Chapel dedicated at Holy Cross Hospital, West Valley

Friday, Jul. 18, 2025

WEST VALLEY CITY — On June 30, Bishop Oscar A. Solis dedicated the chapel of Holy Cross Hospital West Valley and blessed the altar before celebrating Mass in the small room just inside the building’s entrance.

The hospital is one of five bearing the name Holy Cross that is operated in Utah by CommonSpirit. A chapel in each of the other hospitals is expected to be opened in the coming months.

Concelebrating the Mass were Father John Evans, vicar general; Father Godwin (Tema) Nnamezie and Father Gregory N. Ezeanya. Fr. Nnamezie is director of mission integration for the hospital, and Fr. Ezeanya is a chaplain for Holy Cross Hospitals. Assisting were Deacon John Kranz, chancellor, and Deacon Tom Tosti.

The chapel is “a beautiful manifestation of the presence of God in our midst,” the bishop said in his homily.

He invited those present to reflect on the healing ministry of Christ, “which continues to this day,” he said.

“The invocation of the name of Jesus has a tremendous significance and importance in the lives of people up to today, since the world came to know Christ as the promised messiah and savior who came into the world,” he said.

Jesus’ healing ministry was “manifestation of who he is – his identity as the promised messiah and savior of the world,” the bishop said, adding that Christ’s message of salvation reflected “God’s compassion love and mercy for those in need.”

“It was also about the mercy and compassion that Christ personified when he came into this world,” Bishop Solis said. “This is what we celebrate when we bless this chapel: We celebrate the existence and the reality of God’s continuing presence in our world.”

“The healing ministry of Holy Cross Catholic Hospital is a message to the world that there is a God who loves, a God who exists, a God who cares, and a God who saves and heals,” he said, and told the doctors, medical staff and all those who work in the hospital that they “are ministers of the Gospel and the good news of God’s love and salvation to all the people who come to this hospital.”

Among those present for the celebration were senior leaders of CommonSpirit and the hospital staff, members of the local Chamber of Commerce, local government leaders and leaders of other faith denominations.

Following the Mass was a ribbon cutting. In her remarks, Christine McSweeney, president of Holy Cross Hospital West Valley said the dedication of the chapel was “a remarkable milestone” for CommonSpirit Health, which “is a faith-based hospital system, the only one in Utah … and we have a commitment as a part of our mission to provide for the spiritual needs of our patients and their family members. This chapel will be an important part of what we can provide here at the hospital.”

Mayor Karen Lang of West Valley City welcomed “this beautiful chapel to CommonSpirit Holy Cross Hospital and to our broader community,” she said, saying that it would be a sacred space that would serve as a refuge for many people, such as those facing a difficult diagnosis or celebrating the birth of a child.

Lang thanked the hospital leadership “for recognizing that health care is not only about medicine but about the whole person,” she said. “Thank you for investing in a place that honors the spirit and brings comfort to all who enter.”

Mass will be celebrated in the chapel every Thursday at 12:05 p.m. All are welcome.