The Church in Utah: Past, Present and Future

Friday, Jul. 28, 2023

Grace has flowed abundantly in the Diocese of Salt Lake City these past several weeks. Two men were ordained priests and one a deacon on June 30. The following Friday was the sending Mass for the pilgrims who will be attending World Youth Day in Portugal; the next day was the Diocesan Eucharistic Rally and Mass, which drew about 10,000 people from parishes and missions throughout the state to the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy. Then, this past Saturday, four people were recognized at a Mass for their help in making the Cathedral of the Madeleine what it is today.

Looking at these events collectively, I see the future, the present and the past of the Church in Utah: The three ordinandi are all young men; God willing, they will minister for decades here. The teenagers and young adults attending WYD will, Deo volente, in the years to come grow to be leaders in their parishes and the diocese. The attendance at the rally, and the enthusiasm the event engendered, showed that “Catholics are still alive in the state of Utah,” as Bishop Oscar A. Solis said during the Mass. All of this builds on the past, including the work done 30 years ago to restore the cathedral, the diocese’s mother church. 

I was blessed to attend all of these events. Each of them individually was inspiring; taken together they granted me a greater appreciation of our local Church. I expect this appreciation was enhanced by one of the fun aspects of my job, photography, because it keeps me focused on details I would otherwise ignore, or not see. For example, during the sending Mass I got to watch one of the pilgrims interact with one of the Carmelite nuns. I didn’t overhear any of the conversation, so I don’t know if the young woman was discussing her vocation, but even if that wasn’t the case it was wonderful to see how the nun was sharing her own joy-filled life that is dedicated to the Lord.

Another moment that struck me was during the ordination Mass, when the ordinandi lay prostrate on the floor during the Litany of Supplication. I’ve photographed this scene numerous times over the years, and this was the first time that I was able to see more than a sliver of a face: Fr. Oscar Marquina was laying so that I could see him in profile, and somehow that communicated to me what he told me later, that during that litany he felt very powerfully the prayers not only of the congregation but also of the saints. 

At the rally I had an off day, filled with missed photographic opportunities. I won’t recite them; photographers are at least as bad as anglers when we talk about the one that got away. I will say that my failure to get decent photos that day was offset by the others on this newspaper’s staff, who more than made up for my deficiency that day.

 The July 22 Mass for the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene was a reminder of how we today enjoy blessings brought about by the hard work of those who came before. The Cathedral of the Madeleine is an oasis, a quiet place where I and anyone else can retreat to pray, but its beauty would not shine so brightly without the restoration efforts of 30 years ago. At the Mass four people were recognized for leading those efforts, and at the same time an appeal was made to build upon their work: the cathedral floor is once more in need of restoration, and if future generations are to appreciate what we may take for granted today, we must contribute to its preservation.

These past few weeks have led me to offer prayers of thanksgiving for all God has given our local Church in the past and in the present, and in the hope of the future. Bonum est Deus. Amen.