- 2003 (May 31) — Bishop Sheridan rededicated renovated cathedral
- 2005 (Dec) — Cathedral Columbarium opened (864 niches)
- 2007 — Sunday Spanish Mass begins
- 2009 — New rectory built on north plaza
- 2013 (Feb) — Blessed Sacrament Chapel renovated with Greer and Keating art
- 2022 (March 25) — New Yule Marble high altar dedicated; reredos restored
- 2023 — Tabernacle restored to high altar; relics of St. Benedict, St. Anthony, and the True Cross installed
Architecture and Building
St. Mary's Cathedral is a Gothic Revival church designed by the Colorado Springs firm Pease and Barber, with the basement level completed in 1891 and the upper structure dedicated in 1898. The building is fitted into the uptown/downtown grid with its main façade facing West Kiowa Street; limestone facings at the three entrances were added in 1930, and the bell towers and 73-foot east steeple remain the tallest church spires in the city. The interior was substantially remodeled in 2003 (new gathering space and southwest entrance, immersive baptistery, convex seating, hand-repainted Stations of the Cross by Italian artists, frescoed cathedra repositioning) and again in 2022 (Colorado Yule Marble altar, restored reredos, elevated sanctuary floor). The 1916 Hinners pipe organ was replaced in 2002, and a successor organ was again replaced in 2005. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Architect: Pease & Barber (Gothic Revival)
- NRHP reference #82002301, listed June 3, 1982
- Bell towers: 1902; steeples: 1907
- Gothic arched plaster ceilings and side-aisle windows: 1902–06
- Apse/clerestory stained glass: 1923–24
- Limestone facings and rose window configuration: 1930
- Interior modernization: 1963
- Vatican II renovation and southwest addition: completed 2003
- Apsidal and altar restoration: completed March 25, 2022
Music Ministry
Music is a centerpiece of cathedral life. The Cathedral Choir (SATB) rehearses on Thursday evenings September–June and sings the 9:00 AM Sunday Mass with repertoire from Palestrina to contemporary sacred composers; it leads the great feasts of Holy Week and Christmas. A free sight-singing and vocal technique class is offered to all regular choir members, and visiting instrumentalists and choirs are warmly welcomed. The parish also helps anchor the Diocesan St. Cecilia Schola Cantorum (the diocese's tuition-free graded children's choir school for Grades K–12, with Grades 5–8 singing regularly at St. Mary's). A third ensemble, the Yankee Noodles, performs patriotic outreach concerts once a month at local retirement communities and nursing homes.
- Cathedral Choir — SATB, weekly 9:00 AM Sunday Mass and major feasts
- Hispanic choir for the 12:00 PM Spanish Mass
- St. Cecilia Schola Cantorum — diocesan children's choir school (K–12)
- Yankee Noodles — patriotic outreach choir for nursing homes
- Free music-reading and sight-singing class
- Visiting choirs and instrumentalists welcomed at the cathedral
Faith Formation, RCIA, and Sacraments
The parish runs a year-round Religious Education program for children and youth, coordinated through the parish's Religious Education Coordinator. Adults preparing for full communion participate in the parish's RCIA, which Deacon Frank Ricotta coordinates. Marriage preparation is coordinated by Deacon Mark Griffith through the standard six-month diocesan process. Baptisms (including adult Baptisms at the Easter Vigil) use the 2003 cathedral baptistery, which is large enough for full immersion.
- Children's Religious Education (K–8 and youth)
- RCIA (Deacon Frank Ricotta)
- Marriage Preparation (Deacon Mark Griffith)
- Infant baptism and adult baptism (Easter Vigil) at the immersion baptistery
- First Communion and Confirmation preparation
- Anointing of the Sick / Communion to the homebound (deacons)
Deaf Community Ministry
St. Mary's is the spiritual home for Colorado Springs' Catholic Deaf Community. The parish's Deaf Ministry works to ensure every Catholic can receive the saving message and the gifts of the Mass, and hosts the only Sunday Mass interpreted in American Sign Language in the city every week at the 9:00 AM liturgy.
- American Sign Language Sunday Mass — every Sunday at 9:00 AM
- Pastoral outreach to the local Deaf Community
Outreach and Catholic Charities Partnership
St. Mary's channels a percentage of its regular offertory and approximately a quarter of its Annual Diocesan Ministry Appeal to Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, which operates the Marian House and Bishop Hanifen Center directly across the street on the cathedral's north side. Those ministries provide shelter, food, and social services to people experiencing poverty and homelessness throughout the Pikes Peak region — a tangible expression of the parish's mission 'to live, profess, and grow in our Catholic faith through words and deeds.'
- Annual Diocesan Ministry Appeal contribution
- Offertory support for Catholic Charities of Central Colorado
- Direct support of the Marian House and Bishop Hanifen Center across the street
- Stewardship Committee (time, talent, and treasure formation)
Cathedral Columbarium and Cemetery
Since December 2005, the cathedral has operated the St. Mary's Cathedral Columbarium on its east exterior wall. The columbarium provides 864 niches for the cremated remains of parishioners and members of the broader Diocese of Colorado Springs. Its stated vision is to be 'a dignified place of peace and beauty, an asset to our church and its departed loved ones.'
- 864 niches on east exterior wall (opened 2005)
- Available to parishioners and Diocese of Colorado Springs faithful
Parish Staff
The cathedral is led by Very Rev. Jaimes Ponce, J.C.D., who serves simultaneously as Rector of St. Mary's Cathedral and Judicial Vicar of the Diocese of Colorado Springs. Rev. Thomas Pressley serves as Parochial Vicar, with active deacon support from Deacons Mark Griffith, Frank Ricotta, John T. Riley, Juan Cabrera, and Dan Tomich (also Director of the diocesan Office of Permanent Diaconate). Lay staff include a Business and Facility Manager (Alfredo Medina), an accountant (Dave Dock), a Religious Education Coordinator (Margie Tantanella), a Liturgy Coordinator (Esperanza Griffith), the Music Director (Valerie Niemerg), and administrative assistants. The Bishop of Colorado Springs, Most Rev. James R. Golka, presides from the cathedra here.
- Rector: Very Rev. Jaimes Ponce, J.C.D.
- Parochial Vicar: Rev. Thomas Pressley
- Deacons: Mark Griffith, Frank Ricotta, John T. Riley, Juan Cabrera, Dan Tomich
- Music Director: Valerie Niemerg
- Religious Education Coordinator: Margie Tantanella
- Liturgy Coordinator: Esperanza Griffith
- Business/Facility Manager: Alfredo Medina
- Bishop of Colorado Springs: Most Rev. James R. Golka
Becoming a Parishioner
Registration at St. Mary's Cathedral gives a family a recognized home in the diocese's flagship parish. Benefits include on-going scriptural preaching and teaching, religious-education classes for children, youth and adults, opportunities for Christian service in the broader Colorado Springs community, letters of recommendation for godparents and Confirmation sponsors, monthly giving envelopes, an annual record of charitable donations for tax purposes, and a subscription to the Catholic Herald, the diocesan newspaper. Registration forms are available on the form board in the church or online at the parish website.
- Family/individual registration form on form board or online
- Christian-service and outreach opportunities
- Letters of recommendation for godparents and sponsors
- Subscription to the Catholic Herald included
Visiting the Cathedral
St. Mary's is a working downtown parish and historic site — visitors are welcome for scheduled Masses, Thursday morning Adoration, and for self-guided viewing of the exterior. Notable exterior features include the steeples (visible from I-25 and across downtown), the limestone-faced entrances (1930), and the Columbarium wall. Interior highlights open during services and the chapel's open hours include the 2022 Yule Marble high altar, the faux-marble reredos, the immersion baptistery (2003), the Stations of the Cross hand-repainted by Italian artists, the Blessed Sacrament Chapel with its gilded Byzantine bronze crucifixion panel (2013), the relics enshrined in 2023 (St. Benedict, St. Anthony of Padua, and the True Cross), and the historic 1907–1924 stained-glass windows.
- Steeples — 1907, 73 ft east steeple (tallest in the city)
- Limestone facings — 1930
- Faux-marble reredos and Yule Marble altar — 2022
- Immersion baptistery — 2003
- Blessed Sacrament Chapel art by Greer and Keating — 2013
- Relics of St. Benedict, St. Anthony of Padua, and a relic of the True Cross — 2023
- Cathedral Columbarium (open exterior) — 2005
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Joseph P. Machebeuf1860s–1880s
Pioneer priest; said the first Mass in Old Colorado City in 1860; first Vicar of Colorado-Utah (1868) and first Bishop of Colorado (1887); began the parish at the Gazette offices in 1873.
- Father Frederick Benderlate 1890s
Pastored St. Mary's at the 1898 dedication of the upper church; launched the capital campaign to purchase the two great transept windows days after the dedication.
- Father Ted Haas1980s
Led a modernization of the church during the 1980s; served as pastor when St. Mary's became the cathedral in 1984.
- Father John Slatteryserved prior to 2003 renovation
One of two prior pastors who anointed the cathedral walls with sacred oil at the May 31, 2003 rededication.
- Father Donald Dunnserved prior to 2003 renovation
Co-anointer alongside Father Slattery at the May 31, 2003 rededication.
- Father David R. Pricethrough late 2023
Served as rector of St. Mary's Cathedral for over a decade; in November 2023 was named Associate Director of the USCCB's Secretariat for Divine Worship in Washington, D.C. (three-year term beginning January 2024).
- Very Rev. Jaimes Ponce, J.C.D.effective January 1, 2024 – present
Took over as temporary administrator upon Father Price's departure; listed as Rector/Pastor in diocesan directory; concurrently serves as Judicial Vicar of the Diocese of Colorado Springs.
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