Year in Review

Friday, Dec. 26, 2014

The Diocese of Salt Lake City saw many highlights in 2014. Most significant among these was the priestly ordination of Father Jorge Roldán Sánchez, now parochial vicar at Saint Mary of the Assumption Parish in Park City, and the ordination to the transitional diaconate of Joseph Delka and David Trujillo, who returned to their seminarian studies and are scheduled to be ordained to the priesthood next spring.

Also during the last year, 85 lay ecclesial ministers were certified; they will serve various functions in the diocese and their parishes.

The year began on a healing note, as Father Javier Virgen blessed several statues that had been broken the previous August when vandals damaged Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Magna. The repaired statues were installed during the Jan. 5 Mass.

The first part of the year also saw the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, and the Right Rev. Scott B. Hayashi, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, commemorate the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity by preaching at each other’s cathedral. Also, in February, the Hispanic Cathedral Choir performed during the 2014 Interfaith Musical Tribute at the Tabernacle, the first time that a Hispanic Catholic group had sung at this event.

The diocese started several efforts this year that will continue into next. At the Pastoral Congress in September, Bishop Wester unveiled the Pastoral Plan, which will set the priorities for the next five years. Also, at Advent, the 40-hours devotion for vocations began. Each parish throughout Utah will host this devotion for one week to pray before the Blessed Sacrament in solemn exposition with an emphasis on praying for vocations in the diocese.

On the social justice front in 2014, Salt Lake City was a stop on the national Fast for Families bus tour on March 8; the riders were welcomed by Bishop Wester along with a number of other representatives of the Utah faith community. In April, Bishop Wester traveled to the U.S-Mexico border for a Mass in remembrance of migrants who have died attempting to reach the U.S.; he also spoke at an international migration meeting at the Vatican.

A number of significant anniversaries were observed in the diocese during the course of 2014: Saint Paul Center in Hurricane celebrated its five-year anniversary; the 2004 Diocese of Salt Lake City deacon class had their 10-year anniversary; Saint Catherine of Siena Newman Center observed the 10-year anniversary of its new chapel; Our Lady of the Snows marked its 20-year anniversary; the Choir of the Cathedral of the Madeleine is observing its 25th year; and the Saint Olaf Knights of Columbus Council 5502, Saint Joseph the Worker Parish and Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic School all celebrated their 50th anniversary. Also, Holy Cross Sister Karla McKinnie, Monsignor Robert Servatius and Father Stanislaw Herba each celebrated their Golden Jubilee.

Meanwhile, there were a number of new beginnings. Breaking ground in Ogden were Give Me a Chance’s Guadalupe Garden, the Lantern House/St. Ann’s Center and Saint Joseph Parish’s religious education building; while Saint Joseph Parish in Monticello began building a new church. Also, St. Joseph Schools hosted their inaugural Aquinas Institute event for social justice discussions.

Catholics in Utah were able to attend presentations by renowned speakers: Franciscan Sister Florence Deacon gave the 2014 Aquinas Lecture Jan. 26; Alejandro Aguilera-Titus, assistant director in the Office of Cultural Diversity at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops presented workshops in April; Mary Ann Kuharski, director of PROLIFE Across America, spoke locally in February; David Bereit, founder of 40 Days for Life national coordinator, was at a rally outside a Salt Lake City abortion clinic on Ash Wednesday; Tim Staples, director of apologetics and evangelization at “Catholic Answers,” gave a talk at Blessed Sacrament Parish April 12; Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco was the keynote speaker at the annual Bishop’s Dinner; Hosffman Ospino, Boston College assistant professor, gave the keynote address at the 2014 Pastoral Congress; and Father Timothy Radcliffe, O.P. spoke at Saint Vincent de Paul Parish on Oct. 10. Also, the University of Santo Tomas Singers gave a concert at Judge Memorial Catholic High School on July 13.  

The Diocese of Salt Lake City hosted several regional and national events in 2014, such as the annual Western Canon Law Society of America Regional Convention in March and the Girl Scouts of the USA National Convention in October. Also, the diocese was the first in the United States to have an Intercultural Competency for Ministers workshop in Spanish. At a local level, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Salt Lake City hosted the annual Inclusion Center for Community and Justice’s Thanksgiving Interfaith Service in November. 

Utah Catholic Schools celebrated many achievements during the year, starting off by exceeding their $100,000 goal for the Souper Bowl of Caring, which primarily benefited CCS. Regional championships were won by the Judge Memorial girls swim team, the girls basketball team, the girls golf and girls track and field teams; Juan Diego Catholic School’s boys soccer; as well as the Saint Joseph Catholic High School girls basketball team, the boys golf team and both the boys and girls cross country teams. The Jayhawks also were co-region champions in girls volleyball and boys baseball.

State titles were claimed by the SJCHS girls tennis team, the JDCHS boys’ tennis and JMCHS’ football team.

In addition, Bulldog senior Jim Best-Devereux earned a top composite ACT score, while JDCHS took its fourth straight state title in debate, Soaring Eagle sophomore Lauren Popp won first place in the Grade 10 Division of the 2014 U.S. Try Prayer! It Works! National contest sponsored by Family Rosary; and JDCHS senior Andrew Montoya was named Player of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association. 

Also, SJCHS was named one of “America’s Most Challenging High Schools” by the Washington Post.

In the diocese, a number of people received individual honors: Bishop Wester was presented with the Legacy of Life award from the Intermountain Research and Medical Foundation as well as the 2014 Christ the Teacher Award from Utah Catholic Schools; Roxanne Kammerer, senior class advisor/college counselor at JDCHS, was one of three winners for the inaugural “I Love My Schools Counselor” award from The Utah School Counselor Association; Linda Simpson, JMCHS English teacher and Evelyn Sadler, the school’s liaison for Operation Healthy Teeth, were honored as “Women of Distinction” by the Consociates Auxiliary of Assistance League of Salt Lake City; United Way of Northern Utah honored the Knights of Columbus of Northern Utah with the President’s Award and Saint James the Just Parish with the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award; Kristin Fink, a Utah State University educator and Saint Martin de Porres parishioner, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Character Education Partnership; Special Olympics of Utah honored the Knights of Columbus with the Community Partner Award and Pamela Hayden, a St. Rose of Lima parishioner, as the 2014 Program Builder; and Palmer DePaulis, a St. Catherine of Siena parishioner, accepted the Career Humanitarian Award from the Utah Society of Fund Raisers and the Utah Nonprofits Association. Holy Cross Sister Suzanne Brennan, executive director of Holy Cross Ministries, was elected to her order’s general treasurer; while Holy Cross Sister Karla McKinnie was elected an area councilor. 

The diocese saw a couple of new faces this year, while familiar people departed. Karin Hurley became the new director of development and stewardship at the first of the year, only to step down in late summer to accompany her husband as he accepted a position out of state. John Kaloudis took the helm of the Office of Development and Stewardship in September. Also, the Cathedral of the Madeleine has a new organist, Gabriele Terrone; and Susan Dennin was hired as the diocese’s full-time director of communications. Dominican Father Peter Hannah has been assigned to Saint Catherine of Siena Newman Center, as Dominican Father Peter Do was re-assigned to Saint Thomas More Newman Center at the University of Oregon in Eugene, while Jesuit Father Paul McCarthy, who had served as parochial vicar of St. Thomas More Parish, moved to his order’s retirement home in New York. 

This year marked the passing of Jesuit Father Joseph S. Rooney; Father James Semple; Benedictine Sr. Marion (Mary Louise) Sauer; Brother James (Anthony) Ornelas, SSS; Kent Lowe, Cathedral of the Madeleine sacristan and candidate in the permanent deacon class; and Don Ellefesen, who helped found Catholic Scouting in Utah.