In book about Mass in all 50 states, author to highlight Utah's St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center

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Daniel Markham

SALT LAKE CITY – Although the theology is the same wherever you go, the parishes of the Catholic Church in the United States are as different as the 50 states where they are located. From large cathedrals to tiny mission chapels, from parishes with active and dynamic ministries to those that struggle to serve their parishioners in far flung villages, they each have a unique flavor. It is that essence that writer Daniel Markham hopes to capture in a book he is working on.

For the book, 52 Masses, he will visit a parish in each of the 50 United States, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

“My dearest hope for the book is to present a full and compelling picture of Catholic life in the United States and all that it has to offer,” he said.

Markham has been planning this project for five years and was ready to embark on it in January, but COVID slowed down his plans. The original plan to complete the project in one year has also been affected; with the pandemic still a concern in certain areas, he will complete his visits as soon as it is possible. He began his visits in early June and has already found the experience very rewarding.

Markham recently visited Salt Lake City, where he attended Mass at St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center and spent time with the pastor, Father Jacek Buda, O.P., and several parishioners. He was in Utah for personal business but hopes to return in the fall when the University of Utah schedule is in full swing. Salt Lake City is the fifth place he has visited.

Markham said he chose St. Catherine of Siena Parish because he wanted to include in the book Mass at a Newman Center, and was interested in Catholic life in a state where Catholics are in the minority, but “this is about building a parish in a unique setting that is so much different than my suburban parish that is made up of families. It’s constantly changing as students graduate and as professors move in and out.”

“There are things all of us can take from the young people’s experience here,” he added.

The 52 Masses project grew out of an initial idea Markham had to attend Mass at all the parishes in his home diocese of Gary, Ind., (he has since moved to Chicago), but he then decided to expand the project to include the whole country. He reached out to bishops and archbishops and then emailed parishes across the U.S.

Markham said he feels called to do this project. “It went from this thing that I could do to this thing that I’m supposed to do,” he said. “Every aspect of it is spiritually enriching for me.”

Along with chronicling the life of the Church in the U.S., Markham also hopes to share the experiences and successes of different parishes and their ministries as he makes his way from coast to coast.

In the book “I hope that people can see things that are working in another parish and say, ‘We might be able to apply that here,’” he said. “I do hope to speak to people in that sense; I can convey that information.”

“By telling 52 small stories, just stories of faith, by telling about so many diverse communities, whether it’s a Native American reservation or a Hispanic parish in Texas, I can paint a picture of what Catholic life is; that’s what I hope,” he said.

For himself, “I just want to come home a better Catholic in every way, to have my faith strengthened, my knowledge of the faith strengthened,” he said.

A former newspaper and freelance writer, Markham is editor-in-chief at Metal Center News, a metals distribution industry trade magazine. He will complete the project while retaining his fulltime employment. Upon completion, the book will be published by Peregrino Press.