“Rebuild My Church”

By 1946 the population of Los Alamos had grown to the point that Archbishop Byrne established a Parish in Los Alamos and consecrated it to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Father Bernard Burns was the first resident priest in Los Alamos and the first Pastor. On May 2, 1947, the United Church of Los Alamos was dedicated for use by all denominations represented in Las Alamos. The Chapel had in its membership 50 Jews, 650 Roman Catholics, and 500 Protestants representing 18 denominations. The first Roman Catholic Mass was celebrated in the Chapel at 10 a.m. by Father Francis X. Campbell. In October of 1950 construction on the first Catholic Church in Los Almos began, the Church, Chapel, and Rectory were finished by May 6, 1951, at the cost of $100,000. At this time there were 350 Catholic Families in the Parish

In 1956 the Parish Hall, today known as the Karen McLaughlin Hall, was built as a school gymnasium assuming in time that a Catholic School would be built. More buildings followed, the construction of the current Immaculate Heart of Mary Church started in 1967 and was dedicated in October of 1968. The old Church and Parish Hall were used for Religious Education classes for the children of the Parish. In 1979 a new rectory was built for the Priest of the Parish, this building was built next to the current Church. In 1989 the St. Joseph Mission building was upgraded adding classrooms. In September 1992 the new Religious Education Building was dedicated and today is known as the St. Thomas More Religious Education Center. During the next few years, the bronze statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was placed in front of the Church, a bell tower was built complete with chimes. Fr. John Carney continued the updating of the Parish facilities that the prior Pastor had started, Stations of the Cross, new statues, a Crucifix, and new pews were all installed in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Los Alamos. The grounds of the Los Alamos Parish also received an update with the Statue of Pope Saint John Paul II, along with a monument of the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments being installed on the grounds to the north of the Church. To provide space for the youth of our Parish, Fr. Carney with the help of Deacon Don Lucero had the old White Rock Visitor Center moved to Los Alamos to be used as a Youth Center at our Parish. With each year that passes there is always a need to update buildings and replace equipment, and every Pastor that has served Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish has been blessed to have the support of the Parishioners in taking care of and updating the buildings of our Church.