Holy Cross Abbey Monastery

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2025

1. Holy Cross Abbey Monastery Marker

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From the National Register Nomination prepared by Rev. Warren J. Heidgen, 3/14/1983:
The Holy Cross Abbey is a 3-story T-shaped building located about ½ mile east of Cañon City, Colorado. Facing south, the building measures three hundred feet north-south by one hundred ten feet east-west. It is sited on two hundred twenty acres of land which gives a spacious sense

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2025

2. Holy Cross Abbey Monastery Marker

The marker is mounted on the left side of the front/tower entrance.

to the grounds.
The Holy Cross Abbey possesses both architectural and religious significance. It is a unique example of Collegiate Gothic architecture in southeastern Colorado. Its religious significance grows out of the fact that the Abbey School, since its establishment in 1926, has been important in the history of education in the area.
Benedictine monks came to Colorado from St. Vincent's Abbey, Latrobe, Pa. in the winter of 1886. Settling first in Breckenridge, the next spring they moved to Boulder to begin establishment of a monastic community. In 1894, the monks were asked to take charge of St. Michael's Church in Cañon City and all the parishes in Fremont County. After World War I, the priory, renamed Holy Cross, was established about two miles east of Cañon City. Planning began at once, for a permanent home for the community and the establishment of a school.
The architect selected for the project was L. A. Des Jardins. Des Jardin's plan for the property called for an elaborate educational complex of buildings reminiscent of an English university. Included were a monastery and chapter house — the only building constructed —

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2025

3. Holy Cross Abbey Monastery Tower

From the National Register Nomination:  The focal point for the entire structure is the tower on the south end. Here the vertical lines of the tower culminate in a small, stylized turret.

a monastic cloister, a cathedral, a preparatory school, a university, ten dormitories, a hospital and a stadium. Even though only one building was built, the combination of its scale and architectural style — Collegiate Gothic — make it unique in this area of the state.
Completed in 1925 at a cost of about $500,000, the same year that Holy Cross was raised to an abbey, it was dedicated in April 1926.
That fall the Abbey launched a four-year high school and a junior high. Thirty-seven students registered that first year, but enrollment grew quickly. By 1929, approximately 100 boys enrolled. Over the years the curriculum has changed from a four-year high school to an emphasis on industrial arts, to four-year college, to a college preparatory school. From the beginning, the Abbey School has been an important educational force in southeastern Colorado.

Excerpt:  The Abbey of the Holy Cross in Cañon City, Colorado, was a monastery of the Order of St. Benedict in the United States. It existed for nearly 120 years, operating various enterprises, including a boarding school for

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2025

4. Holy Cross Abbey Monastery (southwest elevation)

boys and a winery.
Like many religious communities in the United States, the abbey saw its numbers grow during the 1950s and 1960s, followed by a steep decline in the following decades. The Abbey School was closed in 1985. By the early 2000s, the community was composed of about 20 monks, mostly elderly.
In 2000, the monks decided to revisit the idea of planting a vineyard to generate income. They entrusted the production to a professional viticulturist who began to produce wine the following year.
Other than incorporating “Holy Cross Abbey” into its name after acquiring the land from the Monastic community, the Benedictine monks of the abbey had no involvement in the creation or operation of the winery. The winery and tasting room opened to the public in 2002, welcoming visitors to its scenic Rocky Mountain vineyard.
By 2005, it was determined that the monastic community was no longer viable, and in a final chapter meeting, the monks voted to dissolve it. They found homes in other monasteries, and the abbey was closed in September 2006.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2025

5. Holy Cross Abbey Monastery (west elevation)

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2025

6. Holy Cross Abbey Monastery (southeast elevation)

From the National Register Nomination:  The result is an English feeling which is reinforced by the upper story gables and the Abbot's quarters immediately to the north of the chapel. What seems, at first, to be the English half-timbered style is, in reality, nothing more than stucco and paint.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2025

7. Holy Cross Abbey Monastery (northeast elevation)

From the National Register Nomination:  A notable feature on the ground floor of the east facade is the cloister walk (arcade) which sweeps north from the Chapel along the full length of the building. Framed by a series of Tudor arches, this walk was intended as a quiet place for the monks to use in their contemplation.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2025

8. Holy Cross Abbey Monastery (south/front elevation)

From the National Register Nomination:  The English Gothic Revival can be seen in the overall massing of the structure, and the treatment of the windows, buttresses and Gothic filagree in the south end of the Chapel wing. The vertical sweep of the Gothic Revival is also present in the treatment of the windows in the main portion of the structure. The building is constructed of brown brick. The quoins, mullions, belt courses, window frames, etc., which appear to be stone are, in fact, cast concrete. The gable roof is covered with tile. The Abbey, situated on its spacious grounds which protect it from the pressures of growth from nearby Cañon City, remains a unique architectural landmark in southeastern Colorado.