Our Lady of the Visitation 

A History

Our Lady of the Visitation parish was a vision of Father Dennis Dwyer, who in 1995 led discussions about a mission church in Elbert County, Colorado.
After meeting with several individuals in Elizabeth, Kiowa, Franktown, and Elbert, he found that there was indeed a great need. 
On Easter Sunday 1996, Father Dwyer celebrated the first Mass at St. Mark's Fellowship Hall in Kiowa,
ending a 28-year absence of the Catholic Church in Elbert County. 
From 1996-1997, Masses were held on a regular basis at a storefront location, off County Road 17, near Highway 86.
The fledgling church originally served approximately 120 families.

In the summer of 1997, Father Dwyer celebrated Mass, outdoors, on a newly acquired 60-acre property on County Road 33
between the towns of Elizabeth and Kiowa.
The groundbreaking ceremony was conducted by Bishop Richard Hanifen and Father Dwyer on April 8, 1998.
On November 28th of that same year, Bishop Hanifen celebrated the dedication of Our Lady of the Visitation Catholic Church.

In June of 2007, Father Brian Mohan was reassigned from Ave Maria Parish in Parker to become the new pastor of OLV.
In September 2011, Father Marek Krol came to the U.S. from Poland and took over as the OLV pastor.
Father Robert Newbury, Jr. from St. Catherine of Siena, St. Charles of Borromeo in Burlington and Stratton, Colorado, respectively, was assigned as pastor in July of 2015. 
Then in December of 2020, Father Michael Holmquist came from St. Paul in Colorado Springs and took over as pastor of the OLV parish.
In late June of 2022, Father John D. Stearns came to us from St. Dominic Catholic Church in Security, Colorado and is our current pastor here at Our Lady of the Visitation. 

Our Lady of the Visitation currently serves approximately 200 families and continues to grow.