After two days in Cheyenne, I was able to get back on the road on Wednesday. After a rather icy and windy trip over the Summit into Laramie, the roads cleared up nicely, and I was able to make it to St. Ann’s in Saratoga easily. It was a small confirmation class, but a beautiful evening. We confirmed four middle school students and two adults.
The visit allowed for a good visit with Fr. Joey Buencamino and two other local priests who joined us for dinner and the Mass, Fr. Sam Hays from Rawlins and Fr. Glen Szczechowski from Rock Springs.
On Wednesday morning, there was another light snow falling, but Fr. Joey and I decided to pay a visit to Medicine Bow. Some time ago, the mission church of St. Malachy was closed, but there were some articles left behind that Fr. Joey wanted to make provision for safe-keeping. This was my first visit to Medicine Bow, and to the closed church of St. Malachy.
The church is showing its lack of care since its closing. However, inside are some nice statues, an old but nice baptistry and a pretty nice set of stations still hanging on the wall. Some decisions will need to be made for the proper storage and care of these items.
While in Medicine Bow, I also took time to stop and pay a visit to the historical Virginian Hotel. Talk about stepping back in time… I did not take the time to go upstairs and visit some of the guests rooms, but visitors are welcome to do so. Yes, it is still an active hotel, along with dining service. The hotel was built in 1911, deriving its name from the 1902 novel by Owen Wister, The Virginian.
From there I made my way to Laramie for the Thursday evening Confirmations of St. Paul Newman Center and St. Lawrence O’Toole parishes. I believe we confirmed around 25 students.
In case you had trouble viewing this blog in recent days, there was a technical problem at the web design site. I was just able to re-access the administrative page Friday afternoon. Thanks for your visits, and may God continue to bless all of you.
0