Bishop Wester announces priest assignments for diocese

Intermountain Catholic

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Bishop John C. Wester (right) listens to Father Jose Alberto Barrera prior to the Confirmation celebration at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church on April 22. The current pastor, Father Stanislaw Herba (left), has been re-assigned to Saint Mary of the Assumption Parish in Park City and Saint Lawrence Mission in Heber. The West Valley City parish will receive a new pastor, Father Omar Ontiveros Garcia, and a new parochial vicar, the Rev. Mister Tai T. Nguyen, who will be ordained a priest on May 29.

SALT LAKE CITY - The routine assignment of priests in the Diocese of Salt Lake City was very difficult this year, said Bishop John C. Wester. "It was not easy to find priests to fill the slots that we had open. Thank God we've got two ordinations coming up, but you have to balance those against those who are retiring and those who are being pulled out of ministry - for example, the Jesuits. When we got the call from the Jesuits that those two were leaving, there was a wash with the ordinations."

Jesuit Fathers Martin Rock and Leo Prengaman, currently at Saint Mary Parish in West Haven, have been reassigned by the Jesuit California Province. Father Gustavo Vidal, currently at Saint George Parish in St. George, will become pastor at Saint Mary's effective Sept. 4.

Deacons in transition Tai T. Nguyen and Joseph S. Frez will be ordained priests on May 29 and will be assigned as parochial vicars to St. George Parish and Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Kearns, respectively.

The assignments were made by Bishop Wester with the recommendations of the diocese's priest personnel committee, which is comprised of the bishop, Vicar General Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald and five priests who were appointed by their brother priests. The committee takes into account the diocese's needs, requests from the priests to be assigned, retirements and other considerations.

Pastors typically are assigned to a parish for a six-year term that can be renewed, but that may be waived because of the diocese's needs. For example, Father Samuel Dinsdale, currently pastor of Saint Patrick Parish in Salt Lake City, has been assigned to Saint Marguerite Parish even though he's only been in his current assignment for two years. "We don't like to move people that quickly, but there was a need for him in Tooele, so he's going there," Msgr. Fitzgerald said.

Another change this year is that Saint Bridget Parish in Milford, and its two mission churches, Saint John Bosco in Delta and Holy Family in Fillmore, now will have a resident pastor, Father Hernando Diaz. For the past several years, these three parishes have been served primarily by deacons, with monthly visits from Father Marco T. Lopez, a parochial vicar at Saint Mary of the Assumption in Park City.

Historically St. Bridget's had a resident pastor, but "they've been without a resident priest for a long time, and it's a real burden on everybody trying to cover it," Msgr. Fitzgerald said. "It was always a goal and we had the opportunity to do this. We do not like to leave an area without a resident priest for too long."

However, Saint Anthony of Padua Parish in Helper will be temporarily without a pastor; it will be administered by Father Donald E. Hope, pastor of Notre Dame de Lourdes in Price.

Three priests in the Salt Lake diocese have been appointed as first-time pastors. They are Father Lourduraj Gally Gregory, Father Omar Ontiveros Garcia and Father Oscar Martin Picos Renteria, who all have experience as parochial vicars as well as several qualities that will make them good pastors, Bishop Wester said.

"They all bring with them a high level of enthusiasm," he said. "They're all eager to be pastors and serve the people of God in this capacity. They really love people, they love Christ and his Church and they want to serve people."

In addition, the three are all open to learning from their new parishioners, while at the same time are ready to lead, Bishop Wester said. "A good pastor is one who will always be open to the people and to be formed by them, but the pastor has to lead and make decisions."When you have a pastor that is willing to teach and to learn, both - which I think these three men are, and frankly I see that in so many of our pastors - then we have a recipe for success."

FATHER GALLY

Father Gally, who for the past six years has been a parochial vicar at Saint Ambrose Parish in Salt Lake City, was ordained in 1987. He served as a pastor in his native India for 17 years before coming to Utah in 2004. He built two churches in India, but said serving the people in the Salt Lake diocese has taught him the real meaning of being a priest. "My main accomplishment, I feel, is I was able to establish good relationships with people" at St. Ambrose, he said. "Serving them, being with them in their joys and sorrows, is not as remarkable as building structures," he said, but the call of the priesthood is to imitate Jesus, "who was with the people wherever they were. It's building life."

One of his mentors in Salt Lake was Father William Wheaton, who was the previous pastor of St. Ambrose. Fr. Wheaton "gave me wonderful training on how to understand people and respect their feelings," Fr. Gally said.

He has been assigned as pastor of Saint Patrick Parish in Salt Lake City. "We felt Fr. Gally would be a good fit for St. Patrick's because St. Patrick's is historically a parish that has welcomed immigrants and has a lot of minority groups," Msgr. Fitzgerald said. "Fr. Gally is very sensitive, very caring, very compassionate, very present to people, and I think that is a quality that that parish needs and where he'll be very helpful."

Fr. Gally will continue with his hospital ministry, but said he would like to build strong relationships with the people in his new parish. "At St. Patrick's there are very diverse cultures, but love is the same for everybody," he said.

FATHER ONTIVEROS

Fr. Ontiveros was ordained in 2006 in Salt Lake City and has been a parochial vicar at The Cathedral of the Madeleine, where he worked with Msgr. Joseph Mayo, the pastor, to develop ministries for the fast-growing Hispanic community. When he started, the Sunday Spanish Mass was about 30 percent full, he said; now it's standing-room only and a Spanish Mass has been added on Saturday evening.

In addition to offering a more full sacramental life for the Hispanic community, Fr. Ontiveros also helped develop programs like adult faith formation and parenting classes. In addition, he began a Spanish radio ministry, a 15-minute live show that's broadcast weekly. "When I was in the seminary I started having the desire to use the media as a means of evangelization," he said, and with the support of Msgr. Fitzgerald and Bishop Wester, the first broadcast was in 2007. "This has helped Hispanic Catholics; they feel good to hear a priest on secular radio because that reinforces their identity as Catholics," said Fr. Ontiveros, who has been assigned as pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Parish in West Valley City.

Fr. Ontiveros is familiar with Sts. Peter and Paul because he's helped out there from time to time, and the assignment will allow him to continue his radio ministry, Msgr. Fitzgerald said.

In his new assignment, "My attitude right now is just to be open and to give myself some time to get to know the people and listen to them, listen to their thoughts and to start working with them as a pastor, always having in mind the image of the Good Shepherd, who is Jesus Christ," Fr. Ontiveros said.

see PRIESTS page 16