esurrection Church fronts on Market Street, one block east of Denver Harbor Park No. 2 (the old White Reilly Field), and two blocks south of Lyons Avenue. (The poor-quality pictures on this page are from old magazine articles. Click on PICTURES in the sidebar for more recent photos.)

The parish was founded on Easter Sunday, 1920 by Rev. Bernard Lee, to serve the predominantly Polish Catholic community in the Denver Harbor area. Work began soon afterward on the church itself, and, largely through the volunteer efforts of parishioners, was completed six months later. The dedication was performed by Bishop C. E. Byrne on Thanksgiving of that year.

The original structure was destroyed by fire in 1926. No pictures have been located of this first church; its succesor, shown at right, was completed in early 1927 and remained the parish's house of worship until replaced in 1949 by the building shown above.

The parish was served by a rotation of visiting priests until 1931 when Rev. Florence J. O'Connor was made the first resident pastor, although on a temporary basis. He was succeeded by Fathers Ryan and Killorn. Finally on June 6, 1936, Father Henry Parmentier transferred from another large Polish parish, in New Waverly, Texas and became Resurrection's first permanent resident pastor.

In 1937 the elementary school was opened and staffed by four Sisters of Saint Mary of Namur, (the order is headquartered in Namur, Belgium), who transferred from Fort Worth. This was the famous two-story red brick schoolhouse that served the parish's students until demolished in 1962. (For those of us who attended the school during that period, though, that red brick schoolhouse will always be the Resurrection schoolhouse.)

Father Pamentier retired in 1950 and was succeeded by Father John Campbell. Father Campbell died in 1953. The Assistant Pastor, Father O'Connor, assumed the pastor's duties until August, 1954, when Father Bruno Skweres was named Pastor. He in turn was succeeded by Father Paul Fee in 1965, and Father Thomas Wendland in 1967.

On a personal note, in 1959 when this writer was in the sixth grade, we won the City Catholic Schoolboy Football Championship under Coach (Father) O'Connor. The school mascot in those days was a hornet (the mighty Resurrection Hornets! ), and the school colors were green and white.

As the smallest kid on the team and at seventy pounds dripping wet, I played linebacker. The fact that I played for three years with nothing broken may be cited as a small proof, I suppose, of religious miracles.

T. H.