Brother Anthony leaves a void at St. Patrick Parish

Intermountain Catholic

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Brother Anthony celebrates with members of the youth group and his parents at a farewell party in his honor June 2, at St. Patrick Parish. Nicole Hansen (front left), his father Agapito Ornelas, Brother Anthony Ornelas, his mother Betty Ornelas, Catherine Lopez (back left), Kezia Lopez, Maloi Vaisima, Monica Cordova, Joseph Valles, and Manuel Stelmach wish him well. IC photo by Chris Young

SALT LAKE CITY — St. Patrick parishioners are feeling a void now that Brother Anthony Ornelas has moved to Corpus Christi Parish in Houston, Texas. That void extends to the Diocese of Salt Lake City as well. He is the last member of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament priests and brothers to serve in the diocese.

Brother Anthony’s last day at St. Patrick Parish, Salt Lake City, was June 11. He has been a brother for 16 years.

In Corpus Christi, Brother Anthony will work with the community leadership of the congregation, and will travel around the United States giving youth retreats. He will also work with the Teens Encounter Christ Movement as the communication coordinator.

Brother Anthony grew up in Salt Lake City and was a member of Sacred Heart Parish. He graduated from East High School. He went on to graduate from Notre Dame College in Cleveland, Ohio.

Brother Anthony was a postulant for one year in Chicago, Ill., and spent two years as a novitiate in Green Bay, Wisc. He took his final vows in 1990. He spent the next 11 years in the Diocese of Cleveland, and in Menisah, Wisc., where he worked in youth ministry, taught religion, and served as a chaplain. He is a certified pastoral associate, and received his training at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, where he also learned hospital ministry. He came to Salt Lake City in 2001.

"A brother is a non-ordained clergy that has the same classification as a sister," said Brother Anthony. "I do everything except the sacraments. I knew I wanted to live a religious life ever since I served as an altar boy some 43 years ago. I became a brother so I could work with the youth. I knew I could not have that ministry as an ordained priest.

"In my ministry in Salt Lake City, I developed the youth program at St. Patrick Parish, and I was the deputy director of chaplains with the Salt Lake Police Department for four years," said Brother Anthony. "I supervised 17 chaplains, who ministered to police officers and families, and processed death notifications."

Brother Anthony said he was called out to console family members when there was a death for various reasons including homicide, murder, an unexpected death, a death as a result of a traffic accident, a shooting, a drug overdose, a family dispute, or an Amber Alert.

"My adrenaline would flow whenever I was called out because I never knew what I was going to encounter," he said. "The officers would explain the situation, but I never really knew what to expect until I arrived on the scene."

Brother Anthony received an Outstanding Service Award from the Salt Lake Police Department earlier this month.

At St. Patrick Parish, I served as a pastoral associate and as the director of religious education, director of youth ministry, and sacristan. "I have also been working with the Tongan Community as their spiritual director, and I was the spiritual moderator for the St. Patrick Women’s Council.

"In establishing the youth programs, I followed the rules set by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on their ministry concepts, and used that as a foundation," said Brother Anthony. "Each function in which the groups participate must fit one of the USCCB components. When I started at St. Patrick Parish, there were four members in the youth group, and now there are 41 among two youth groups.

"My experience at St. Patrick has been very humbling," said Brother Anthony. "It is sad to leave, but I am excited to have a change. I am leaving the youth groups in good hands."

Senior Youth Minister Anthony Martinez said, "We now have the responsibility to keep the youth groups going. Brother Anthony got everything started and then handed it over to us. The tie between religious education and the youth group is what makes our ministry strong. We knew we needed a change, and Brother Anthony proposed we start a youth council. The groups grew from there. Brother Anthony was at every Mass and he knew all the youth and would communicate with them and encourage them to join the youth groups.

"The eighth graders were so used to going to religious education classes that when we invited them to join the senior youth group, they were willing to come," said Martinez. "The senior youth group is for ninth through twelfth grade students. Now there are 25 members in the senior youth group. When the students graduate from high school, they do not want to leave the youth group so we are thinking about starting a young adult group."

Junior Youth Minister Rob Chiodo said, "The younger students saw how much the senior youth enjoyed participating in the youth group, so we started the junior youth group. It has 16 members. The junior group is for sixth through eighth grade students.

"It is sad to see Brother Anthony leave because he was not only a great youth director, he was a good friend," said Chiodo.

"He has always been a great son," said Betty Ornelas. "I gave birth to him when I was really young and we grew up together. His faith became strong when he was an altar boy and it grew from there. It was my dream for him to become a priest or a brother.

"We are friends as well as mother and son," said Ornelas. "When he left to join the order, I never dreamed he would come back to Salt Lake City because his order does not usually allow that. When he did return, we were so happy and proud of him. We are still very proud, but sad to see him leave."

"We are sorry he has to go, but that is the way this is structured," said Father David Bittmenn, pastor of St. Patrick Parish. "He will have a good time in Houston."