Thirty-five years ago, a book called Assumpta Est Maria was written and published in honor of Assumption Parish’s twenty-fifth anniversary. Since then, Assumption Parish has continued to grow. The following text is taken from the historical section of the book, with permission from the editor, Marianne Pollack. 

ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PARISH

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF BLESSINGS

The history of Assumption Parish actually begins almost thirty-three years ago in 1954 when Masses were celebrated in private homes by Father Lambert Brockman, OFM. Later Masses were said in the homes of Frank Martinez at 1210 North Ohio and Ignacio Escalanto on North Kansas.

Father Regis Darpel, the Franciscan pastor at St. John’s Church, was concerned about the needs of the people of North Hill. He decided to move an old barracks building, which had previously been acquired from the old prisoner-of-war camp, to the corner of 12th and Washington, property which had been purchased by Father Fidelis Albrecht, OFM in 1938.

The old building was initiated as a chapel on April 10, 1955, and was named St. Pius X. Father Martial Schmidts, OFM was named administrator in July 1956, and did much to enhance the growth of the congregation. The chapel windows were painted using regular household paints, and much of the building’s restoration was accomplished by willing parishioners.

Upon the transfer of Father Martial to Gallup, the Franciscan Order attempted to care for St. Pius X until September 15, 1962, when a new parish was established in Roswell under the shepherding of a diocesan priest, Monsignor Bernard M. Burns. The new parish was given the name Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church.

The barracks chapel would hold only one hundred people, necessitating the celebration of several Masses on Sundays. The parish grew, and in 1964, the year Father Elmer Niemeyer was named pastor, land was purchased at 2808 North Kentucky. Ground was broken for the new parish buildings on May 30, 1965; the first Mass was celebrated in the Parish Center on February 13, 1966. Although architectural plans for a church had been designed along with the parish center and the rectory, the closing of Walker Airforce Base halted further growth. The parish struggled on for the next few years.

In June 1971, Father Kevin J. Moynahan was handed the pastoral staff and immediately took steps toward the further growth of Assumption Church. Upon Father Keven's arrival, there were approximately thirty children receiving religious instruction. Today, almost four hundred children, grades kindergarten through twelve, hear the word of God and learn of Catholicism with the CCD program [note: now called FF, or Faith Formation]. Also, an Adult Education curriculum provides three sessions per week for interested parishioners [note: there is currently one adult catechism class, RCIA, and one adult education class per week].

Father Kevin next took steps to furnish the parish center (which by now was called “the church”). Folding chairs gave way to permanent pews in August 1973, an asphalt parking lot was laid, and on Easter Sunday, 1976, the first chimes were heard throughout the neighborhood -- chimes emanating from our belltower. Several years later, in 1982, the Altar and Rosary Society donated the statue of Our Lady of the Assumption which stands in the belltower grotto.

Financial affairs took on a hopeful glimmer in the late 1970s. Finally, on May 31, 1980, parish-wide celebration commemorated a tri-fold accomplishment: the “burning of the mortgage,” the twenty-fifth anniversary of ordination of Father Moynahan, and the fiftieth anniversary of Father Patrick Ronayne, a retired pastor from the Archdiocese of Chicago who has so faithfully assisted our parish since 1977.

The 1980s saw the growth of Roswell’s north side and thus the expansion of Assumption Parish. When Father Kevin arrived in 1971, there were fewer than 300 registered parish families. By the early 1980s, over 600 families called Assumption “home.” Four weekend Masses would hardly accommodate the congregation, and space for CCD classes and social functions was hard to find. After several parish questionnaires, a decision was made: YES, WE DO NEED A CHURCH!

In November 1983, a handful of parishioners sat down at a meeting which gave birth to the Maria Assumpta Appeal, a pledge drive to raise the funds necessary to begin the planning and construction of the church. Telephones were dialed, doorbells were rung, and in several months almost $500,000 in pledges were raised. But pledges aren’t cash, and as the four-year pledge money began to accumulate, parishioners sought other means to raise funds, including an auction, bake sales, raffles, pancake breakfasts, and fiesta garage sales. Finally, an architect, Mr. Urban Weidner of Santa Fe, was contracted to place on the drawing board the church designed in its basic form by Father Kevin.

On a hot August day in 1984, Bishop Ricardo Ramirez, Father Kevin, representatives of the building committee, and hundreds of parishioners stood in the open field at the corner of Mescalero and Kentucky. The Bishop, holding a gold-plated spade with a blue handle, turned the dry New Mexico soil as the parish prayed and cheered. The dream was a small step closer.

The consistent generosity of the people of Assumption, the blessing of God’s hand, and the watchful eye of Our Blessed Mother brought the project to its real beginnings on March 3, 1986, when Bishop Ramirez signed the contract with Richardson & Richardson Construction. For the next thirteen months, the parish watched with curiosity and enthusiasm as concrete was poured, bricks laid, and ceiling beams hoisted into their prayerful pose. Almost when it seemed that the task would never be completed, Father Kevin announced that the first Masses would be celebrated in the new church on April 12, 1987. It was Palm Sunday. At every Mass, parishioners with palms in hand walked in slow procession from the old to the new, singing “To Jesus Christ, Our Sovereign King” accompanied by the new church organ.

The dedication weekend was celebrated appropriately to include the feastday of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On the eve of the feast, August 14, the Guadalupe patio was blessed during a CYO Reunion Mass. The solemn Mass of Dedication with Bishop Ricardo Ramirez and Father Kevin Moynahan presiding was held on August 15, 1987. Finally, on August 16, the organ was blessed and dedicated during an open house for the entire community of Roswell.

God’s blessings have indeed been bestowed upon this parish in its first twenty-five years. And under the protective mantle of Our Lady of the Assumption, surely “only goodness and kindness will follow us all the days of our lives.”