Militia Immaculata to commemorate 25 years in Utah

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SALT LAKE CITY — The Militia Immaculata, a worldwide evangelization group founded by Saint Maximilian Kolbe, has had a presence in the Diocese of Salt Lake City for 25 years. There are 484 MI members in Utah, although just one parish currently has active groups, known as villages.

On April 27 the MI villages at St. Mary Parish in West Haven will hold a celebration of this anniversary.

The international Militia of the Immaculata is open to Catholics of all walks of life and “encourages all people of good will to develop a trusting relationship with Our Lady,” according to its mission statement.

The organization was founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe, OFMConv. in 1917; the Vicariate of Rome erected it as a Pious Union in 1922. In 1997, the Pontifical Council for the Laity erected the organization as an International Public Association of the Faithful. The organization “encourages total consecration to Mary Immaculate as a means of personal conversion and sanctification, and of spiritual renewal of society,” according to its website.

The Militia Immaculata was brought to Utah in 2000 by Donna and John Masek, who moved here from California two years after they became active in the organization. Deacon Jack Clark has been the MI’s spiritual adviser since 2008.

Becoming involved in the organization and consecrating herself and her life to the Virgin Mary was “life changing,” Donna Masek said. “I’ve been very blessed to have come from generations of people that are Catholic and practice their faith. But along the way, I just felt there was something kind of missing. I needed to do just a little bit more, and it was in the Sacrament of Confession where the confessor said, ‘That’s what consecration is all about.’ And I didn’t know what that was, but it just hit my soul like a sword. It was like, ‘That’s it, that’s it; whatever that is, that’s it.”

Not long after, Masek encountered the Father Kolbe Missionaries and found a way to live the life of consecration she had been seeking. When they moved to Utah and became members of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Sandy, the Maseks encountered another MI member, Laura Anderson. Looking for fellowship, they asked their pastor, Monsignor Robert R. Servatius (now deceased), if they could form a village in the parish. He gave his permission, and eventually two villages were formed.

In 2005, Donna and John Masek became Volunteers of the Institute of the Father Kolbe Missionaries of the Immaculata (the organization’s lay order). In 2008 they moved to the Ogden area, taking the MI with them to St. Mary Parish. Over the years, several MI villages have been active at the West Haven parish, including a Spanish one that was active from 2017 to 2019. Currently, a family village meets monthly and the Knights at the Foot of the Cross village meets every Friday by Zoom. In addition to their regular meetings, the MI villages organize retreats and bring speakers to the parish. They also provide rosary packets and miraculous medals to Utah Catholic schools.

Although there are not currently any villages at Blessed Sacrament Parish, Masek stays in touch with the Mi members there and provides materials to keep the spirituality available.

Teresa and Robert Catlin of Blessed Sacrament Parish have been members of MI for many years; Robert joined when the organization first came to Utah and Teresa joined five years later. The Caitlins maintain their connection to the organization and their consecration through providing service and by opening their home to members and others who come through Utah for various missions such as the Walk for Life and Diabetes Has No Limits. Robert Catlin also takes communion to shut ins.

Michael Edwards, director of the diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, is in the process of organizing another MI village, which will meet at St. Rose of Lima Parish and on Zoom. This village is an outgrowth of the annual diocesan men’s retreat that offers the MI consecration in English and Spanish at its conclusion. It will initially include 35 of those men.

Once the new village is functioning, it will be opened to women who are interested in consecrating themselves to the Virgin Mary, Edwards said.

Masek has found a calling in helping spread MI’s mission in Utah over the past 25 years.

“I see the MI in Utah as a gift from God to the Diocese of Salt Lake City and am grateful to have been able to serve for 25 years,” she said, adding that she feels called to “spread the total consecration and invite as many people as possible.”

In 2022 Masek was elected secretary of the Militia Immaculata National Council.

Consecrating oneself to the Virgin Mary leads to a closer relationship with the Savior and with his mother, she said. “When we consecrate our lives to Our Lady, we invite her into our spiritual lives in a new way, and she, in a sense, takes residence in us, and we become her instruments in praising God the way she will praise him. We begin to see him through her eyes and love him with her heart, and she wants as many people to love him the way she loves him as possible.”

For the April 27 celebration the MI villages at St. Mary’s will have a prayer service that will include the chanting of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, followed by a reception.

For information about MI in Utah, email Masek at miutahstmary@gmail.com. To find out more about the new village being formed at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, contact Edwards at michael.edwards@dioslc.org.

WHAT: Militia Immaculata 25th Anniversary Celebration

WHEN: Sunday, April 27, 3 p.m.

WHERE: St. Mary Catholic Church, 4050 South 3900 West, West Haven