Thank You For Your Ministry: Fr. Michael Sciumbato
Fr. Michael Sciumbato, a native of Utah and a graduate of South High School in Salt Lake City, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and communications from the University of Utah, then went on to earned a Juris Doctor degree from the U’s S.J. Quinney College of Law.
During that time, he was an active participant in the activities at St. Ann Catholic Church, his home parish, where he was a lector, a cantor and sang in the choir.
After Fr. Sciumbato’s father passed away in 1985, he felt a responsibility to take care of his mother, and worked as an attorney in private practice for eight years. Still, he continued to feel a call to the priesthood.
“I practiced law for eight years, but all that time, and even as a child, I knew God had a call for me,” Fr. Sciumbato said in a previous interview.
Eventually he entered Mt. Angel Seminary, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained a priest on June 25, 1994 by the Most Rev. William K. Weigand, seventh Bishop of Salt Lake City, at the Cathedral of the Madeleine.
After being ordained a priest, he was sent by the diocese to Mexico to learn Spanish.
During his years of ministry in the diocese, he served as parochial vicar at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Layton, and taught at St. Joseph Catholic High School. He then served as pastor of the parishes of St. Elizabeth and its missions in Torrey, Ephraim and the Central Utah Correctional Facility, Notre Dame de Lourdes, St. James the Just, Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Ann.
In addition, Fr. Sciumbato administered pastoral care at the University of Utah Medical Center, Primary Children’s Medical Center and the Huntsman Cancer Center. In 2018 he was assigned as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Ogden, the post from which he is retiring.
“He has been doing tremendous work with the Spanish-speaking people, with those who have no privileges, with the marginalized,” said Msgr. Michael Winterer, a retired priest of the diocese, at the 25th priesthood ordination celebration for Fr. Sciumbato in 2019.
Msgr. Winterer said he asked some of people about Fr. Sciumbato’s best qualities, and their answer was, “He cares. He loves us.”
A retirement celebration is being planned for Fr. Sciumbato, but the date has not been set.
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