St. Andrew Parish breaks ground for school

Intermountain Catholic

Photo 1 of 2

Representatives of St. Andrew Parish, the Diocesan Office of Catholic Schools, Riverton City, and the ALSAM Foundation join Bishop John C. Wester, Vicar General Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, and St. Andrew Parish Pastor Father Francisco Pires in the official ground breaking ceremony Sept. 1 for St. Andrew Elementary School. Below, children who are future St. Andrew School students turn over dirt in anticipation of their new school. IC photos by Barbara S. Lee

RIVERTON — Under a brilliant blue summer sky, the ground was officially broken Sept. 1, for the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s newest Catholic school at 11800 South 3600 West in Riverton.

Thanks to a generous grant from the ALSAM Foundation, St. Andrew Parish, under the direction of Pastor Father Francisco Pires, began a multi-phase building project with the parish school, a kindergarten through grade eight facility that will include a gymnasium and a chapel.

Welcoming Riverton City Mayor Bill Applegarth, representatives of the ALSAM Foundation including Ron and Lindsey Cutshall, Don and Theresa Skaggs, and Claudia Lutrell; and presidents of the nearby Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stakes, Bishop John C. Wester said: "God created this earth, and we will fashion out of it a school. We give thanks for the opportunity to begin this project which will be offered for the glory of God...

"We came here today to ask God’s blessing to enliven our hearts. We welcome, too, all the people who will do the work of construction and we pray they will have a feeling of fulfilment as they work on this project and bring this school to fruition."

"We are blessed by the generosity of the ALSAM Foundation for their generous grant," said Fr. Pires. "We are also blessed by the people of the parish for their commitment to build this school and the church that will follow.

"We are called to work together with one goal, to build up the Body of Christ. This is the beginning of our journey."

Holy Cross Sister Karla McKinnie has been appointed to organize St. Andrew School, which will serve as a second feeder school to Juan Diego Catholic High School. St. John the Baptist Elementary and Middle Schools at the Skaggs Catholic Center are the first.

Kevin Quinn, representing St. Andrew Parish, thanked Fr. Pires for leading the parish into this new stage.

Representatives of the Diocesan Office of Catholic Schools, the ALSAM Foundation, Riverton City, and the parish then joined Bishop Wester, Vicar General Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, and Fr. Pires in breaking ground and turning over dirt on the $6.3 million project. Work on the project has already begun.

The parish and its Spanish community hosted a light breakfast after the ground breaking.

St. Andrew School was designed by IPA Architects John Shuttleworth, Stephanie McCarthy, and Bob Herman. Culp Construction is the contractor for the project. Margelo Howell will serve as project manager and Ken Fackrell as on-site supervisor.

Fr. Pires holds up a gold plated shovel, a gift from St. Andrew Parish, after ground was broken for St. Andrew School Sept. 1. Fr. Pires thanked the parish for their commitment to the project.