Michael and Shannon Lee are leaving the diocese

Intermountain Catholic

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Michael and Shannon Lee have left the Diocese of Salt Lake City after more than a decade of service. Michael Lee was the Director of Diocesan Operations; Shannon Lee was director of the Office of Stewardship and Development. They are shown at the Sept. 5 goodbye party at the Pastoral Center. IC photo/Marie Mischel

SALT LAKE CITY — Two familiar faces in the Diocese of Salt Lake City will no longer be seen, as Michael and Shannon Lee are moving to Nebraska.

Michael Lee has been the director of operations for the diocese; Shannon Lee headed the Office of Stewardship and Development. Each of them worked for the diocese for more than 10 years.

"I hired Michael here at the Pastoral Center for a temporary job. I told him it would be very temporary – he was going to oversee the contracts for the building of the Skaggs Catholic Center," said Monsignor J. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general emeritus, during the farewell party at the Pastoral Center on Sept. 5.

The land for what is now the Skaggs Catholic Center in Draper was purchased in 1996; the center was dedicated three years later.

That "temporary job" led to a permanent position, as Michael Lee helped the diocese prepare to serve the spiritual needs of those guests and competitors who came for the 2002 Winter Olympics. The diocese offered numerous services to visitors during the Games; for example, the Bishop Hunt Center next to the Cathedral of the Madeleine served as one of the seven hospitality centers in northern Utah.

"Michael did a great deal in helping us meet that challenge," said Msgr. Fitzgerald, who first met Michael Lee at Saint Mary of the Assumption Parish in Park City. Msgr. Fitzgerald served as pastor there from 1990 to 1991 and baptized Michael Lee and his daughter.

"I have known him ever since," Msgr. Fitzgerald said.

After being hired full time at the diocese, Michael Lee assumed responsibility for tasks such as the Catholic Extension grant requests, reviewing diocesan contracts and overseeing the missions, Msgr. Fitzgerald said. "He has taken on everything he was asked to do. Michael has been hard-working, always available, very professional … and able to do so many things so well."

Shannon Lee came to work at the diocesan offices after serving as the development director at Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Kearns.

At that time, the diocese had a one-person office known as the Catholic Foundation of Utah, which handled not only endowments but also the diocese’s development aspects of the diocese. When the decision was made to separate the Catholic Foundation of Utah from the Diocesan Development Drive, "Shannon, with her experience and her successful record, was the one to hire," Msgr. Fitzgerald said. "She has been remarkable in the development of our Diocesan Development Drive, and the expansion of the development efforts for our diocese. She really amazes me with how creative she has been coming up with new themes and new approaches every year."

Even considering the relatively small number of Catholics in Utah, the DDD will probably reach its goal of $2 million in donations this year, Msgr. Fitzgerald said. "That’s amazing for our population. Shannon has consistently kept that going, even in the recession. That’s remarkable."

The Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, also expressed his appreciation, love and support for the Lees.

"You will always know, I hope, that this is your home away from home," he said, thanking them for their contributions to the local Church.

"Certainly, Michael and Shannon, you have helped make us look good," the bishop said, adding that the Lees are "part of our legacy and part of our memories.

"Michael, members of my family still remember you from my installation (in 2007), and my friends as well, that you picked up at the airport or whatever, and I hadn’t even met you yet. They said you were kind and gracious, and offered Utah hospitality," Bishop Wester said.

The bishop thanked Shannon Lee for her work with the stewardship office in particular; this office was created three years ago. In conjunction with this, she was appointed to the International Catholic Stewardship Council’s Board of Directors, representing Region XIII, "which is international recognition and quite an accomplishment," Bishop Wester said. "I’m sure our paths will cross many times, but in the meantime, you go with our love and our prayers."