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10 AUGUST 22-SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 | DENVER CATHOLIC Parish Spotlight HoranCares.com/Catholic In this together. This is our community. And we will be here for the families of Denver in their time of need. Fort Collins parish dedicates long-awaited new church building " W e need tangible things that help us touch the invisible:" This is what guided Father Joseph Toledo in his vision for constructing a church building especially devoted to the worship of God. As pastor at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Fort Collins (SEAS), Father Toledo under- took the arduous project of building the church that the parish community had been waiting for since its foundation, over 30 years ago. Until then, they had celebrated Mass in a multi-use building also utilized for other parish activities. The long- awaited time came on August 10, when Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila dedicated the new church. For Father Toledo, building a church in which to worship wasn't enough – he wanted to make sure it was capable of lifting the hearts of the people to God through its beauty. "When you walk in, churches are meant to draw your attention to God," he said. "The building is meant to be a place for encounter with the Lord. And if we have a beautiful building, then the beauty can draw us to God. When we come to the sacraments, we encoun- ter the Lord in an even more real way because that building has helped us to enter into the sacrament." And in fact, upon entering new the SEAS Parish building, the eyes immedi- ately focus on the sanctuary, the golden tabernacle, the two angels at its side and the image of the Last Supper on the altar, contrasted by blue mosaics and the marble. A majestic crucifi x hangs from above and is accompanied by depictions in the apse of the Father and the Holy Spirit, as well as saints who were sanctifi ed through their work in the United States. "Our new church defi nitely draws your attention to God in a way that our old one didn't. The old one was fi lled with wonderful people and a lot of wonderful things happening, but you can't help but look up and marvel at God's work when you walk into this new church," said Kristen Balk, who, with her husband Nate and four children, 30 years in the making, new St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church is a place of 'encounter' Arch- bishop Samuel J. Aquila dedi- cated the new St. Eliza- beth Ann Seton church Aug. 10 with a special Mass. PARISH SPOTLIGHT BY VLADIMIR MAURICIO-PEREZ vladimir.mauricio-perez@archden.org