Mass Mob crowds Our Lady of Lourdes Parish pews

Friday, Jan. 23, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY — More than 150 members of the Salt Lake City Diocese Young Adult community participated in the first Mass Mob in Utah, filling the pews of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Jan. 17, bringing with them family members and friends.

“The Mass Mob is a relatively new concept to show solidarity of our Catholic faith through respect for our old historic churches,” said Dr. Natalie Rodden, who along with Hilary Leonard came up with the idea; they are members of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. “People organize covertly, often through the aid of social media, and gather for Mass on a specific day at a particular parish to showcase its unique importance to the historic integrity of the diocese. They experience the church’s beauty as a way to be renewed in faith.” 

Our Lady of Lourdes celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2014, and with lower numbers in the pews during the Masses lately, Leonard wanted to “create new energy to go along with what others are doing who are working so hard in the parish,” she said. “It was a way to surprise them.” 

While talking to the group of young adults after Mass, Father J.J. Schwall, pastor, said, “What you did was fantastic for us. The parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes can sometimes get kind of discouraged because of the dwindling numbers of people who are coming to Mass on Sundays; the demographics in our parish are a little skewed toward older rather than younger parishioners. I do so much care that you came here tonight; this is a great honor for the parish.”

Continuing on with the thought of his homily on vocations, Fr. Schwall told the young adults, “I hope with all my heart that you continue to answer God’s call for you. What you did will reverberate, and until we all get to heaven, we’ll never know what goodness God will bring about for you answering the call tonight.”

“It was really impressive and fun to see all the young adults at Mass tonight,” said Kathleen Leonard, a longtime parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes.

“Including and empowering the young adults in leadership roles is very important, especially when we are able to show their presence to a community like Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and let them know there is a group of young adults in the diocese who are very passionate about their faith,” said Samantha Almanza, director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, following the Mass.

The young adults exhibited enthusiasm and support in participating in the first Mass Mob. 

“It was a really cool experience to see the church filling up and to see everyone so excited about being at Mass today,” said Kaylin Bergeson, a Saint Catherine of Siena Newman Center parishioner and University of Utah freshman. 

“It was cool to see how much joy there is in this parish, and it was also cool to see a Church so rich in tradition, especially when you don’t see a lot of stained-glass windows in churches anymore. I really miss them,” said Samantha Millsap, also from the Newman Center and a senior at the University of Utah.  “My home parish in Spokane, Wash., has stained-glass windows.”

Mass Mobs originated in Buffalo, N.Y. in 2013 and have spread to cities such as Detroit, Pittsburgh and New Orleans.

“Events have been successful, some gathering as many as 2,000 people, providing quite a boost in the pews and collection baskets,” said Rodden. “We are so excited to start this in Utah. It is our hope to create more awareness and appreciation for the sacred sites in our diocese.”