About Saint Mary · Flagler, Colorado
St. Mary is a Roman Catholic mission church in the small rural town of Flagler, in Kit Carson County on the eastern plains of Colorado. It belongs to the Diocese of Colorado Springs and is clustered with the neighboring parishes of Our Lady of Victory in Limon and St. Anthony of Padua in Hugo under a single pastor. Founded in 1947 as the Denver Archdiocese's newest mission church, it has served the farming community of Flagler and the surrounding plains for nearly eighty years, and is currently pastored by Rev. Sijo George, OSB.
- Established
- 1947
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary (parish name 'St. Mary')
- Rector
- Rev. Sijo George, OSB
- Diocese
- Diocese of Colorado Springs
Why belong here
St. Mary offers a faithful small-town Catholic community on Colorado's eastern plains, with weekly Saturday Vigil Mass right in Flagler and weekday Masses shared across the cluster with Our Lady of Victory in Limon and St. Anthony of Padua in Hugo. For Catholic families in Flagler and the surrounding farming country, it is a place to receive the sacraments without driving long distances across the plains, and the cluster model means weekday Masses, confession before Mass, holy days, and a resident Benedictine pastor (Rev. Sijo George, OSB) are all within reach. Worshippers here value continuity with the parish's 1947 founding story, when six families raised the money to build a church of their own — that same pioneer spirit of a tight, supportive community continues today.
Mass times at Saint Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 30 minutes before every weekday Mass at Limon (cluster schedule)
Identity & Location
St. Mary is the Catholic mission church of Flagler, Colorado, a small farming and railroad town in Kit Carson County on Colorado's eastern plains. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Colorado Springs and, for administrative purposes, is grouped in the Eastern Deanery together with Our Lady of Victory in Limon and St. Anthony of Padua in Hugo. Its mailing address is P.O. Box 80815 and it is reached at the corner of Loveland Avenue and West 4th Street in Flagler.
- Corner of Loveland Avenue & West 4th Street, Flagler, CO 80815
- Parish office shared with Our Lady of Victory, 425 H Avenue, Limon, CO 80828
- Phone: (719) 408-0077
- Website: limonhugoflaglercatholic.org
- Facebook: facebook.com/olvictorylimon
History of St. Mary, Flagler
St. Mary was founded in 1947 as a mission outreach of St. Charles Church in Stratton, when Denver Archbishop Urban J. Vehr authorized Father Edward Dinan to celebrate Mass and administer the sacraments in Flagler. Six local Catholic families raised $2,300 to begin a church of their own, and the archbishop himself pledged $500. A 30-by-22-foot school building was purchased for roughly $1,750 and moved onto four lots in Flagler; parishioners — led by Henry Thibault — built the foundation and a vestibule over two years, at a final cost of about $3,500. The first Mass was celebrated on October 26, 1947, the Feast of Christ the King, with about 75 people in attendance. By 1952 Father Dinan was planning a parish school, and in July 1959 The Flagler News reported that a new church was under construction. Archbishop Vehr dedicated the present church on June 8, 1961.
- Founded 1947
- First Mass: October 26, 1947
- Present church dedicated June 8, 1961
- Originally served from St. Charles, Stratton
- Became part of the Diocese of Colorado Springs in 1984
Mass & Sacrament Schedule
St. Mary follows a cluster schedule with Our Lady of Victory in Limon and St. Anthony of Padua in Hugo. The principal Mass celebrated in Flagler itself is the Saturday Vigil at 4:00 p.m. Sunday Masses for the cluster are at 11:00 a.m. in Limon and 8:00 p.m. in Hugo. Weekday Masses are offered Monday and Friday at 12:00 p.m., Tuesday at 7:00 a.m., and Wednesday and Thursday at 8:00 a.m., generally at Limon.
- Saturday Vigil Mass — 4:00 p.m. (Flagler)
- Sunday — 11:00 a.m. (Limon); 8:00 p.m. (Hugo)
- Weekday Masses shared across the cluster
- Confessions — 30 minutes before every weekday Mass in Limon
- Holy Day and Christmas schedules published annually by the diocese
Cluster Parishes
St. Mary is one of three parishes in the Eastern Plains Cluster. Our Lady of Victory in Limon serves as the administrative center and rectory location (a rectory was built there in 1994), and St. Anthony of Padua in Hugo is the third member. Together the three parishes share a pastor, sacramental schedule, faith formation, and parish communications.
- Our Lady of Victory — 425 H Avenue, Limon, CO 80828
- St. Anthony of Padua — Hugo, CO
- Single pastor serves all three parishes
- Shared bulletin, website and Facebook page (olvictorylimon)
Diocese of Colorado Springs
St. Mary belongs to the Diocese of Colorado Springs, which was erected on November 10, 1983, by Pope John Paul II from counties of the Archdiocese of Denver and the Diocese of Pueblo. Bishop Richard C. Hanifen was installed as the first bishop in January 1984 and chose St. Mary parish church as the diocesan cathedral (later replaced by a new cathedral dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe). The diocese covers ten counties in the center of Colorado and is divided into five deaneries; St. Mary is part of the Eastern Deanery, covering Cheyenne, Kit Carson and Lincoln counties.
- Diocese erected November 10, 1983
- First Bishop: Richard C. Hanifen (1984)
- Patroness: Our Lady of Guadalupe
- St. Mary is in the Eastern Deanery
- Diocesan website: diocs.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Edward Dinan1947–1950s
Assistant at St. Charles, Stratton; obtained Archbishop Vehr's permission in January 1947 to say Mass in Flagler; oversaw the move of a school building to Flagler as the first church; first Mass Oct. 26, 1947; was planning a school by 1952.
- Father Henry Ernst
Pastor of St. Charles, Stratton; referenced in the 1947 Denver Catholic Register as the pastor whose assistant (Dinan) launched the Flagler mission.
- Father Ted Haas1980s
Pastored St. Mary during a 1980s modernization of the church interior.
- Father Jerry Kelleher1984–1992
Colorado Springs diocesan priest assigned pastor after the new diocese was established in 1984 (administered the plains cluster of parishes).
- Father Bill Rhinehart, C.M. (Vincentian)1982–1992
Vincentian priest whose arrival 'ushered in a new era'; the Vincentian Fathers committed to a 10-year ministry on the eastern plains.
- Father George V. Fagan, JCL2002–2020
Previous diocesan chancellor and judicial vicar; appointed pastor in 2002 at the end of the Vincentian commitment.
- Father Tomasz JamkaJuly 2020–August 2023
Appointed pastor in July 2020.
- Father Jim KleinAugust 2023–July 2024
Installed as pastor of Our Lady of Victory (Limon), St. Mary (Flagler), and St. Anthony of Padua (Hugo) in August 2023.
- Father Paul WilliamsJuly 2024–2025
Named parochial administrator in July 2024.
- Father Sijo George, OSBJuly 1, 2025–present
Benedictine (OSB) priest named pastor effective July 1, 2025; currently serves the Flagler–Limon–Hugo cluster.