SALT LAKE CITY — The Diocese of Salt Lake City had a busy year in 2025. It joined the worldwide Church in mourning the passing of Pope Francis on April 21, and rejoiced in the election of Pope Leo XIV on May 19. Among other activities were the ordination of one priest and two transitional deacons. The diocese also served as a stop for several tours of saints’ relics, and welcomed four national Catholic organizations that held their conferences or conventions in Salt Lake City.

Following are some of the highlights for the year.

Jan. 1: The Diocese of Salt Lake City welcomed the national SEEK conference, which brought almost 17,000 participants to the five-day event, sponsored by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students and held at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. Bishop Oscar A. Solis presided at the event’s opening Mass.

Jan. 15: Eve Rosemary, host of The Everyday Saint podcast, spoke at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in Draper.

The Diocese of Salt Lake City's “Guide for Persons with Immigration Needs,”Jan. 23: The Diocese of Salt Lake City released a “Guide for Persons with Immigration Needs,” which contains information about organizations in Utah that provide services to immigrants.

Feb. 8: St. Joseph Catholic High School senior Gabe Jones set a 3A record in the 100-yard butterfly at the state swim competition at Brigham Young University. He also set a 3A state record in the 200 IM at a regional meet on Jan. 24.

Feb. 15: A relic of Blessed Michael McGivney visited Utah Feb. 15-16 as part of a tour sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.

Feb. 23: “The Face of the Faceless,” a feature film about Blessed Rani Maria, was screened at the Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center.

March 1: Lana Chan, a sophomore at Juan Diego Catholic High School, won the grand prize at the 2025 Tim Draper High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, a statewide student business competition.

March 10: Deacon George Reade, who served as the diocesan chancellor for 11 years, retired. He has been succeeded by Deacon John Kranz.

March 19: The Perpetual Adoration Chapel at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ogden celebrated its 15-year anniversary. Bishop Oscar A. Solis presided at a Mass celebrating the event.

March 26: Saint Olaf Catholic School in Bountiful installed a stained-glass window of its patron saint in their Great Room.

March 29: Members of Utah’s Catholic Hispanic community gathered at the Skaggs Catholic Center in Draper to honor Maria Cruz Gray, who retired in 2024 after more than 30 years as director of the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry.

March 29: The Utah Knights of Columbus celebrated the international fraternal organization’s 125th anniversary of their Fourth Degree with an induction ceremony at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Holladay that welcomed more than 70 men, the largest number ever for the state organization.March 29: The Utah Knights of Columbus celebrated the international fraternal organization’s 125th anniversary of their Fourth Degree with an induction ceremony at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Holladay that welcomed more than 70 men, the largest number ever for the state 

organization.

April 5: More than 200 people attended a Mass of Healing at Notre Dame de Lourdes Catholic Church in Price, a Jubilee Year event at the church, which was one of the five throughout the diocese designated by Bishop Oscar A. Solis as a pilgrimage site for the year.

April 10: St. Joseph the Worker Parish in West Jordan hosted the Relics of the Passion.

April 10: Father Bruno Rampazzo, Superior General of the Congregation of the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus, joined the diocesan priests at the Chrism Mass, celebrated April 10 at the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

On April 22, Bishop Oscar A. Solis celebrated a Mass Upon the News of the Death of a Pope    at the Cathedral of the Madeleine for Pope Francis, who died April 21.April 22: Bishop Oscar A. Solis celebrated a Mass Upon the News of the Death of a Pope    at the Cathedral of the Madeleine for Pope Francis, who died April 21.

April 27: St. Martin de Porres Parish in Taylorsville hosted a farewell reception for Dominican Father Dominic Briese, who led the parish for five years and ministered in the diocese for 12 years. He was reassigned by his order to a parish in Washington.

April 27: The National Association of Church Personnel Administrators held their annual convocation at the City Center Marriott in Salt Lake City April 27-29.

April 30: Bishop Oscar A. Solis spoke at a session of the National Association of Diaconate Directors convention, which was held at the Raddison Hotel in Salt Lake City.

April 30: More than 1,000 Catholics walked from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City to the Cathedral of the Madeleine for a pilgrimage as part of the Jubilee Year of

Hope. The cathedral is one of five churches in the diocese named by Bishop Oscar A. Solis as a pilgrimage site for the Jubilee Year.

May 8: Cardinal Robert Prevost, who chose the name Pope Leo XIV, was elected on May 8 as the 267th Bishop of Rome.

On May 17, Almost 400 adults from parishes and missions throughout Utah received the Sacrament of Confirmation from Bishop Oscar A. Solis at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, the largest number to be confirmed in a single day in the history of the Diocese of Salt Lake City.May 17: Almost 400 adults from parishes and missions throughout Utah received the Sacrament of Confirmation from Bishop Oscar A. Solis at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, the largest number to be confirmed in a single day in the history of the Diocese of Salt Lake City. Another 120 were confirmed on June 14. Together they comprised the largest group of confirmandi in the history of the diocese.

May 19: Bishop Oscar A. Solis celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving at the Cathedral of the Madeleine for the election of Pope Leo XIV.

May 26: Bishop Oscar A. Solis blessed a plaque installed at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Salt Lake City that commemorates the 16 miners who died in a 1910 explosion at the Union Portland Cement Works in Devil’s Slide, Morgan County.

June 2: Sister Martha Garcia, DC, who served for seven years as executive director of Give Me a Chance in Ogden, was reassigned by her religious order to a ministry in Daly City, Calif. She was succeeded in the position by Sister Frances Vista, DC.

June 5: The 150th anniversary of the arrival in Utah of the first two sisters of the Congregation of the Holy Cross to minister in Utah. Among the celebrations commemorating

the anniversary were Holy Cross Ministries of Utah’s Fiesta 150 dinner and a Mass and luncheon at Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City, both of which occurred in October.

On June 13, Bishop Oscar A. Solis conferred the Sacrament of Holy Orders on Deacon Kenneth Parsad during the Rite of Ordination of a Priest at the Cathedral of the Madeleine.June 13: Bishop Oscar A. Solis conferred the Sacrament of Holy Orders on Deacon Kenneth Parsad during the Rite of Ordination of a Priest at the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

June 21: The St. Vincent de Paul Parish School community in Holladay gathered to celebrate the blessing of their new Presentation Sisters Garden.

June 29: Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in West Valley City opened a missionary center at the church, which will help with its activities.

June 30: The Diocese of Salt Lake City sold the Our Lady of the Snows Chapel in Alta Canyon to the town of Alta.

July 19: St. Andrew Parish revealed the architectural plans for the new church building in South Jordan. Currently the parish has only a school and a rectory; Mass is celebrated in the gymnasium.

Aug. 1: Three long-time priests in the diocese retired: Father Charles Cummins, Father Martin Diaz and Father Joubran Bou Merhi.

Aug. 7: The Diocese of Salt Lake City welcomed the 2025 National Catholic Disabilities Conference, which was held Aug. 7-9 at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center. 

Aug. 13: Many diocesan priests accompanied Bishop Oscar A. Solis on a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City to consecrate the Diocese of Salt Lake City to Our Lady.

Sept. 8: Carmelite Sister Mary John of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Face celebrated the 50th anniversary of her profession of solemn vows at the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Salt Lake City.

Sept. 12: Bishop Oscar A. Solis presided at a Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Ann Catholic Church in Salt Lake City for the canonization of Saint Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint.

Sept. 13: “Triumph of the Heart,” a feature film about Saint Maximilian Kolbe, was screened in Park City, hosted by the Knights of Columbus Council at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish.

At the end of September, St. Joseph the Worker Parish in West Jordan hosted a three-day display of relics of the Mexican martyrs.Sept. 26: St. Joseph the Worker Parish in West Jordan hosted a three-day display of relics of the Mexican martyrs.

Sept. 27: St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Holladay celebrated its 100th anniversary on their patron saint’s feast day with a centennial event that included Mass with Bishop Oscar A. Solis presiding, and a dinner.

Oct. 1: Bishop Oscar A. Solis blessed the new addition at St. Joseph Elementary School in Ogden. The building includes a new gymnasium, a science lab and a room dedicated to arts classes.

Oct. 3: St. Joseph Catholic High School in Ogden renamed the press box at its athletic field the Father Cummins Victory Tower in honor of Fr. Charles Cummins.

Oct. 12: Sister Mary Genevieve of St. John, OCD professed her solemn vows at the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Salt Lake City.

Oct. 12: The Cathedral of the Madeleine kicked off its new Arts & Music series with the Eccles Organ Festival Recital by Nathaniel Gumbs.

Oct. 18: St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in Midvale celebrated its centennial with a dinner dance.

Nov. 15: The Diocese of Salt Lake City held the Hundredfold vocations ministry workshop at St. Ann Parish in Salt Lake City to kick off a new diocesan-wide program to increase vocations.

On Nov. 21, Bishop Oscar A. Solis celebrated the Rite of
Ordination of Deacons at the Cathedral of the Madeleine
for seminarians Jose Luis Gomez Diaz and Jaime Zuazo
Alcaraz.Nov. 21: Bishop Oscar A. Solis celebrated the Rite of Ordination of Deacons at the Cathedral of the Madeleine for seminarians Jose Luis Gomez Diaz and Jaime Zuazo Alcaraz. Both deacons are expected to be ordained priests in 2026.

Nov. 28: The Intermountain Catholic published its

last print edition. It is now an online-only publication.

Requiescant in pace 

The Diocese of Salt Lake City lost several prominent members in 2025. Among them were Sister M. Joseph Cecile Voelker, CSC, who died Jan. 17; John Colosimo, who died on July 9; Deacon Drew Petersen, who died on July 24; Sister Stella Marie Zahner, DC, who died Aug. 20; and Sister Margaret Mary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, OCS, who died on Aug. 27.

“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.”