Monks' donation allows second story for Saint Joseph Parish's new religious education building

Friday, Aug. 29, 2014

OGDEN — With more than 700 children enrolled in religious education classes, Saint Joseph Parish in Ogden faced overfull classrooms in an outdated building just north of the church. Fundraising for a new facility began more than 10 years ago, but it wasn’t until this year that the parish broke ground for a 17,000-square-foot building that will host not only classrooms but the parish offices.

“This groundbreaking is not the accomplishment of one person or one family or one parish, but the accomplishment and charity of the Diocese of Salt Lake, along with the charity of the Trappist monks in Huntsville, and the charity of all the parishioners of St. Joseph and many other generous benefactors who have been willing to give of their time, talent and treasures,” said Father Ken Vialpando, pastor, during the Aug. 16 groundbreaking ceremony.

Original plans were for a one-story building. However, when Fr. Vialpando approached Abbot Brendan Freeman of the Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity in Huntsville for a donation, “I was floored when he looked me in the eye and said, ‘The monks of the abbey and I would like to give your parish a check for over $500,000,’” Fr. Vialpando said, to cheers from the audience.

That donation will pay for a second story on the new building, he added.

In his remarks at the ceremony, Abbot Freeman said the parish’s burgeoning religious education program “is a revitalization of the faith” at St. Joseph Parish. 

When monks formed the abbey in 1947, they tilled the soil and raised cattle, the abbot said, so “the money you are given comes from the work of their hands and the sweat from their brows. This is not corporation money, this is money from the ordinary working men; the monks are honored to share it with you, and it is our privilege to do so.” 

Representing the Diocese of Salt Lake City at the ceremony were Bishop John C. Wester; Monsignor Colin F. Bircumshaw, vicar general; and Monsignor J. Terrance Fitzgerald, vicar general emeritus.

The property for the new religious education building was obtained while Msgr. Bircumshaw was pastor of St. Joseph Parish from 1994 to 2003, “when he had enough insight, wisdom and vision to purchase the property, knowing that we would need it for future use,” Fr. Vialpando said.

Among those the pastor thanked during the ceremony was the past chairman of the Building Fund Committee, John Nailen, who died last year. 

“Even though John cannot be with us today, physically, we know that he is in heaven, praying and interceding for us like nothing else,” Fr. Vialpando said.

Everyone who has given to the building effort, whether it was $5 or $500,000 deserves recognition, he said, but he singled out Sandy Nailen, Jackie Traynor and Judith Wood, who collectively donated more than $100,000.

“There are times when we need to highlight the generosity of women like this, who are widows or who live alone, knowing that these women didn’t have to give … more than their fair share, yet they did by giving above and beyond the amount asked of each family. These women could have taken this money that they gave to the church and handed it off to their children or grandchildren and generations to follow, yet they chose to give it to St. Joseph Catholic Church,” Fr. Vialpando said.

The new building is a sign of how seriously those in the diocese take their sacred responsibility to help parents educate children in the faith, Bishop Wester said in his comments. With the new facility, Catholics are “making real the presence of Christ in Ogden in a very concrete way,” the bishop said.

Construction of the new building, which was expected to start this week, is anticipated to be complete in the spring, said Ray Bertoldi, the project architect.