The town, the nation’s second-fastest growing suburb in 2006, has ballooned eight-fold since 2000 and acquired a larger planning area to go with it. So the “old church,” which will house parish administration and meetings until the next phase is complete, was no longer widely accessible. Largely rural areas and general commerce lie south of it.
Future communities are planned as far north as Happy Valley Road and the Carefree Highway. The new parish property is about four miles north of the old one, on Lower Buckeye Road just south of Interstate 10 and Miller Road.
A couple of hundred parishioners joined in the eucharistic procession from a neighboring high school to the new church. They sang, “Bendito, bendito, bendito sea Dios” as they walked, the sun setting around them.
Parishioners with a collection of camera phones, stand-alone cameras and iPads awaited the procession in the courtyard. Six Knights of Columbus in regalia and another six men supporting a tent for the Blessed Sacrament led the way into the chapel.
“Blessed be God. Blessed be His holy name,” Fr. Kosco began, the first words uttered to a group of Catholics gathered in the chapel.
He went on to lead the “Prayer for a new parish home,” which many St. Henry churchgoers had memorized in at least one language. The parish has a fair mix of English- and Spanish-speaking Catholics.
After benediction, Fr. Kosco encouraged others to explore the new 150-seat chapel with a high ceiling and a tile floor.
The chapel also features Stations of the Cross, tastefully hung lights and rafters for aesthetics. Ecce Agnus Dei, or Latin for “Behold the Lamb of God,” is engraved in front of the wooden altar.
“The new space is beautiful. It’s very modern, but still very peaceful and reverence-based,” said Elisia Gaiza, who has been a St. Henry parishioner for 30-some years.
The hall, which also features a large kitchen, is a replica of what St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Parish in Anthem opened as its temporary church nearly three-and-a-half years ago. The hall will seat 600 for Mass and any missions or catechesis talks on the horizon.
Some ministries and groups might meet at the new property on a trial basis. Parish ambassadors will “staff” the new location during the day and offer tours and parish information.
Gaiza is excited to see the parish grow and welcome new faces. Deacon Victor Leon is also eager to embrace growth. The parish already offers religious education in Tonopah. Fr. Kosco hopes to ultimately build the church followed by a school or adult education center.
And while the upgrades included new countertops, floors and appliances, the project also included a $2,700 built-in, state-of-the-art coffeemaker the governor’s office later decided will be paid for with private donations rather than with taxpayer funds.
“Hope it makes damn good coffee,” said Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, when told of the expenditure, which was initially paid for with public money.
The governor’s residence was built in the 1950s and features a public wing and private wing. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and her husband live in the smaller, cozier private wing that has its own kitchen, living room and bedrooms.
The public side of the mansion plays host to state dinners honoring visiting leaders and dignitaries, as well as private events put on by non-profit organizations. Caterers mainly use the kitchen. No serious work had been done to the public kitchen since the 1960s or 70s, and it was showing its age, according to pictures and Mike Unthank, deputy secretary of the General Services Department.
“You can imagine having 200-300 people here at an event and we have caterers that are cleaning out pots and pans outside” because the sinks were too small, Unthank said. “(Caterers) would take food trays and put them on the floor” because there wasn’t enough counter space.
Besides the sinks and counters, the floor was uneven and hard to keep clean, the lighting was poor, the stove leaked gas and water had leaked behind the backsplash tile behind the counters, he said. In short, it was deteriorating and shabby.
“We found issues with water leaks, which would lead to mold, which would lead to bacteria,” Unthank said.
One of the worst deficiencies was the gas stove. At one point, Martinez said she was walking through the home during winter with a member of her security detail and noticed open doors.
“I said, ‘Why are these doors open?’ ” she told News 13. “And he said, ‘Because of the gas leak.’ He said, ‘The stove is leaking,’ and I said, ‘We’re going to blow up. What are we doing here?’ ”
So officials at GSD, which is charged with maintaining public buildings, began looking at possible sources of funding to pay for the renovation. That was when officials discovered that the New Mexico Board of Finance had allocated close to $137,000 during former Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration specifically for repairs to the governor’s mansion. That money had never been spent, Unthank said.
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