130 years for Saint Mary of the Assumption Parish

Intermountain Catholic

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Saint Mary of the Assumption parishioners celebrated their 130th anniversary and the Feast of the Assumption with a procession from the Old Town Chapel to the newer church on White Pine Canyon Road.

PARK CITY — Saint Mary of the Assumption parishioners marked the 130th anniversary of their church on Aug. 14 in a style befitting Park City – they walked about four miles, praying the rosary and singing as they celebrated not only their history but also their patron saint.

The Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, joined the procession and gave permission for the parish to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption a day early.

"I feel your enthusiasm," Bishop Wester told the parishioners after the walk. "There’s a real spirit here, a real joy. This is a family, where people can come together to learn from each other and support one another."

Saint Mary of the Assumption is the oldest Catholic church in Utah. The parish’s first church, of wood, burned in 1882, a year after it was built. It was succeeded by a stone church, which was completed in 1884. In the 1950s fire struck again, destroying the structure’s interior and roof.

Jim Weaver, one of St. Mary of the Assumption’s oldest living parishioners, remembers that fire.

"It was very hard; the mines were down and nobody had any money," he said.

Despite then-Bishop Joseph L. Federal’s initial reluctance, parishioners rebuilt the church.

"They paid the workers something like $18.75 a week to work on the church," said Weaver, who was baptized in the parish and returned after a stint in the U.S. Navy.

As Park City’s economy rebounded, so did the parish. By the 1990s the congregation was so large that they videotaped the Mass so it could be shown to overflow crowds in the parish hall, Weaver said.

In 1991, the Ivers family donated five acres of land on White Pine Canyon Road, and a new church was built. It was dedicated on Aug. 15, 1997, the Feast of Saint Mary of the Assumption.

During last Sunday’s celebration, Bishop Wester thanked Sally Ivers for her family’s donation of the land, and extended thanks to everyone in the parish. "All of us contribute according to what God allows us to do," he said. "Each contribution is important."

LaRee White-Engel watched the new church being built. "I always thought how neat it would be to have a church to go to every Sunday," she said.

Some years later, she asked the man she was dating, a practicing Catholic, if she could join him at Mass. Three years ago she was baptized in the church she watched being built, which also was the site of her wedding two years ago. She has "lots of awesome memories" about the parish, where she is a member of the Parish Council and both she and her husband serve as extraordinary ministers of the Holy Communion.

Daily Mass is still celebrated in the original stone church, now known as the Old Town Chapel.

"It is a significant landmark in our historic town, continuing to serve Old Town and acting as a precious reminder of our roots," according to a proclamation signed by Park City Mayor Dana Williams on Aug. 11 in honor of the church’s anniversary.

"From its inception, St. Mary’s attended to the spiritual needs of the local population and also stood as a beacon for the rights of all individuals regardless of origin or religious affiliation – the Chinese, Germans, Poles, Italians, Swedes, Irish and today’s Hispanic community," the resolution reads, in part.

The current parish community has a very deep spirituality, said Father Stanislaw Herba, who first visited Saint Mary of the Assumption Parish in 1989 and became pastor a year ago.

Father Darin Lovelace, rector of Saint John’s Anglican Church, was among those who joined the anniversary celebration. A member of the Park City interfaith group, he said he enjoys occasions where they can share their faith in God. "It feels like brothers and sisters, and to be able to share that is very important. It‘s a blessing."