Farewell planned for Fr. Dominic Briese, OP

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TAYLORSVILLE — Father Dominic Briese, OP, pastor of St. Martin de Porres Parish in Taylorsville, is leaving Utah, having been reassigned by his religious order.

Fr. Dominic, who has ministered in the Diocese of Salt Lake City for the past 13 years, has been elected prior of Blessed Sacrament Priory and Church in Seattle, Wash., which is owned and operated by the Order of Preachers and is within the jurisdiction of the Western Dominican Province, to which Fr. Dominic belongs.

“It’s going to be very difficult for me to leave, because this, in a sense, is where I found my vocation, and this is where I’ve practiced my vocation as a priest for half of my life,” said Fr. Dominic, who was ordained in 1996. “And I’m going from a relatively religious state to a relatively unchurched state. I’m going from a bishop that I know pretty well and a presbyterate that I know very well to a place where I don’t know anyone.”

Although Fr. Dominic is originally from Long Island, N.Y., his connection to the Beehive State runs deep. At the age of 18 he came here to study business and finance at the University of Utah, receiving a bachelor’s degree in finance in 1983. Very quickly, he was embraced by the Dominicans at St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center.

“I don’t exactly know why I chose the University of Utah,” he said. “I had never been here before. I didn’t know anyone here. And then, in retrospect, of course, this is where I found my vocation. So, I have a funny feeling it was God sort of working his incredible magic.”

After graduation he took a job as a contracting negotiator at Hill Air Force Base, but remained immersed in the Newman Center activities.

“I would do pretty much anything for the Church in the evening, and it got to a point where I was so involved that I had to make up my mind whether I would basically continue,” he said.

After five years Fr. Dominic decided to explore a religious vocation. Given his close relationships with the Dominican priests at the Newman Center, he chose to enter the Order of Preachers.

“I was impressed by just them being just really good human beings, and then I was attracted to the preaching and the teaching ministry that they focused on,” he said.

In 1988 he entered the Western Dominican Province to study for the priesthood; eight years later he was ordained a priest at Saint Dominic Catholic Church in San Francisco. His first assignment was as associate pastor at St. Dominic Parish in Phoenix, Ariz. He then became a pastor at St. Dominic Parish in Benecia, Calif.

After serving as part of the order’s preaching and teaching team for five years, Fr. Dominic came to Utah and served at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Holladay for a couple of months in 2012. He was then assigned to live at the University of Utah Newman Center and teach theology at Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City. He also served as the school’s chaplain.

After five years at Judge, he served three years as a theology teacher and chaplain at Juan Diego Catholic High School in Draper. When, in 2020, Bishop Oscar A. Solis asked him to become pastor of St. Martin de Porres Parish, he agreed.

During the past five years the parish has seen tremendous growth, tripling its congregation, Fr. Dominic said. He attributes this success to the parish’s leaders and volunteers.

“We have so many people with generous hearts who are volunteers,” he said. “There are a lot of people doing a lot of really wonderful things. And when new people come, they feel a Spirit, the Holy Spirit, moving, and it moves them to worship God and to serve others and become volunteers. So, it’s really a team effort.”

Many parishioners feel Fr. Dominic has been a large part of making the parish a welcoming community.

Deacon Joaquin Mixco has worked alongside Fr. Dominic at St. Martin de Porres for the past four years; it has been a powerful learning experience, he said.

“His gifts, his charisms are many,” he said. “I’m very humbled to have been part of his community, and we’re all very, very sorry to lose him, because he’s unique. He’s unique among the different administrators I’ve worked under.”

Deacon Mixco has known Fr. Dominic since he himself was a student at Judge. At a wedding of one of his teachers where Fr. Dominic officiated, “I found a great admiration and appreciation for Father’s pastoral style that’s very down to earth and very caring and very personal. With him, it’s about a personal connection. There’s just so many deep and interesting aspects to him.”

As a member of the parish council and as parish coordinator, Connie Gardner also has worked beside Fr. Dominic.

“He is a gifted preacher; he brings the Gospel alive in every homily that he preaches,” she said. “He makes the Gospel very real and meaningful in people’s lives.”

Fr. Dominic is also a very caring pastor, she added. “He’s a very loved pastor, and he is very attentive to pastoral care. A person in our parish would not be surprised to see a phone call coming in from Fr. Dominic when they’re ill, to check on them.”

St. Martin de Porres Parish has been one of Fr. Dominic’s favorite assignments, he said. “Every time we want to do something, God seems to be able to put the right people in the right spot to do the right thing,” he said. “We’ve never faced a challenge that hasn’t come with almost an immediate solution.”

In the future, Fr. Dominic hopes to return to Utah; he considers it his home, he said.

“I’m just really, really grateful to the different bishops that I have worked under, the presbytery, the principals, the student body, and, of course, the parish – St Martin de Porres and the people there,” he said. “I’m just very grateful to see God working in their lives and all of our lives. I’m very, very grateful.”

WHAT: Farewell for Father Dominic Briese, OP

WHEN: Sunday, April 27, 5-8 p.m.

WHERE: St. Martin de Porres Parish, 4914 South 2200 West, Taylorsville

Because a large number of people is expected, organizers are asking that those who plan to attend RSVP to stmartindeporres2200@gmail.com by April 11.