Saint Joseph the Worker parish carries the cross into new church

Intermountain Catholic

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WEST JORDAN — Saint Joseph the Worker parishioners have been celebrating Mass in their new church in West Jordan for about three months now, but until Ash Wednesday no crucifix hung behind the altar.

"Up to now there has been a very noticeable lack and many of the folk have expressed their uneasiness," said Father Patrick Carley, pastor. "They knew we were going to bring it in, but they kept asking ‘When are we going to bring it in? When are we going to bring it in?’ It’s our tradition’s most ancient and beloved symbol and no Catholic church would be complete or even feel Catholic to any of us without a crucifix. That’s the way we have been feeling. We like our (new) church, we think there are so many wonderful things about it, but without the crucifix hanging there we never felt complete."

The empty space behind the altar was filled on Ash Wednesday, when men from the parish’s first generation carried into the new church a crucifix that had been in storage since the demolition of the old church. These were some of the same men who put the crucifix in place when the original church was built in 1964, Fr. Carley said. Once inside the new church, the men handed the crucifix to members of the younger generation, who carried it up to the sanctuary and hoisted it into place.

"It’s all symbolizing the community coming together," Fr. Carley said. "The symbols themselves are nothing if they don’t build the Church."