The 18th Annual CHRISTUS St. Joseph Villa Hope Benefit

Intermountain Catholic

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Sister Antoninus Martin, CCVI, accepts the Continuum of Caring Award from Jennifer Jacobson, chairwoman of the Friends of St. Joseph Villa, and Galen K. Ewer, administrator of the Villa, on behalf of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, in service to the Diocese of Salt Lake City since 1945, were given the CHRISTUS St. Joseph Villa annual Continuum of Caring award at the Villa’s 18th annual Hope Benefit April 20 at Little America Hotel.

The evening’s fare included a silent auction, reception, dinner, and live auction that had Villa supporters bidding thousands of dollars for golf packages, a concert series, week-long get-aways, a trip to Ireland, and dinners for 10 at the home of Diocese of Salt Lake City Bishop John C. Wester.

The proceeds from the Hope Benefit, organized by the volunteer Friends of St. Joseph Villa, go to the Villa’s Charity Care Fund, which provides services for residents of the Villa who cannot afford them.

The evening was underwritten by the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation; Care Source Hospice, Home Health, and Palliative Care, Inc.; and the Philip McCarthey Family. Sponsors and supporters included Intermountain Healthcare, Nancy and Clark Giles, Pat and Florence King, St. Ambrose Parish, and the Semnani Foundation.

Community activist Pamela Atkinson served as mistress of ceremonies and auctioneer Ryan England encouraged bidders to stretch their budgets "for a good cause." Joe and Maxine Giovacchini served as honorary chairs of the event.

Members of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word mingled with guests. Sister Antoninus Martin traveled all the way from her native Ireland to attend the event. Sr. Antoninus served at the Villa from 1952 to 1960. "It was my first mission," she said.

"It’s strange to turn around and not see Sister Ambrose (Naughton) and Sister Thaddeus (Quinlan)," said Sister Enda Marie McDermott, who served at the Villa from 1984-1986. Sr. Ambrose was administrator of the Villa from 1986 until her death from cancer in 1998. Sr. Thaddeus is retired and living at the congregation’s motherhouse in Houston.

Earlier in the day, Diocese of Salt Lake City Bishop John C. Wester celebrated Mass in the chapel of the Villa in honor of the more than 70 sisters who have served the diocese, either at the Villa, at St. Ann’s Orphanage, Kearns-St. Ann School, Judge Memorial Catholic High School, or St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Helper.

"Tonight we honor and celebrate the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word for all they mean to us," Bishop Wester said at the dinner. "It is a grace for me to be in the presence of them and those they represent."

A slide show illustrated the history of the Order and what they have accomplished since they came from Ireland to Galveston, Texas, in 1886 at the request of Bishop Claude Marie Dupuis. The slide show recalled the sisters and orphans who perished in the 1900 Galveston flood and those who founded the Villa.