St. Isidore Church & Priory

Treasures of St. Isidore Church

Welcome to Saint Isidore Catholic Church 

By Mrs. Mary Bauer

Within these walls you will find many treasures which help make St. Isidore's a fitting place for the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This article will explain the symbolism of the church design as well as the origin and meaning of the objects found within the church. 

Tradition and symbolism guided the building of St. Isidore's: 

  • The 5 outside steps lead to the 6th step, the principal step of the Church, the Vestibule or Nave, the number of man 

  • The 7th step to the Communion rail, towards Perfection

  •  The 8th step in the Sanctuary symbolizes the step of Heaven

  •  The 3 steps to the Altar are for the Trinity

  •  The 33 foot depth, width, and height of the Sanctuary signifies Heaven, and the years Our Lord spent upon earth

  •  The 5 Sanctuary windows are for the 5 wounds of Our Lord

  •  12 columns for the 12 Apostles, 12 stained glass windows and their corresponding upper level diamond paned windows for the Old Testament tribes

  •  The 8 divisions of the main aisle of the church signify Heaven. Holy Week, the week that the gates of Heaven were opened, consists of 8 days: Palm Sunday is the first day, and Easter Sunday is the eighth. 

The Coats of Arms, which front the choir loft, were painted by members of the Buchholz family. From left to right these coats of arms represent: 

  • Pope John Paul II, who was pope at the time of the building of the church

  • Archbishop Charles Chaput, who was the Ordinary of the Denver Archdiocese at the time of the building of the church 

  • Bishops Alfonso de Galarreta of Spain, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais of France, Richard Williamson of England, and Bernard Fellay of Switzerland; the bishops of the SSPX at the time of the building of the church 

  • Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who founded the Society of Saint Pius X 

  • Pope St. Pius X, patron of the Society of Saint Pius X 

The statue of Our Lady Help of Christians in front of the church is made of bronze. The statue was commissioned from an Italian studio, and was brought over to be installed during the building of St. Isidore's. Our Lady Help of Christians was the patroness of the small chapel that was home to the parish before the building of St. Isidore's, and for this reason our kindergarten-12th grade academy was also placed under her patronage. 

The Stained Glass Windows, which are more than 100 years old, were made in Europe and removed from a church in Pennsylvania. The windows were originally arranged with two saints within. one window and were in a gothic arched frame. This pairing of windows can still be seen in both transepts. The windows were sent to a company which specializes in the repair of aged glass. The windows were repaired, re-leaded, and formed to fit the dimensions that you see today. 

The Bell in our tower was made in 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland, by the McShane Bell Foundry for the church of The Holy Name of Jesus in Monessen, Pennsylvania. Our bell was baptized under the name Cor Jesu Sacratisimum, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The bell is rung during the Procession, the Consecration, and the Recession. It is also rung during a funeral procession. 

Jesus Bears His Cross

The Stations of the Cross were purchased and in need of repair. These repairs were done in Ohio, and when the stations were returned to Colorado many loyal parishioners, led by Patricia. Plemons, undertook the task of applying gold leaf, painting, and lettering. 

The confessionals are hand-carved oak and fir wood, and were made in 1905. They are from St. Thomas Church in Denver. 

The 6 statues in the vestibule, made by Br. Marcel, are of Moses, Simeon with the Christ child, Melchisedech, Aaron, John the Baptist, and Jeremiah. These statues of Old and New Testament men all show the color gold, symbolic of Christ and His Divinity. 

The seventh statue is of Saint Peter, found inside the chapel, above the doors. He has a pallium over his shoulder and the keys hanging from his right arm, signifying his authority as the head of the Church. He is the symbol of the true Law, the true Mass, the true Power of the Keys, the completion of the Crucifixion, the bringing of Christ to the world. 

The Altars, made of solid Carrara marble and hand-carved in Italy in 1909 by the Daprato Statuary Company, were originally installed in 1911 at the chapel of St. Mel's in Chicago. The church was sold in the 1970s and the relics of the martyrs were not removed by the local diocese. When the altars were purchased our parish priest of the time flew to Chicago and removed the relics to safeguard them until they were able to be reinstalled. On August 18, 2001, the new altar stone was consecrated by Bishop Bernard Fellay during the beautiful 7 1/2 hour ceremony for the dedication of a church. Not only were the original relics included in the new altar stone, but additional relics were added. The collective weight of the altars is more than 20 tons. The mensa of the main altar, the marble piece wherein the relics rest, weighs 3000 pounds alone. 

The Relics in the altars include: 

At the main altar: St. Emerentiana (Virgin Martyr), St. Justin (Martyr), St. Anastasia (Virgin Martyr), Pope St. Pius X (Confessor), and St. Isidore (Confessor) 

On the Gospel Side: Pope St. Felix (Martyr), St. Emerentiana (Virgin Martyr), St. Modestus (Martyr), St. Verecundus (Martyr), and St. Vitoris (Martyr) 

On the Epistle Side: St. Emerentiana (Virgin Martyr), St. Verecundus (Martyr), and St. Theophane Venard (Martyr) 

The two statues in the main altar niches are from the 1500s, and are of Saint Isidore, Patron of Farmers, and Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. These statues are made from mud and the maguey cactus plant, the same plant whose fibers were used to weave the fabric of the tilma of Juan Diego. 

The Large Crucifix- The Body of Our Lord on the Cross which hangs from the ceiling was saved from a trash heap by a family in Minnesota. The heavily damaged corpus was brought to Colorado and repaired by a volunteer artist. According to tradition, during the building of Catholic churches, a cross is erected and prayers are said asking God for His loving protection so that the project will be completed. This corpus was hung on a plain board cross and installed in the basement directly below where the future main altar would stand. When the main floor concrete was poured, the cross was brought upstairs and placed into a stand in what is now the Sanctuary. The corpus was later taken to Winona, Minnesota, where an SSPX Brother, Br. Marcel, and others cleaned, repaired, and refinished it to what it is today. The new cross was hand carved by Br. Marcel. The Crucifix arrived back in Colorado shortly after the consecration of the church. 

The Medallion above the Sanctuary, made by Patricia Plemmons, shows an elaborate gold "M" surrounded by 12 silver stars. The "M" is crowned and adorned with the rosary and Our Lady's Immaculate Heart being pierced by a sword, with heraldic roses carved into its outline. In the background is a watermark of the battle of Lepanto, and the Vatican. The gold wheat is for the Eucharist and St. Isidore, patron of farmers. 

The Pews in the chapel were handmade by the Benedictine monks of Our Lady of Guadalupe monastery in Silver City, New Mexico. For several years the monks traveled from their monastery to our chapel in order to build the pews, along with the aid of students and parishioner volunteers. 

 

The 12 Candlesticks and Crosses seen on the interior walls will only be found in a consecrated church. They were hand carved by Patricia Plemons, and each candlestick is carved from a single piece of mahogany. The statues on these candlesticks are of the twelve apostles, each one distinct from the others. The crosses of carved stone are embedded into the wall, as required by the rubrics of the Church.