Skaggs Catholic Center celebrates Holy Father's visit

Friday, Oct. 02, 2015

DRAPER — Students at Saint John the Baptist elementary and middle schools and Juan Diego Catholic High School frequently attend Mass at the Skaggs Catholic Center, but the Sept. 24 celebration was unique, and one that will be remembered as historic.

The outdoor Mass, which was celebrated the same day as Pope Francis’ unprecedented address to a joint session of the United States Congress, honored the Holy Father’s first visit to the U.S. 

Many Catholics in Utah said they were very humbled by the pope’s humanity, which the pontiff displayed in numerous ways during his stops in Washington, D.C., New York and Philadelphia.

“His visit has been a very important visit for all the students here at the Skaggs Center,” said Patricia Brenneisen, a teacher at Juan Diego, as she prepared for the all-campus Mass that gathered more than 2,000 people at the high school’s football stadium.

The Mass was celebrated after a livestream broadcast of Pope Francis’ address to the Congress that was watched in almost every classroom by students, staff, teachers and some parents.

The all-campus Mass included children ranging in age from pre-school to high school. Some wore their school uniforms, others were clad in shirts that displayed messages such as ‘Be courageous,’ ‘Holy Spirit send us our bishop’ and ‘I Love Pope Francis.’ The atmosphere was filled with joy, hope and a sense of community.

“It is important that they know that we are together as a community; you could feel all the joy in our students,” said Brenneisen.

“I think it was great that the pope is here with us in spirit; you can feel it,” said Rocio Fuentes, mother of a kindergartner, adding that the address that Pope Francis made to the Congress struck her to the core because she is an immigrant.

“It brought tears to my eyes when he said that he felt so welcomed, being the son of an immigrant. … We all should always feel welcome and be welcoming of strangers, and that’s how the pope made me feel today, that we are all one with all our divisions, struggles, barriers – at the end of the day we are one,” said Fuentes, who arrived in Utah from Lima, Peru, five years ago. 

Peri Flanagan, a former Juan Diego teacher who now leads the senior class retreats, said the Church’s doctrine teaches Catholics to welcome the stranger in their midst and reach out to the less fortunate.

“I think this is a reminder of who we are,” Flanagan said. “We are people of service. It is a wonderful and beautiful reminder for us to keep doing what we’re doing and to do it better.”

Norman Allred, who teaches Spanish at Juan Diego, said he hopes that the pope’s visit will encourage people to “reach to the person next to them, and they can look for people who need their help, and help.”

The day after the Mass, the students witnessed the livestream broadcast of Pope Francis’ address to the United Nations General Assembly.