About Mary Queen of Heaven · Fowler, Colorado
Mary Queen of Heaven is a small Roman Catholic mission church serving the Catholic faithful of Fowler, Colorado, a rural farming community in Otero County on the Arkansas River. It is officially classified as a mission of the parish of St. Peter in nearby Rocky Ford, one of three linked communities (Rocky Ford, Ordway, and Fowler) that together form the Ark Valley parishes of the Diocese of Pueblo. The church sits at the corner of 7th Street and West Grant Avenue and gathers Sunday worship at noon, while the surrounding cluster of parishes also celebrates weekday Mass, Saturday Vigil, and Holy Adoration and Benediction.
- Established
- c. 1900
- Patron
- Mary, Queen of Heaven (Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Served as a mission of St. Peter Parish, Rocky Ford (Ark Valley parishes cluster). Specific current pastor name not confirmed in this search round; Fr. Don Malin served the cluster from October 2008 to January 2011 and provided religious services for the two prisons in the territory.
- Diocese
- Diocese of Pueblo
Why belong here
Mary Queen of Heaven offers a quiet, small-town Catholic home in the Arkansas Valley, with Sunday Mass at noon in Fowler and a full schedule of weekday Masses, Saturday Vigil, and Holy Adoration and Benediction shared with the sister parishes in Rocky Ford and Ordway. As part of the Ark Valley parishes of the Diocese of Pueblo, it serves the rural Catholic community of Fowler with regular sacraments, confession times, and devotion — a welcoming place for families, farmers, and visitors passing through the valley.
Mass times at Mary Queen of Heaven
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturdays 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Rocky Ford (cluster confessions for the three parishes)
Adoration times
- Fridays at 8:30 a.m. — Holy Adoration and Benediction (cluster-wide)
About Mary Queen of Heaven
Mary Queen of Heaven is the Catholic mission parish serving Fowler, Colorado, a small farming town in Otero County on the Arkansas River. It is one of three linked worship sites — along with St. Peter's in Rocky Ford and St. Peter's in Ordway — that together comprise the Ark Valley parishes of the Diocese of Pueblo. The chapel sits at the corner of 7th Street and West Grant Avenue, with Sunday Mass celebrated there at noon.
- Mission of St. Peter's Parish, Rocky Ford
- Diocese of Pueblo
- Ark Valley parishes cluster (Rocky Ford / Ordway / Fowler)
History
The chapel's origins reach back to the early 1900s in the Arkansas Valley's farming settlements. A photograph titled 'Mary Queen of Heaven Chapel, Fowler, Colorado, 1900,' part of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art collection (accession P2000.49, by photographer Robert Adams, ca. 1965), records the chapel's exterior in the mid-20th century. The mission parish was formally incorporated as a religious organization in the Fowler area around the year 2000.
- Chapel documented in the Amon Carter Museum of American Art collection (P2000.49)
- Photograph by Robert Adams, ca. 1965
- Formally incorporated as a religious organization around 2000
Clergy & Staff
The mission is served as part of the Ark Valley parishes, with the priest based at St. Peter's in Rocky Ford. Fr. Don Malin served the cluster from October 2008 through January 2011, while also providing religious services for the two prisons within his territory, and Fr. Clarence Cerwonka is listed historically as a former pastor of St. Peter's in Rocky Ford (Diocese of Pueblo).
- Cluster-based pastoral ministry from St. Peter's, Rocky Ford
- Fr. Don Malin — pastor of the cluster, Oct 2008 – Jan 2011
- Fr. Clarence Cerwonka — historical pastor of St. Peter's, Rocky Ford
Ministries & Outreach
Beyond the regular liturgical schedule, the cluster supports Eucharistic Adoration, Benediction, sacramental preparation, and a notable prison ministry that brings Catholic services into the correctional facilities within the territory. The three parishes coordinate their worship, faith formation, and pastoral care together as the Ark Valley parishes.
- Holy Hour / Eucharistic Adoration
- Benediction
- Prison ministry (services for two prisons in the territory)
- Cluster sacramental preparation (RCIA, weddings, quinceañeras)
Sacraments
The mission and its sister parishes celebrate the sacraments of the Roman Rite, including Sunday and weekday Eucharist, Reconciliation, and — by arrangement through the cluster — weddings and quinceañeras. Baptisms, First Communion, Confirmation, and RCIA are coordinated through the Ark Valley parishes' pastoral team.
- Eucharist (Sunday, weekday, Vigil)
- Reconciliation (Saturdays 2:30–3:30 p.m. at Rocky Ford)
- Weddings / Quinceañeras
- Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, RCIA — coordinated through the cluster
Visit & Contact
Mary Queen of Heaven stands at 602 7th Street (corner of 7th and Grant) in Fowler, Colorado 81039. Visitors and parishioners may reach the cluster parish office at (719) 263-4455, or write to [email protected]. The Ark Valley parishes are online at arkvalleyparishes.org, with additional news shared via the St. Peter's Catholic Church of Rocky Ford Facebook page.
- Address: 602 7th Street (7th & Grant), Fowler, CO 81039
- Phone: (719) 263-4455
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://www.arkvalleyparishes.org/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/StPetersCatholicChurchofRockyFord/
Fowler & the Arkansas Valley
Fowler is a small agricultural town in Otero County, Colorado, situated along the Arkansas River between Pueblo and Lamar. The surrounding valley is home to a network of rural Catholic communities whose worship and pastoral care are coordinated from St. Peter's in Rocky Ford — making Mary Queen of Heaven a quiet but enduring Catholic presence in this part of southeastern Colorado.
- Otero County, Colorado
- Arkansas River valley
- Part of the Diocese of Pueblo
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Don MalinOct 2008 – Jan 2011
Pastor of the St. Peter's Parish Cluster (St. Peter's Rocky Ford, St. Peter's Ordway, and Mary Queen of Heaven in Fowler); also provided religious services for the two prisons in his territory.
- Fr. Clarence Cerwonka
Listed historically as a former pastor of St. Peter in Rocky Ford (Diocese of Pueblo); the Fowler mission is linked to that parish.