Faith, fun and family featured at Catholic Day at Lagoon

Intermountain Catholic

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Father Robert Moriarty celebrates the Mass to kick off Catholic Day at Lagoon.

FARMINGTON - A century-old tradition had another successful outing Sunday, as hundreds of people from throughout the diocese gathered for the annual Catholic Day at Lagoon.

"The program hasn't really changed in 105 years," said Tom Catrow, financial secretary for Knights of Columbus Council 602, which sponsors the event. A program from the early years shows the same menu and kids games as took place this year, he said.

"It's a great time for us to come together as Catholics and enjoy the company of one another and to celebrate our identity here in Utah," said Father Rob Moriarty, pastor of Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Kearns, who celebrated the Mass during the event.

This was the first year that Fr. Moriarty presided at the Catholic Day Mass, but he has enjoyed several past events. "It's always neat for me to come and see people I haven't seen in a while," he said. "What's intriguing to me is to see how many people from various parishes come together for this. What I've noticed over the years that I've been coming to Catholic days is there's a lot more cultural diversity - you see a lot more of the Spanish-speaking crowd here than we have in years past."

Among those at this year's event was Nora Gruet from Saint Joseph Parish in Ogden, who came with three generations of her family, about 25 people in all. "We come every year," she said. "We never miss it."

The Freston family from St. Mary Catholic Church in West Haven also attended. "The kids love Lagoon," said Frankijo Freston. "We come and be with our Catholic friends."

The day began with the Mass, which Fr. Moriarty offered for Carmelite Sister Mary Joseph, the extern sister for the monastery in Holladay, who was in the hospital.

The Knights sponsor the Carmelite Fair each fall, and at the last state council Sr. Mary Joseph addressed them about her order. "She is near and dear to their hearts," Fr. Moriarty said.

Catholic Day is a fundraiser for a number of Council 602's charities, including the bishop's fund, which supports Utah missions; and the Christopher's Fund, which is part of Right to Life, said Catrow, adding that for him, the highlights are "raising enough money to support our charities, and then also bringing our community together, which is really neat. You see faces you haven't seen for a long time. Last year I ran into a few people I hadn't seen since going to school at Judge."