A Place of Peace, Prayer & Reflection in La Garita
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2021 SUMMER EVENTS
26/JUN - Saturday
New Date
Update 6-10-2021
EL Dia de San Juan
17/JUL
Saturday
Twilight Rosary
28/AUG
Saturday
Passion of
St. John the Baptist
"For where two or three are
gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them."
​
Mathew 18:20
WELCOME TO THE
SAN JUAN CATHOLIC SPIRITUAL CENTER
Walk the same path where courageous Hispano settlers journeyed into Southern Colorado
from New Mexico to live their Catholic faith at the foot of the La Garita Mountains.
The SAN JUAN CATHOLIC SPIRITUAL CENTER is a unique 10-acre site that offers a historical view of cultural traditions and a Catholic way of life brought from old Spain by the first Hispano settlers who traveled to the Spanish northern frontier from New Mexico.
As a place of panoramic beauty, it is located in the northern portion of the San Luis Valley, protected by the rugged San Juan Mountain Range to the west and looks across the vast Valley floor towards the majestic Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east.
As a visitor, you can trace the path of the Hispano settlers when you see St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (Iglesia de San Juan Bautista); as you pause at the site of the ruins of the old convent, now a monument dedicated to San Juan Bautista (Casa de Cura/Convento); as you walk the St. John Paul II Rosary Walk with original buon fresco painting depicting Jesus' life; and as you wander through the rows of graves in the Carnero Creek Cemetery (Cemetario del Carnero).
CHURCH
St. John the Baptist
Catholic Church
​
La Iglesia de San Juan Bautista
The original church was built in 1879, burned down in 1924, and rebuilt in 1926. Construction completed and paid through the efforts of the church's parishioners.
​
MONUMENT
San Juan Bautista
Monument
​
Casa de Cura/Convento
A last remaining wall of a rectory/ convent was preserved as a monument dedicated to
St. John the Baptist and displays a buon fresco painting depicting Jesus' baptism.
ROSARY WALK
St. John Paul II
Rosary Walk
​
San Juan Pablo II Paseo del Rosario
Dedicated in 2012 as a place for visitors to experience a spiritual journey through the mysteries of Jesus' life, with Mary, Mother of God, as the intercessor.
CEMETERY
Carnero Creek
Cemetery
​
El Camposanto del Carnero
The cemetery has been in use since the church was built
and is still used today for
burials by descendants of the earliest settlers and other
local residents.