New Novitiate Opens in Denver

The Very Rev. James V. Marchionda, O.P., Provincial, and the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Albert the Great gratefully announce the opening of St. Dominic Priory and Novitiate in Denver, Colorado. This is a story many years in the making, from concept and design to construction during a pandemic. 

Marking this joyous occasion, the Most Reverend Samuel Aquila, Archbishop of Denver, will invoke God’s blessings on the priory and novitiate on Sunday, August 8, 2021. The friars expect to occupy the building in July, following required last-minute inspections and touch-ups.

Dominicans have served the Denver Highlands neighborhood and surrounding community since 1889, 50 years prior to the founding of the Province of St. Albert the Great.  The current priory immediately adjacent to the church houses professed friars serving in the parish and elsewhere.  Among other functions, St. Dominic Parish Center, located a block from the priory, has served as home to the novitiate for the Province of St. Albert the Great since 1977. 

While a feasible situation, this bifurcated living arrangement does not reflect the best vision for formation in the Order of Preachers. Ideally, novices interact with professed friars throughout their day - in prayer, study, recreation, and meals - while under one roof.  Completion of the new St. Dominic Priory finally allows for that. 

The first class of novices to live in the priory throughout their entire novitiate year will occupy the novitiate in August, joining as many as 10 professed friars, sharing the same building for first time in nearly 50 years. 

It is with grateful humility the nearly 130 Dominican friars of the Province of St. Albert the Great acknowledge all who through their prayers, construction expertise, and generous financial commitments have made completion of this project possible.