St. Joseph the Worker parish bids goodbye to Sister Fabian
WEST JORDAN — A torrent of tributes – and more than a few tears – flowed on Oct. 25 during the Mass and reception in honor of Franciscan Society for the Atonement Sister Fabian Uriot, who has served St. Joseph the Worker parish for 27 years. Ill health is forcing her to return to her order’s mother house in New York. She will leave in November. When she first came to Utah in 1982 she was given the task of the parish census. She recalls going to Rose Canyon and emerging from a house at dusk. She’d been told that to find her way home all she had to do to was to look for the mountains. "Little did I know there were mountains all around us," she said. Disoriented, she retraced her route. Only later did she learn that she could have taken the road straight down to West Jordan. But she needed no directions for finding her way into parishioners’ hearts. "She’s always present, always kind, always has an ear for people’s distresses or troubles. She’s become a good friend and a shoulder to cry on for many people," said Father Patrick F. Carley, pastor at St. Joseph the Worker. Generations of St. Joseph children remember Sr. Fabian as their religious education teacher, but she got into the job reluctantly, when the nun who was then in the position asked for her help. "I felt guilty," she said, and so began teaching. When the other nun went to Canada, the priest asked Sr. Fabian to take over the role, which she did. Over the years, she particularly has enjoyed "watching the children live their faith," she said. Although her title was director of religious education, "she was in every way a parish associate and a valued voice on all our councils," Fr. Carley said. As with the Monroes, Sr. Fabian touched several generations in Jim Turner’s family. Turner credits her with being a motherly figure since he joined the Catholic Church in 2006. "She’s been…taking care of me, keeping me from doing the wrong thing," he said, adding that his daughter was confirmed this year, "and it’s all due to this lady. She’s just been so special." For Brigid McGary, Sr. Fabian was the reason she converted to Catholicism. "When I called the parish – this was before I ever started taking classes – she was the person that answered the phone…. She was this kind, loving, accepting person for who I was at that point in my life. That made me want to become Catholic." Sister Fabian’s house is next to the church, and "You’d think that that was the office, because really there are more people coming in and out of her house all day long," said Laura Cuomo. Sr. Fabian is the last nun with the Sisters of Atonement in Utah. Historically, Atonement sisters were catechists; they arrived in the Bingham Canyon area in 1946. "They were foundational roots for the growth of the Church at that area," said Msgr. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City "They were really a strong symbol as well as a real presence of the Church in those people’s lives and in their children’s lives." Sr. Fabian brought the gift of being present "at everything," Msgr. Fitzgerald added. "That presence, and the patience that goes with that presence, listening to people, knowing people’s families and their histories and their stories – that’s such a marvelous, marvelous gift to the Catholic community." Her compassion "was motivated by her tremendous faith, her commitment to her religious community; to the simplicity and spirit of St. Francis," he said. "She’ll be greatly missed. Those kinds of people move on and the community is never the same." Bishop John Wester, who celebrated the Oct. 25 Mass honoring Sr. Fabian, said "her ministry here in this parish of St. Joseph the Worker has been to cooperate with Christ in helping to open our eyes … to see each other as Christ sees us, all of us created in His image."
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