Silver jubilee for Skaggs Catholic Center
DRAPER — The gymnasium at Juan Diego Catholic High School glowed blue the morning of Sept. 26. The hardwood floor was covered with carpet, the overhead lights dimmed. At the far end, teal curtains were lighted, framed by blue screens, a poster replica of the Cathedral of the Madeleine’s crucifix in the center. An altar stood on the stage in front of the crucifix. Students, faculty, staff, family members and guests sat in quiet reverence in the bleachers and in rows of chairs on the floor.
As the choir began the entrance hymn, Bishop Oscar A. Solis processed in to preside at the Mass of Thanksgiving that opened the 25th anniversary celebrations for the Skaggs Catholic Center, which includes JDCHS, St. John the Baptist elementary and middle schools, the Guardian Angel daycare and preschool, and St. John the Baptist Parish.
More than a dozen priests concelebrated the Mass. Among them were Father John Evans, vicar general; Fr. Langes Silva, judicial vicar; Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald and Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw, vicar general emeriti; Msgr. Joseph Mayo, pastor emeritus of St. John the Baptist; Fr. Stephen Tilley, the parish’s current pastor; Fr. Martin Diaz, rector of the Cathedral of the Madeleine; and Fr. Michael Augustine Amabisco, OP, chaplain of the Skaggs Center.
Deacon Paul Graham proclaimed the Gospel. Deacon Dale Dillon and Deacon Lynn Johnson also assisted at the Mass.
“The last time we celebrated Mass with so many priests on the altar was exactly 25 years ago today,” noted Dr. Galey Colosimo, principal of JDCHS, in his comments after the Mass.
“It was on Sunday, Sept. 26, 1999 we dedicated the Skaggs Catholic Center,” he said, adding that Archbishop William J. Levada of San Francisco was the celebrant; the Most Rev. George H. Niederauer, eighth Bishop of Salt Lake City, was among the concelebrants.
“We gathered here, in this gymnasium, transforming it into a sacred space for Mass, just as we have done today,” Colosimo said.
“We are so blessed to have this magnificent building and property in which we are able to gather as a diocese to educate our youth, and to celebrate the greatest prayer of the Church, which we call the holy Eucharist, the holy Mass,” Bishop Solis said in his opening remarks. “The generosity of many people, especially the Skaggs Family Foundation, made this day and this place possible. On this day of rejoicing, with gratitude in our hearts, let us pray for all of those who envisioned such a place, and gave of their hearts, their hopes and their prosperity.”
The bishop began his homily by describing how the Skaggs Catholic Center had its roots in a helicopter ride taken 30 years ago by Msgr. Fitzgerald, who was then the diocese’s vicar general, and Sam Skaggs, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who donated most of the funds for the 57-acre facility that now bears his name.
The helicopter flew from Salt Lake City General Aviation toward Draper, which was at the time primarily open fields, but Skaggs and Msgr. Fitzgerald “did not see a farmland, they envisioned … a school focused not only on students with outstanding report cards, but an institution of learning, an institution dedicated to the formation of the entire person, forming the mind and the heart so they become good citizens for this world and for the next,” he said.
It was important to know that the Skaggs Catholic Center owes its existence “to a chance encounter and a small act of kindness,” the bishop said, and told the story of “when the young Sam Skaggs was serving his country during the Second World War, he went to speak to a Protestant chaplain,” but the chaplain was unable to speak to him. Instead, “a Catholic chaplain came to his assistance. … It was a small gesture of kindness on the part of the Catholic chaplain that touched Sam Skaggs, and some 40 years later, Sam entered the Catholic Church and became a Catholic.”
Skaggs, whose father created the Payless Drug Stores, grew the family business to 69 stores. He and his wife Aline were well-known philanthropists; many Catholic schools in Utah benefited from their generosity.
The bishop urged those present to never forget that an anniversary celebration “is not only about reminiscing in the past, but it is also an invitation for all of us to look into the future and hope with such confidence that Skaggs Catholic Center continues faithfully its mission of the Church through Catholic education, and that the good legacy of Sam Skaggs remains forever. Let us all pray for God’s grace, that this center remains faithful to its commitment and serves as an instrument in educating the minds of our students, forming their hearts to be Christ-like, transforming their lives to be catalysts of change and making a difference in the lives, in our society and in the world.”
The anniversary celebration continued in the evening with a dinner that opened with a prayer and a video commemorating the deceased members of the Skaggs Catholic Center community.
“Without their contributions this campus would be a very different place,” the video said, and continued with a history of the Skaggs Catholic Center. During the dinner, a slide show played highlights of the campus, student life and achievements.
Among the speakers at the dinner were Colosimo, who spoke about creating the campus. He paid tribute to Msgr. Terence Moore, founding pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish; and John Colosimo, Sister Karla McKinnie, CSC and Sister Patricia Riley, CSC, who also helped establish the center.
The final speaker at the dinner was Vanessa Jacobs, SJB Middle School principal, who spoke of preparing students for the future. “Skills such as critical thinking and compassion for one another are timeless. … Our students must be prepared not just for jobs but for purposeful lives of faith, intellect and service to one another,” she said.
St. John the Baptist Parish celebrated its 25th anniversary on Sept. 8 with a Mass that also honored the community’s first responders and those employed in public safety fields.
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