Faith in the High Country: St. Michael Parish Marks 100 Years in Craig
- Jacqueline Gilvard Landry
- Sep 18
- 8 min read
Generations of Catholics celebrate a century of worship, ministry and community life in rural Colorado.
In its 100 years, St. Michael Parish in Craig, like all churches, has developed its own personality.
“Ours is the personality of the Northwest Coloradan,” said Father John Croghan, the parish’s pastor. “They’re good, hardworking people, and that defines the parish.”
They’re also people who are used to difficult winters and tough mining and agricultural conditions.
“It’s about self-sufficiency and resilience,” he added.
St. Michael, which will celebrate its centennial on September 28, is today part of the Northwest Colorado Tri-Parish that also includes St. Ignatius Parish in Rangely and Holy Family Parish in Meeker. It was established in Craig in 1920, when then-bishop J. Henry Thien agreed to extend the diocese to the far reaches of the state.
100 years of courageous clergy
That self-sufficiency goes back at least that far. With resourceful priests unhindered by geography and Catholics willing to worship wherever, the church comes by its rugged identity honestly.
The 80-year-old Father Joseph Meyers of Steamboat Springs used to ride his horse and buggy to say Mass in Craig and nearby ranches.
Area Catholics also prayed the Mass a few times in Yost’s pool hall and the old courthouse, before the small white, framed building was used as the original church. Father Michael O’Beirne was the first pastor, with living quarters in the back of the church.
In 1923, with things getting cramped, a new church — an unassuming structure with a small steeple and a bell — broke ground. Father Francis J. Brady, pastor of Saint Mary in Rifle, supervised the construction, and the church was dedicated in 1925.
The first resident pastor, Father Paul Slattery, was assigned in 1935. Another clever priest, he leaned on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad to give him a free pass, enabling him to minister to the faithful all along the rail line. He also served Catholics in St. Brendan in Grand Valley (now Parachute), St. Mary and at the community hall in Silt.
In 1952, Father Robert Syrianey was assigned, and in 1953, the parish erected a rectory and basement hall. The Denver Catholic Register reported that year that it was the only church in the archdiocese without a permanent clergy residence. In 1955, the Register said the rectory was completed with the help of donors and laborers at a cost of about $20,000.
Father Syrianey revamped the old mission church in 1955. The Craig Empire Courier reported at the church’s Jubilee in 1958 that remodeling was completed in 1957 for about $10,000.
Father John Anderson was assigned to St. Michael in 1958. Another resourceful priest, he found that at least 15 Catholic families lived in a camp 63 miles northwest of Craig. He wrote to Archbishop Vehr and received permission to take a portable altar to the oil field workers at the camp.
By 1983, St. Michael Parish had grown into a congregation of about 400 registered households. Father John McGrath, pastor from 1972 to 1984, built a new church, breaking ground in 1982. It still stands at 678 School Street, but with numerous updates, said Tri-parish business administrator Diane King, such as new carpeting; replacement of “burnt orange” upholstery pews; new sanctuary windows; wood flooring on the altar; and roof repairs and replacements, including a new roof for the rectory set to be finished this month.
Father Carl Longwill from Galway, Ireland, was the pastor of St. Michael from 1984 to 1998, followed by Father Roger Lascelle, who maintained his position as pastor of St. Ignatius and Holy Family Parishes until 2003. He was followed by Father Jim Fox, who was at St. Michael for almost 10 years, followed by Father Geronimo Gonzalez and Father Gerardo Puga. Father Croghan became an associate pastor at St. Michael after his ordination in 2021 and became its pastor in 2024.
From 1999 to 2004, the original rectory building became a convent for the Sisters of Charity. When they moved to Grand Junction, the building became the parish offices, with the basement being used as a meeting and youth hall until 2024. Today, the office has returned to the church, and the building is a rectory again.
(Photos courtesy of the Archdiocese of Denver Archives & parishioners of St. Michael Parish)
St. Michael veterans look back at buildings, bells and abiding friendships
Walt Cisar remembers his role in building today’s church, overseeing finances for the project. The World War II Purple Heart recipient married his wife, Betty, and joined St. Michael in 1952. He will turn 101 in October.
“The committee work was pretty smooth,” he said, except for a hitch with the stained-glass windows.
“We had a tough time because we didn’t have enough money for what we wanted. We could get the stained glass, but it was in pieces,” he said, adding, “We did end up with what we wanted.”
Kathy Janosec, who joined St. Michael more than 60 years ago, said her late husband, Joe Janosec, was a parish council member who propelled the project. Joe was the former Moffat County High School principal and a Moffat County Commissioner. Kathy recalled him handing a symbolic key to then-Archbishop James V. Casey on the new church’s steps at the dedication.
“It’s all good memories for me. The little old church, I remember taking our little kids there all the time. Now we have a beautiful new church,” she said.
Lois Stoffle, who came to St. Michael in the early 1970s, said she taught children’s catechism over the years. She recalled when Father McGrath let the little children bring their pets to class for show and tell one Sunday.
“We had a lamb, dogs, cats, a chicken in a cage. It taught them that God gave us all these animals, and they were part of the family,” she said.
Robin Schiffbauer, a 45-year St. Michael parishioner, said she remembers a busy slate of family activities.
“When we came, there was just so much activity for family life, which was wonderful because we could get our kids involved,” she said.
Schiffbauer said her daughters keep in touch with friends from CCD, and she has made friendships “you would never get in a different setting.”
King, who has worked for St. Michael for 26 years, said she attended St. Michael as a child, receiving her First Communion, Confirmation and Reconciliation there. She recalled adding glass windows to existing wood doors during a church makeover, which she and Father Gonzalez etched themselves with the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
“I knew how to do it from doing crafts when I was younger,” she said.
Ben Landa, a former St. Michael altar server and parishioner since 1979, remembers a mysterious bell ringing from behind the tabernacle after the priest and others prayed for a couple who were about to be married.
“There is no bell back there,” Landa marveled. “The priest said he heard it too, and said, ‘It’s God telling us he’s here.’”
Martha Martinez, who left Mexico City to marry her husband, came to St. Michael’s in 1977. She remembers going to Rome and seeing Pope Francis with parochial vicar Father Michael Rapp and other parishioners in 2017.
“For me, St. Michael’s is my family. It’s still important for me to go to church and see the people,” Martinez said.
Stoffle remembered Father McGrath taking St. Michael kids skiing.
“He said no one should live here without going to Steamboat and seeing what the mountain was about. He would show the kids how to ski if they didn’t know,” she said.
(Photos courtesy of St. Michael Parish and parishioners)
St. Michael approaches centennial with focus on youth and the ‘beauty of our faith’
Father Croghan said his focus has been helping parishioners truly encounter the risen Lord in the liturgy.
“One guiding principle is to have a beautiful, reverent liturgy to help people engage,” he said. “When I took over, I said that we would explore the beauty of our faith, and I think it’s working. There is a level of devotion and piety and the expression of love of the Lord.”
Father Croghan’s other focus is youth, and now counts about 50-60 youth group members across the tri-parish.
He and Landa took approximately 40 kids from St. Michael to the 2025 Franciscan University Steubenville of the Rockies conference in Denver, where participants heard speakers and had time for prayer, adoration and the sacraments. Landa, who is active in supporting the church’s large and growing Hispanic population, said the kids were “on fire” when they left the annual conference.
“You can see it in their eyes,” he said, adding that three children from St. Michael came forward at the conference and pledged to continue discernment of potential religious vocations.
Church ministries nourish the holy and feed the hungry
Father Croghan said St. Michael parishioners are very active, with many serving the parish’s Community Kitchen, women’s Altar and Rosary group, Knights of Columbus and several devotional prayer groups.
The Community Kitchen secures otherwise-wasted food to deliver to shut-ins, put together “grab and go” meals and serve about 25-40 people (mostly seniors and the homeless) at the church twice weekly. Schiffbauer oversees 50 volunteers who help cook, prepare, serve and deliver about 700 meals per week, free of charge and open to anyone in Craig.
“I have my Altar and Rosary ladies come in, and we do what we call ‘Chicken flickin’,’” preparing about 40 chickens for the cooks to use, Schiffbauer said.
Kathy Janosec is one of the “Altar and Rosary ladies.” She said the women take care of the altar and flowers and raise money with various projects — like selling breakfast burritos at the “crack of dawn” at Craig’s balloon festival — for a scholarship for a Catholic high school senior.
“I enjoy the companionship of the Altar and Rosary,” she said. “My husband has been gone a long time, and my children are grown, and these people are kind of my family now.”
The Knights of Columbus formed at St. Michael in 1955, founded under Father Syrianey, and Cisar said his name was the first on the charter. He said he held numerous positions in the Knights, including Grand Knight, and he was named Colorado’s Knight of the Year during his tenure from 1957 to 2000.
Among several prayer ministries, Father Croghan said the Spanish-speaking community has thriving prayer groups. An assembly of 40-plus men and women has founded Adoracion Nocturna, holding monthly all-night adoration, with a formal procession, prayer and spiritual reflection. There is also a weekly Spanish-language prayer group, and they are beginning a chapter of the Movimiento Familiar ministry.
100 years later, faith is still accessible
Like his plucky predecessor priests, Father Croghan works hard to keep the sacraments accessible to rural Northwest Coloradans. In addition to pastoring (and traveling to) three churches, the bilingual Croghan and his associate, Father Sebastian Splawinski, say three Spanish and four English Masses each weekend between them.
King said the far-flung tri-parish currently has 454 families registered at St. Michael, 146 at Holy Family and 88 at St. Ignatius. Craig has about 9,100 residents.
“I’m grateful to the Lord in his providence in establishing this parish, so folks have the opportunity to worship here. We are blessed to have pretty good access to the church and priests to serve. With a rural parish, if there is no church nearby, people must drive — sometimes more than an hour — to get to church,” Father Croghan said.
Looking ahead, he said, “My hope is to continue the path we have started, with faith that is accessible, celebrating the beauty of the church and helping our people find the Lord.”
Parish Centennial Celebration
September 28, 2025
Mass at 10 a.m.
Lunch to follow
Events will be livestreamed by Moffat County Proud at: facebook.com/moffatcountyproud
