The founder of Camp St. Malo, Monsignor Joseph Bosetti, had for years entertained an idea that one day he would build a chapel on this site. In 1916 he and two friends observed a falling meteor during the night and in his search for the remnants the next morning, he came across a large rock. The beauty of the land inspired the priest and he remembered Jesus’ words to Peter: “Upon this rock, I will build my Church.” (Matt 16:18).

Vowing one day to build a chapel here, Msgr. Bosetti prayed for nearly 20 years to acquire the funds. During time, he found himself in a constant battle with the Colorado Highway department which had plans to dynamite the enormous piece of granite to both widen and straighten the curve in the road.

Eventually, Msgr. Bosetti won the battle and years later, when the chapel became a reality, it was reported that a group of engineers who laid out the road came to the dedication and thanked him for his perseverance.

The chapel was designed by noted Denver architect Jacques Benedict. The contractors were the Coulihan Brothers and Charlie Miller of the nearby town of Allenspark, who had native stone hauled in by mule carts from the surrounding area to use as building material.

The land on which Camp St. Malo is built was given to the Catholic Archdiocese of Denver by Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Malo who purchased the 160 acres from the William McPhee estate in 1935.

The Malos donated the funds for the building of the chapel and paid for its maintenance for decades. The chapel was dedicated by Archbishop Urban Vehr in 1936 to the honor of Saint Catherine of Siena and in the memory of Mrs. Malo’s mother, Catherine Smith Mullen.

In 1993, Pope John Paul II visited the chapel during his trip to Denver for the World Youth Day and bestowed his personal blessing on the chapel.

Over the years, thousand of visitors have stopped at the chapel to enjoy its simplicity and beauty as it is framed against majestic Mt. Meeker. In 1999, Boulder County designated the chapel as a historic site. The Chapel on the Rock is truly a Colorado landmark.

A Look inside the Chapel In the high niches to the left and right of the altar are two soft wood statues. On the statue of St. Catherine of Siena, the Stigmata wounds are present on her hands and feet. This sculpture, along with the statue of Christ the King to the right of the altar, were carved at the Giacomo-Mussner studios in Bolzano, Italy. The stained glass window depicts St. Catherine holding the body of Christ on the cross. The window was installed in 1937, some two years after the chapel was built. It was created by the world renowned Franz Mayer and Sons Glass Works in Munich, Germany.

The sanctuary lamp has been in use in this chapel since the first Mass was offered in 1935. Before its arrival in Colorado, the antique lamp hung in a small chapel in a palace in Rome which Mussolini ordered torn down in order to make room to build a road.

The medallions, on the east and west walls, once hung in a chapel in the home of Evalyn Walsh McLean, the Denver-born, Washington socialite, who was the last private owner of the famous Hope Diamond. These beautiful medallions feature Madonna and Child in two distinctly different styles.