Saint Patrick Parish celebrates 120 years

Intermountain Catholic

Photo 1 of 3

Saint Patrick parishioners from various cultural communities came together to celebrate the parish's 120th anniversary.

SALT LAKE CITY — Hymns and worship in a multitude of languages rang out at Saint Patrick Parish in Salt Lake City as the community celebrated its 120th anniversary on Sept. 8.

The parish has always served immigrants – the Right Rev. Lawrence Scanlan, first Bishop of Salt Lake, established it in 1892 to serve the Irish and Italians who settled on the city’s west side. By 1930 the parish demographics had changed as Hispanic immigrants moved into the area and an Italian Mission was declared a separate entity from St. Patrick Parish. Today, Tongans, Africans, Koreans, Filipinos, Hispanics and others contribute to the parish, as the Most Rev. John C. Wester, ninth Bishop of Salt Lake City, noted in his remarks during the anniversary Mass.

"It is quite evident that we are greater than the sum of our parts; that when we come together we create something new, and that’s what we’ve done today," Bishop Wester said. "We’ve been thanking God for our 120 years, we’ve been celebrating in the present and looking forward with hope in the future. You are a wonderful parish. You’re what a parish is meant to be – people coming together around the altar of the Lord; people listening to each other, enjoying each other, supporting each other, celebrating in the good times and in the bad. This is a wonderful, wonderful parish. What a great gift, and I pray that it will continue to grow and to be such a beacon of hope in our diocese."

With its cultural diversity, the parish projects "a beautiful face of Christ" in the diocese, Bishop Wester said. "We realize that all of us together form the body of Christ. Nobody is excluded, and when anyone is excluded, then the Body of Christ suffers, and Christ is not able to present his full self to the world because his church is diminished. When prejudice and bigotry and greed and the lust for power – when these things take over and people are marginalized and forgotten, then the image of Christ is marred. You, my dear brothers and sisters, have been presenting a vibrant and beautiful and full image of Christ in our midst."

The Mass was concelebrated by Father Lourduraj Gally Gregory, pastor; Monsignor J. Terrence Fitzgerald, Vicar General emeritus; Monsignor Colin F. Bircumshaw, Vicar General; and Father Jerome Kim, who celebrates a Sunday Mass in Korean at the parish.

Tongan and African Masses also are celebrated, in addition to those in English.

At the parish, Msgr. Bircumshaw served as parochial vicar from 1981 to 1982; Msgr. Fitzgerald was pastor from 1975 to 1982.

Deacons Sefo Manu and Silvio Mayo assisted at the Mass; Deacon Mayo was baptized at the parish and also served as deacon there, Fr. Gally said.

Music ministry at the Mass was provided by the parish’s Tongan and African choirs and the Korean ensemble. At the reception after the Mass, dancers from the Tongan and Hispanic communities entertained the crowd, and there was an exhibition of the Korean martial art Tae Kwon Do.

Planning for the celebration began nine months ago, said Anthony Martinez, one of the committee members. "The shining moment was our liturgy today; to see all of our communities coming together. We’re all here for the same reason – love for our God and our church. We pray in different languages, we may praise in different languages, but it’s all for our love of God."

Fr. Gally singled out for recognition Ron Menke, the past Parish Council president, who brought up the idea of celebrating the 120th anniversary. "He and the past and present parish council members and council representatives have contributed greatly to the painting of the church exterior, history compiling, sale of commemorative items, our celebration of the Eucharist and the dinner," Fr. Gally said.

The reception after the Mass provided an opportunity for the parish community to socialize.

"It is important to celebrate our diversity and our religion," said Nita Tuli, a parishioner.

Nyangag Changath, another parishioner, agreed. "For me is good because I can show my kids about other communities. I am very happy," she said.

Intermountain Catholic staff writer Laura Vallejo contributed to this article.