It seems that Archbishop Vehr had a fondness for churches named “Holy Trinity”. Under Vehr, Holy Trinity in Westminster started in 1949, and in 1959 another Holy Trinity starting in Colorado Springs. At that time, Colorado Springs was still part of the Archdiocese of Denver.

Here’s more about Holy Trinity in Colorado Springs:

HOLY TRINITY PARISH HISTORY

On August 28, 1959, Archbishop Urban J. Vehr of the Denver Archdiocese established the parish of Holy Trinity in Colorado Springs. Land was acquired from A.V. (Tony) Venetucci, who owned 66 acres of what is now the Venetian Village neighborhood. After selling 5.6 acres to the parish, Venetucci returned half of the purchase price as a donation in memory of his brother Rocco, who had died in a well explosion on the property 15 years before.

Archbishop Vehr named Father John L. Aylward as the founding pastor; he was a young priest from St. Thomas Seminary in Denver who had served as pastor for St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Minturn. When he arrived, Holy Trinity had 450 families, but no buildings, so Father Aylward said Mass in the Crazy Cat Lounge, a bar on North Nevada. Some parishioners described it as a “dump”, but on Sunday mornings it became a church. Volunteers went early to hide the half-full beer mugs and ashtrays, sweep the floors, and push together tables to make an altar. With a few linens and a traveling Mass kit, the bar became a serviceable chapel, the congregation seated on folding chairs on the dance floor.

See more, including their full parish history on their web page:

Holy Trinity Catholic Parish
3122 Poinsetta Dr.
Colorado Springs, CO 80907
http://www.holytrinitycs.com/

People have found this blog by Googling “Holy Trinity Westminster”. However, if you search with that phrase, you’ll come up with another Holy Trinity Church in Westminster – Westminster, as in part of London England. London belongs to the Diocese of Westminster. The Diocese of Westminster has a beautify Holy Trinity Church located to the west of Hyde Park and Kensington in a neighborhood called Hammersmith.

HISTORY

After the Reformation, the open expression of Catholic faith was forbidden, but slowly Catholic life returned to London. Hammersmith at that time was a semi-rural area on the outskirts of London. Some protection may have been afforded by the presence of a country home in the area owned by the Portuguese ambassador.

From the early 17th century a discreet Catholic life was established here and slowly the faith was built up anew in this area. Around 1680, Frances Bedingfield, a widow, established a convent of teaching sisters here and other institutions followed it. These included the vast generalate, convent and (for a time) children’s home of the Sisters of Nazareth; St Mary’s Training College for Teachers, now at Strawberry Hill; and Sacred Heart Convent School, under the direction of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Next to the site of the church, a Catholic almshouse was opened in 1851, St Joseph’s House, to provide housing for elderly people.

Drawn in part by these institutions, the Catholic presence in Hammersmith grew steadily, and was greatly strengthened by Irish immigration from the mid-19th century. The need for a church grew pressing. The foundation stone of the church was laid by Cardinal Wiseman in 1851 and building work finished in 1852. Building was made possible through the generosity of Helen Tasker, a wealthy local resident. It was designed by William Wardell, who later emigrated to Australia where he became a renowned architect of cathedrals and civil buildings, and is regarded as one of the founding fathers of Australian architecture. The stained glass in the church is mostly the work of John Hardman, a disciple of Pugin. In 1862 a tower was added, designed by Joseph Hansom, the polymath who also designed the eponymous cab.

Here are a few links to explore this Holy Trinity:

• Holy Trinity Parish Web page: http://www.holytrinityw6.org
• Holy Trinity, Brook Green Parish – entry on the Diocese of Westminster web page: http://www.rcdow.org.uk/brookgreen/default.asp
• Westminster Cathedral, the seat of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor: http://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk
• Solomon, I Have Surpassed Thee: A blog from Mgr Mark Langham, Administrator of Westminster Cathedral, London (They had snow on their Easter Vigil too!) http://westminstercathedral.blogspot.com/

It’s great to be part of a Universal Church!

The Friends of Shakespeare’s Church are currently looking for help to raise in excess of £2.5 million for repair and renovation of this ancient and historical church building; specifically the tower and spire, the north nave clerestory windows, the north chancel roof and the pointing of external stonework.