Bishop Wester joins St. Marguerite's centennial celebration

Intermountain Catholic

+ Enlarge

Bishop John C. Wester blesses the statue of Saint Marguerite in her namesake parish in Tooele. Parishioners recently build the niche in which the statue rests.

TOOELE – On the Solemnity of Christ the King – the end of the Catholic Church’s liturgical year – parishioners in Tooele gathered to give thanks with Bishop John C. Wester, who celebrated not only the Mass on Nov. 20 but also the parish’s centennial.

"In a special way we thank God for the grace of this wonderful parish of Saint Marguerite," Bishop Wester said. "We thank God for the gift of 100 years."

The parish has great reason to rejoice, he added, including the fact that five priests and seven deacons from St. Marguerite have been ordained over the years. "May I as bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, congratulate you on the wonderful vocations and the clergy that you’ve had from this parish," he said.

Among those who have been ordained is Father Ken Vialpando, now pastor of Saint Joseph Parish in Ogden, who attended the Nov. 20 celebration.

Father William F. Kennedy was the parish’s founding pastor; Father Sam Dinsdale is now pastor. They, along with Fr. Vialpando, "certainly are most representative of those splendid men who have served you so well," Bishop Wester said.

For the occasion, Bishop Wester said, "We celebrate your love of God. We celebrate you as a beacon of hope in this community here in Tooele…. We celebrate all of you who have been coming together for 100 years and who will continue to do so in the decades to come."

The celebration not only marked the parish’s centennial but also Fr. Vialpando’s 50th birthday.

"What a great way to celebrate my 50th and their 100th," Fr. Vialpando said, "to combine the two celebrations, to thank God for the gift of life … and to recognize that his spirit has been present in this church throughout, from its first Mass to the Mass we’re celebrating now and praying that we’ll get to celebrate another 50 or 100 or many more years to come with his grace and through the intercession of Saint Marguerite and all the angels and saints."

His earliest memory of the parish is of Monsignor John J. Sullivan, who served as pastor from 1970 to 1982. "He was like this gentle giant," Fr. Vialpando said. "He was twice or three times the size that I was and I respected him but I also feared him as well and I didn’t want to go against his wishes or commands in any way, shape or form…. He was an excellent pastor. We’ve had other pastors who have been wonderful and who have inspired many of us to enter into the vocation ourselves. All of us who have been ordained in this place have stood or are standing on the shoulders of the people here, who are very faithful. Because of their prayers and their faith this place is thriving with vocations."

Fr. Dinsdale, who was took over as pastor in August, said he plans to continue the programs and activities already in place, such as construction of the academic center and adding an eighth grade class to the school next year if enrollment allows. He does hope to renovate the church at some point, he said. "This church is as old as I am. I was born ‘74 and it was built in ’74, so it needs a bit of updating, but we’ll see how that goes."