St. Rose of Lima Parish will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the dedication of their church

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LAYTON – The St. Rose of Lima Parish community is fine-tuning the final details for the 25th anniversary celebration of the dedication of its new building.

“Fr. Clarence [Sandoval, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish] has been the driving force behind the celebration of the anniversary,” said Kevin Cummings, director of the parish’s Christian formation program and one of the organizers for the celebration. “He recognized how significant it is that we have been in this building for a quarter century, how important it is to the community that we mark the occasion.  It’s a great opportunity to reflect back on the history of St. Rose.”

As part of the celebration, Bishop Oscar A. Solis will celebrate a Mass at the parish on Sept. 6.

“The Mass will be a big part of our celebration,” Cummings said. “It’s always great when the whole community has the chance to gather around a single event.”

St. Rose of Lima Parish has been a part of the Utah Catholic community since the 1940s; on April 11, 1948 the first parish church was dedicated.

“The parish never stopped growing and, as Catholic families moved to Utah to serve at Hill Air Force Base, they found a community of faith at Saint Rose of Lima,” states the parish history. “Through the efforts of groups such as Missionary Sisters of Victory Noll, the Guild of St. Paul, and the Junior Legion of Mary, the members of the parish grew in faith and new members and converts joined the community.”

In 1960, a warehouse adjacent to the church was purchased and remodeled to serve as the parish’s social hall.

“Through the 1980s the parish roll swelled as more families joined the community of Saint Rose of Lima. In 1986, the parish purchased six acres and a house located between Chapel and Whitesides streets in Layton,” according to the parish history.

A building fund campaign was launched for a project that included a church, administration space, a social center and a meeting room, totaling 18,000 square feet. A ground-breaking ceremony was held on Aug. 7, 1993. At the beginning of 1994 the spire was mounted on the church. The cross, which rises 117 feet above street level, is visible from Interstate 15.

 “It has been a great and highly visible symbol of our faith for 25 years. The cross can be seen from the freeway and stands as a reminder that there is a Catholic presence in Utah,” Cummings said.

That Catholic presence in Layton is important to Dennis Martinez, who has been a St. Rose of Lima parishioner since he was a teenager; he can recall attending Mass in the old church with his mother.

“As an adult Catholic, I would like to think my life as a Catholic has had its ebbs and flows,” Martinez said. “When I was a young person, I completed all my usual sacraments, through Confirmation. As I grew into adulthood, I would like to think my connection with the spiritual life moved up and down in its importance.”

As he began to have children, the faith became more important in his life, he said.  

“Just prior to World Youth Day 1993, my strength of my faith seemed to increase. I took my oldest daughter to WYD 1993 and shortly after this event I accepted an appointment by Fr. Victor Bonnell [then the parish pastor]as the youth director for St. Rose, and remained in that position through 2003,” Martinez said.

The presence of the parish in the community is important, he said.

“It is important to my faith, and I am proud of what we have built in Layton. I know many of my non-Catholics friends are very impressed by the chapel and what it represents,” he said, adding that he sees the impact the church has on the community each Advent season in the number of non-Catholics who attend the Midnight Mass.

“I think it sends the message to the community at large that the Catholic Church is a strong presence in Utah, and that we have many quality beliefs that make us a great neighbor and community member,” Martinez said.

Through the years, the parish has changed and yet stayed the same, Cummings said.

“We have more Masses on the weekends now to accommodate a growing community. We have many new groups in the parish representing many nationalities and languages. The Spanish-speaking community is especially vibrant. At the same time, the faithfulness of the people of St. Rose remains the same,” he said.

As part of the 25th anniversary celebration, the parish has been selling commemorative bricks on which people can inscribe the names of their families or messages. The bricks will be placed around the parish gardens.

In addition to the Sept. 6 Mass, the anniversary celebration will include a celebratory dinner to be held on Sept. 28 in the parish’s social center.

In addition to dinner, which will be catered by Red Flame Catering, the event will include a live auction with items including a “chocolate diamond” ring, and a weekend cabin getaway, Martinez said.

“Attendees with be greeted with piano music from our music director, John Payne,” he added. Proceeds from the dinner will go to the parish ministries, Fr. Sandoval said.

“While our parish is not rich by any means, when asked to donate, our parishioners, they just step up,” Martinez said. “One thing that has remained the same [through the years] is the willingness of those seemly silent/nonexistent parishioners to step up when asked.”