Mancuso's Religious Goods store is for sale

Intermountain Catholic

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Nora and Carmen Mancuso have operated their business for 22 years. IC photo/Christine Young

SALT LAKE CITY — After 22 years, Carmen and Nora Mancuso have decided to sell Mancuso’s Religious Goods, Gifts & Books, Inc., located at 1816 S. State St. in Salt Lake City, due to health reasons. Their other four properties on the same lot also are for sale.

"We have almost an acre that includes two houses, a tattoo shop, parking lot and the store," said Carmen Mancuso. "If someone doesn’t want to buy all of it, they can buy the inventory of the store and move the business to another location, hopefully close to this area because this is a good location; it’s close to the freeway. We have customers from Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada and Arizona. I feel bad that we have to close, but sooner or later there comes a time in life when you have to close."

"Religion has always been a part of our lives and this store has been our life, our way of evangelizing," said Nora. "A lot of conversions have happened as a result of this store that we know of, and probably many that we don’t know of. One man who came in all the time and bought books asked us to be his godparents."

Another man came in because he suddenly wanted to buy some rosary beads and to learn to pray the rosary, she said.

The couple, who are members of Saint Ann Parish, opened the store after Carmen retired from Utah Power & Light. Nora had worked at the Intermountain Catholic and for the Airport Holiday Inn. "I had also been involved in the Legion of Mary, catechism, RCIA, Renew and directed the lay associate program for the Sisters of the Incarnate Word at Saint Joseph Villa," said Nora.

Monsignor Colin F. Bircumshaw, vicar general for the Diocese of Salt Lake City, has known the Mancusos since he was first ordained a priest in the 1970s, he said. "They were active members of Saint Ann Parish and involved in many events and functions, and founded the RCIA program and ran it for 20 or so years, until after I was made pastor of St. Ann."

The idea of the store came about after Carmen surprised Nora with a late anniversary trip to Medjugorje. When they returned they felt they needed to do more than what they were doing, Nora said.

The store opened in 1991 next door to where it is now located. "We were just going to open a book store, and never intended to sell gifts," said Nora. "But on Holy Saturday after we opened, people were lined up outside trying to get in. So we started getting more religious gifts and the priests started asking for more church goods such as candles. We bought the inventory from the Catholic Center on Main Street when it closed in July of 1996."

The Mancusos did the diocese a great favor when they took over the Catholic Center on Main Street, said Msgr. Bircumshaw. "The center was associated with the St. Paul Chapel, owned by the diocese, but run by the Paulist Fathers, and then for a brief time by the Blessed Sacrament Fathers. When it had to close, the Mancusos took it over, purchased the inventory, and took a big liability off the diocese."

The Mancusos have been very generous with their service to the diocese for many years, Msgr. Bircumshaw said. "We will sorely miss their personalized and local service to the parishes and pastors. They ran their religious goods supply store as a ministry more than a for-profit business, and that is going to be very hard to replace. As so often happens, their contributions will not be fully appreciated, I am afraid, until after they have retired."

Outgoing Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon said the store has been his neighbor for the last eight years. "I’ve certainly enjoyed shopping there; they have great gifts, crosses and jewelry for confirmation, baptisms and Christmas time," he said.

Cathy Paiz, Cathedral of the Madeleine religious education coordinator, said Mancuso’s has been a foundation in our community for years "for children’s religious education and for my own spiritual needs," she said. "It’s so convenient on State Street near where I live. They have such an array of gifts, and they are also willing to take orders for you."

Mancuso’s is convenient for the clergy, said Deacon Lynn Johnson, also from the Cathedral of the Madeleine. "It’s really going to be hard to imagine Catholic Salt Lake without Mancuso’s."

"They treat you like family," said Father Eleazar Silva, Cathedral of the Madeleine parochial vicar. "When you go in they know you, they know your needs and it’s nice for us priests to have their support. It will be sad to see them go."

The Mancusos will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in July. They met in high school while Carmen was playing Catholic youth basketball for Saint Patrick Parish at Judge Memorial Catholic High School and Nora was there to watch another team play, said Carmen.

"I looked up in the stands and I saw Nora and I knew that was the gal I was going to marry," he said. "And we’ve been together ever since."

"We married right out of high school," said Nora. "He went to South High School and I went to Judge."

"Our whole lives have been on this corner of State Street," said Nora. "We lived in an apartment two properties south of the store, when we first got married, then we bought a duplex and lived in one side for a while before we tore it down. Before that, Carmen’s parents had a grocery here.

"Bishop George Niederhauer blessed and dedicated our store when we opened and I think the Blessed Mother has protected us all these years."