'The Lord Has Been Good to Me:' Remembering the Life of Irene Sweeney, 1915-2011

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The courtyard of the Cathedral of the Madeleine will be renamed in honor of the late Irene Sweeney, who was instrumental in the cathedral's restoration in the 1990s.

Michael Courtney

Diocese of Salt Lake City Archivist

On July 22, the feast day of St. Mary Magdalene, the patron saint of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, the Cathedral of the Madeleine will dedicate its courtyard in honor of the late Irene Sweeney, who contributed her time, talents and treasure to the diocese in many areas.

“I know my Catholic faith has been a great influence, a great joy, a great strength, a great comfort, a great satisfaction and a great inspiration to me,” wrote Sweeney, whose faith informed her throughout her life as a community organizer and volunteer.

Irene Sweeney was born into Daniel and Mary Sweeney’s large Irish Catholic family on March 2, 1915 in Green Isle, Minn. When she was a child, the family moved to Arlington, Minn., where Sweeney completed school, graduating in 1932. She then attended Mankato Teachers College, receiving a teaching certificate in elementary education. While in college, Sweeney started volunteering for the League of Women Voters, an organization dedicated to voter registration, advocating for voting rights, and providing voter information. This decision transformed her life.

In the late 1930s, the League of Women Voters hired Sweeney as a staff member for their office in Ramsey County, Minn. In 1941, she moved to a state-level position with the League’s Indiana chapter. After serving in the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps during the Second World War, Sweeney rejoined the League of Women Voters, this time as secretary for the national organization. In this position she traveled the country, speaking to groups, trouble-shooting chapter problems and fundraising.

In the early 1950s, the League added another duty to the secretary’s position: establishing chapters in states that did not have one. In January 1951, Sweeney announced the founding of the Salt Lake City chapter of the League of Women Voters. She also instituted chapters in Ogden, Price, Provo, Cedar City and Bountiful.

Besides building chapters, Sweeney also urged local chapters to support the League’s national and international efforts. One such endeavor was the League’s People to People Program, which invited foreign community groups to study American democracy and see how the League promoted voter rights and information.  

In the early 1960s, Sweeney left the League of Women Voters, but continued to work for other civic and community bodies. In 1961, the Girl Scouts of America in Utah enlisted Sweeney to create a sustainable membership program as well as training programs for volunteers. Next, the City of Ogden recruited Sweeney to help city officials devise a plan to bring more tourists to the municipality. In 1967, Sweeney entered the health care field, where she became the assistant coordinator and community liaison for the Intermountain Regional Medical Program. Later, she became a health planning consultant.

When she retired from the workforce in 1972 Sweeney continued to serve, especially the Church. At her home parish, the Cathedral of the Madeleine, she immersed herself in parish life: serving on the Parish Council and heading the cathedral’s restoration committee in the early 1990s. She also was involved with the Catholic Big Brother/Sister organization. At the diocesan level, she served on the Diocesan Development Drive, the Diocesan Pastoral Council and at the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store and Soup Kitchen, where she employed her skills as a community organizer to solicit volunteers. To do this, Sweeney contacted every parish in the Salt Lake Valley to ask someone to be the contact person to find volunteers. Her efforts paid off; she secured enough volunteers to keep both the soup kitchen and thrift store running every day.

Sweeney continued her service to others until her death on June 23, 2011.

In a 1992 interview with this newspaper, Sweeney explained the reason she gave so much of herself: “I guess my personal motto is the Lord has been good to me and I think it’s up to me to use what he’s given me to help his other creatures.”

de Voto para Mujeres en Salt Lake City había sido fundado. También abrió Capítulos en Ogden, Price, Provo, Cedar City y Bountiful.  

Además de construir esos capítulos Sweeney también urgió el apoyo a los esfuerzos de la liga nacional e internacional. Uno de tales esfuerzos fie el programa ‘People to People’ de la liga, en el cual se invitaba a grupos comunitarios de inmigrantes a estudiar la democracia americana y a ver como la Liga promovía los derechos al voto.

A principios de 1960 Sweeney dejó la Liga de Voto para Mujeres pero continúo con su trabajo para otras organizaciones cívicas y comunitarias. En 1961 las ‘Girls Scouts’  de América en Utah enlistaron a Sweeney para crear un programa de membresía sostenible, así como para los programas de entrenamiento para voluntarios. Después la ciudad de Ogden reclutó a Sweeney para apoyar a los oficiales de la ciudad con un plan para atraer a más turistas al municipio En 1967, Sweeney ingresó al campo de cuidados de salud, en donde fue la coordinadora asistente y el enlace comunitario para el Programa del Intermountain Regional. Más adelante fue una consultora de planeación de salud.

Cuando en 1972 se retiró de su trabajo, Sweeney siguió sirviendo , especialmente en la Iglesia. En su parroquia , la Catedral de la Magdalena, ella se comprometió totalmente con la vida parroquial: sirviendo en el Consejo parroquial y lidereando el comité de restauración de la Catedral a comienzos de 1990. Ella también participó con la organización ‘Big Brother/Sister’. A nivel diocesano  sirvió en el DDD, en el consejo pastoral diocesano en la tienda de saldos de Saint Vincent de Paul  y en el co-medor del mismo, en donde pusó sus habilidades como organizadora comunitaria y solicitando voluntarios. Para esto Sweeney contactó a cada parroquia en el valle de Salt Lake para preguntar quien quería ser el contacto para encontrar voluntarios.

Sus esfuerzos rindieron frutos, aseguró suficientes voluntarios tanto para la tienda como para el comedor para todos los días.

Sweeney continuó con su servicio hasta el 23 de junio del 2011 fecha en que falleció.

En 1992 una entrevista con el Intermountain Catholic, Sweeney explicó la razón por la que daba su servicio: “Creo que mi lema personal es que el Señor ha sido muy bueno conmigo y está en mí,  poner en acción lo que Él me ha dado ayudando a sus demás criaturas.”