Fr. Dominic Briese celebrates 25th anniversary of ordination

Intermountain Catholic

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Fr. Dominic Briese, OP (center) was presented with an apostolic blessing at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church on June 1, the 25th anniversary of his ordination as a priest. He is shown processing from that afternoon's Mass with Dominican Fr. David Orique, a former classmate who was visiting the parish, where Fr. Dominic serves as pastor. Members of the Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree provided an honor guard for the occasion. IC photo/Marie Mischel

TAYLORSVILLE — On June 1, Dominican Fr. Dominic Briese went for a walk, then headed for St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church for the rosary and to celebrate daily Mass, “like every other Tuesday afternoon,” he said.

But as he sat beside the altar while reciting the rosary, he was surprised to see members of the parish’s Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree, in their dress uniforms, enter the church’s vestibule. Then he saw the president of the parish council come in “with a big smile on his face,” as well as other parishioners who didn’t normally join “the true faithful of the Tuesday night Mass,” he said. 

At that point, he may have had an inkling of what was to come: The day was, after all, the 25th anniversary of his priestly ordination. 

Fr. Dominic, who was ordained June 1, 1996 at St. Dominic’s Church in San Francisco by Bishop Carlos Sevilla for the Western Dominican Province, has served as pastor of St. Martin de Porres Parish since August. Previously, he served as chaplain/teacher at St. Catherine of Siena and Judge Memorial Catholic High School since arriving in the diocese in 2012. That was a homecoming of sorts for him, because before entering St. Albert’s Priory he graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in finance. 

A native of New York, in 1996 he earned a Master’s of Divinity from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley. He speaks both English and Spanish, having studied the language in Mexico. Before coming to Utah, he served at Most Holy Trinity Parish in Phoenix, Ariz.; St. Dominic’s Church in San Francisco; as director of the Newman Center at the University of Las Vegas; at St. Dominic’s Parish in Sacramento, Calif.; and as a preacher at St. Albert’s Priory in Oakland, Calif.

At St. Martin de Porres on the anniversary of his ordination, he was joined in celebrating the Mass by a former classmate, Dominican Fr. David Orique. Deacon Joaquin Mixco assisted. The Knights of Columbus provided an honor guard. 

In his homily, Fr. Dominic said that a priest “is somehow supposed to link heaven and earth, and I hope I’ve done that over the past 25 years. I’m sure there have been stumbles along the way, but hopefully I’ve done that.”

Just prior to the dismissal of the Mass, Robert Woods, president of the parish council, approached the lectern to make a few comments.

The parish’s previous pastor, Fr. Jan Bednarz, who served there for 17 years before retiring last year, “always prayed for our parish, and he prayed for parishioners and he prayed for our future,” Woods said. Then, addressing Fr. Dominic, he said, “I truly believe his prayers were answered when the bishop sent you here.”

On behalf of St. Martin de Porres parishioners, Woods presented Fr. Dominic with an apostolic blessing that they had obtained from the Vatican. 

Parishioners also had the chance to celebrate the anniversary with Fr. Dominic following the Masses on Sunday, when cake was served in the parish hall.