St. Francis Xavier School dedicates new addition

IC photo by Marie Mischel

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The Most Rev. John C. Wester, bishop of Salt Lake City, joins the students in Saint Francis Xavier Regional School singing “All Are Welcome” after blessing the new library.

KEARNS — Finally.

That’s the word that comes up most frequently about the expansion at Saint Francis Xavier Regional School.

“I am filled with an overwhelming sense of joy at finally seeing this building come together and gratitude to all those who made it happen,” said Father Robert Moriarty, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish. “It’s beyond our wildest dreams.”

St. Francis Xavier Regional School is the only Catholic school on the west side of Salt Lake City; it serves about 250 students in pre-k through 8th grade. The new addition, which is approximately 12,000 square feet, contains a new library, science lab, classrooms and an extended day facility.

The project started nine years ago, with then-principal Nancy Essary, who now is at Saint Joseph Elementary School. At the Sept. 8 dedication ceremony for the St. Francis Xavier expansion, she was in tears “to see it finally get finished,” she said, adding that the first thing she noticed was the large library. “I know elementary-wise it’s probably the nicest library” in the diocese, she said.

In addition, she was happy to see that the science lab now has room and enough electricity to run experiments, that there’s a dedicated music room, and that the construction turned out beautifully, she said. “It’s far more than what I thought it would look like.”

Essary was the mind behind the project, said St. Francis Xavier Principal Patrick Reeder, who came to the school last year. Returning for the first day of school this year, was “almost like a dream,” he said. “We’re all pinching ourselves; we can’t believe we have this much room.”

The new library has been fantastic for the entire community, and the science lab is a perfect addition to the middle school, Reeder said. The eighth grade now has their own classroom, and there’s adequate space for the Spanish program, music, Title I and learning resource, he added. “It’s quieter; everyone’s able to breathe. Parents and students can’t believe it’s a reality – it’s been in the planning stage and the finance stage for so long that they just can’t that it’s transpired. “Many of our staff members who have been here for a number of years commented when they walked into the library or the science lab or into the music room or walking down the hallway, they just can’t believe it’s here. We feel the exact same way, and it is to our benefactors that we are very grateful that they have made it happen.”

“It’s like a whole new school,” said Holy Cross Sister Catherine Kamp-haus, superintendent of Catholic Schools. “They’ve never really had a school there; they just had a building with religious ed classrooms. Now it’s as nice as everybody else’s.”

In his comments at the dedication, the Most Rev. John C. Wester, bishop of Salt Lake City, gave thanks for the project’s donors. “We want to give thanks today in a special way to these wonderful people who make this process possible with their generosity, their foresight, their vision, their selflessness,” he told the schoolchildren at the ceremony. “These are people who are giving so much of themselves to educate you and countless generations after you.”

Bishop Wester encouraged the children to study hard, pray hard and play hard. During the dedication he prayed that the school would “become a center where students and teachers, imbued with the words of truth will search for the wisdom that guides the Christian life and strive wholeheartedly to stand by Christ as their teacher, who lives and reigns forever and ever.”