Sister Barbara Jean Fehr recalls time in Utah

Intermountain Catholic

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Sr. Barbara Jean Fehr reflects on the time she spent in Utah.IC photo by Barbara S. Lee

SALT LAKE CITY – Sister Barbara Jean Fehr is one of the dozens of Sisters of the Holy Cross who have served in the Diocese of Salt Lake City – left their mark – and become part of the rich history of Catholic Utah.

Born in Washington D.C. of a Swiss immigrant father and an American mother who were married in Washington D.C. after World War I, Sr. Barbara Jean and her family moved to Salt Lake City in 1923.

"For one school year I was a boarder at St. Mary of the Wasatch," Sr. Barbara Jean said in an interview with the Intermountain Catholic. In Salt Lake City in April visiting Holy Cross Sisters Catherine Kamphaus and Genevra Rolf, Sr. Barbara Jean also spent some time visiting members of her extended family who still live in Utah. "I’ve always loved Salt Lake City. I spent some good years here."

After joining the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross at the age of 24 in 1949, Sr. Barbara Jean studied to become an educator. She spent the years 1956-1971 in Bangladesh, then East Pakistan. Her first assignment when she returned to the Diocese of Salt Lake City was in parish ministry at St. Patrick Parish with a Father (now Msgr. and Diocesan Vicar General) J. Terrence Fitzgerald as pastor.

"Fr. Fitzgerald wore many hats then. He was also superintendent of Catholic Schools. Of course, he wears many hats now as vicar general of the diocese and as diocesan administrator between bishops."

With St. Barbara Jean working in parish ministry and looking after her mother, and Holy Cross Sister Patricia Riley as principal of Bishop Glass School, Sr. Barbara Jean said St. Patrick Parish and Bishop Glass School thrived.

"My sister was married and living in St. George then, and we got to know the highway between Salt Lake City and St. George pretty well. In the mid-1980s, Catholic Community Services began its outreach to the elderly, which was right up my alley."

From outreach work Sr. Barbara Jean went on to serve in the pastoral care department of Holy Cross Hospital until the Congregation of the Holy Cross sold the hospital, St. Benedict’s Hospital in Ogden, and a number of smaller clinics in 1994.

"In 1994, I went back to St. Mary’s in South Bend, Ind., and returned to international services, drawing on my experiences in Bangladesh.

"I then retired, and have been helping out in the Congregation’s archives. We still have a lot of hand-written ledgers that are falling apart, and we’re doing our best to preserve them." Deeply involved in archival work, Sr. Barbara Jean is helping to document the Congregation’s history and all the places its sisters have been.

"There are people all over the country who were educated by the Holy Cross sisters at St. Mary of the Wasatch Elementary, High School, and College."

Reflecting on her own personal history, Sr. Barbara Jean said she resisted entering the Congregation for a long time, "but once I made that break, my parents were very supportive. I knew I would eventually come back to Utah. It was then, as it is now, a mission land. When I returned, it was more Americanized, but it still has stations and parishes that were isolated. But there was still closeness of spirit here, like we found in the missions abroad. Our Holy Cross Sisters were working with sisters of many different religious communities; we were working together for the good of the whole Catholic family."

Sr. Barbara Jean said she and the others in her Congregation are looking forward to the beatification of Basil Anthony Moreau, slated for September 2007. Moreau was founder of the Congregation of the Holy Cross Fathers and Brothers, and a co-founder of the Sisters of the Holy Cross.

"We have a good sense of family among the communities of fathers, brothers, and sisters," she said. "We have sisters in Bangladesh, Brazil, Peru, Uganda, Mexico, and Ghana. I loved serving in Bangladesh. After serving in the foreign missions, it’s hard to come back and stay put here.

"I’m very proud of the work our Congregation has done here. We played big roles in the hospitals. At the same time we had sisters teaching at Judge Memorial Catholic High School, Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School, Bishop Glass Elementary School, and at the St. Joseph Schools in Ogden. Today, there are Sisters of the Holy Cross in the Diocesan Office of Education, in outreach work with Holy Cross Ministries, and in mission work in Richfield, St. George, and Cedar City. We have much to be proud of."

Sr. Barbara Jean still holds St. Patrick Parish close to her heart and in her prayers. She recalls the parish supporting Bishop Glass School, a small school with grades kindergarten through sixth, in which most of the students and teachers were bi-lingual.

"We held a bazaar every year, and I think the parish is still doing that. St. Patrick Parish has always been an immigrant parish. It’s been the spiritual home for Italian immigrants, Hispanics, Vietnamese, and Tongans. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with people of many other cultures.

"Msgr. Fitzgerald is such a welcoming person," she said. "I remember him welcoming the Bishop of Tonga when he visited here some years ago. The parish had a big celebration, and Bishop (William K.) Weigand attended."

At 82 years old, Sr. Barbara Jean was relishing her visit to Utah. "I do love this plan," she said again. "Anyone who’s been here does."