The Bishops of Salt Lake City: The 9th Bishop – The Most Rev. John C. Wester

Intermountain Catholic

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The Most Rev. John C. Wester, shown in an undated photo, was installed as the ninth Bishop of Salt Lake City on March 14, 2007.IC file photo

(Editor’s note: In honor of the 10th anniversary of the Bishop’s Dinner, the Intermountain Catholic published a series of articles featuring the men who have served a Bishop of Salt Lake City. This is the last article in the series.)

Writing an article about myself as Bishop of Salt Lake City is a rather awkward assignment. I don’t want to give a list of what the diocese has accomplished over the past six years; nor do I think a biography is in order. Rather, I think a message to all of you, who are alongside me as we seek to do God’s work, is appropriate.

When I started my seminary training (1964 to 1976), I found myself in St. Joseph High School Seminary. Adjacent to our massive building and up the hill was the Maryknoll Seminary, whose students would trudge down the dirt path (often very muddy in the winter) to join us for class.

I admired these men (we were 14 at the time!) for their idealism and their zeal to spread the Gospel. I would occasionally speak to my spiritual director about the tug I felt to join the Maryknollers and take to the missions. He usually steered me to stay in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, and I suspect the Archbishop would have approved!

So in 2007 when I was sent to the Diocese of Salt Lake City as its ninth bishop, I felt that perhaps, in God’s providence, I was in some way fulfilling that early call I thought I heard to be a missionary.

Make no mistake: This diocese is not exactly what one might call a Third World country, where the Gospel had never been heard. City Creek Center and a strong religious culture in this intermountain region certainly dispel that notion.

Nonetheless, there were missionary themes in my assignment: For the first time in 57 years I was leaving a home I had known since birth; I had very little knowledge of this diocese and its people – I had only been through Salt Lake City twice, and one of those times was at night; all my support systems are in San Francisco. So in some way I felt like I was venturing forth as a missionary as I sat in my comfortable seat in a Boeing 737, sipping a club soda and doing my crossword puzzle.

What I found on my arrival in Utah was a vibrant, enthusiastic and dedicated Catholic community, so ably served by my eight predecessors about whom you have been reading in this series. They had left a legacy second to none and oversaw the growth of a Catholic community that is truly representative of all that is good about our beloved Church.

The people are generous, kind and welcoming, educated in their faith and eager to serve, as is evidenced in our vibrant Lay Ecclesial Ministry program and the Hispanic Commission. Our priests, while few in number, are more than generous in their service to the diocese. Our permanent deacons and their wives are all over the diocese and eager to minister wherever the need is greatest. Our religious sisters, while far fewer in numbers than in past years, can be found in every aspect of ministry and service throughout the diocese. The Pastoral Center staff and the administrators and staff of our schools, Catholic Community Services and Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery work well beyond what is required and often shoulder loads that go beyond their original job descriptions. And those who serve in our parish offices never cease to amaze me with their hospitality and competence.

Ours is a diocese that is growing in leaps and bounds, a sign of our vitality and strength.

In my first five years here, I dedicated as many churches throughout the diocese. I look forward to many more such ceremonies as we see our diocese growing due to immigrants from other states and other countries.

I am excited about the advent of a pastoral planning process that will begin in the autumn of 2014. A working committee has already recommended a process to use, and we will be spending this year to prepare leaders and facilitators who will lead us through the listening sessions, prioritizing of goals and objectives and implementation of the strategies to achieve our chosen goals. This planning process will help us to build on the solid foundation and marvelous growth that makes this diocese what it is, – a healthy and strong community of believers who give praise to God as they live the Gospel in this portion of the Lord’s vineyard.

Thank you one and all for making this such a wonderful local Church and for making me such a happy and proud bishop. I give thanks to God each day for the grace of serving as your pastor and I assure you of my prayers as I ask for yours as together we journey in faith toward the fullness of the Kingdom. May our loving God who has begun this good work in us bring it to fulfillment.