Sparse population

Building ‘a sense of belonging' across the miles

Adrive along scenic Route 89 south of Provo near the center of Utah gives a snapshot of the David-and-Goliath relationship between the Catholic and Mormon churches in this state.

High on a hill in the tiny town of Manti rise the spectacular twin towers of the enormous Manti Temple, one of the first churches built after Brigham Young led his followers westward into the state in 1848.

It's the rock-solid symbol of a church that's better resourced than the Catholic church, whose followers are outnumbered in Sanpete County more than 400-to-1.

A half-dozen Mormon meetinghouses are within a few miles' drive of Manti. By contrast, St. Jude Catholic Mission in the neighboring town of Ephraim is a remodeled bungalow that's been added onto three or four times. San Juan Diego Mission serves out of a converted post office in nearby Gunnison.

Contests for the faith

Catholics have always been scarce in Utah, as have all other denominations outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, the formal name for the Mormon church. Until recently, in fact, Utah ranked alongside the Deep South in terms of fewest Catholics. Despite an influx of Hispanic Catholics that more than doubled the state's Catho­lic population to almost 9%, Utah's percentage is still a third of the national average.

With only 16 Catholic schools in the state, most of them clustered in the Salt Lake area, students often find themselves the lone Catholics in their classes. After school, they may be invited to the large, modern gymnasium/family center operated by the Mormon church - often the only recreational outlet in town.

It requires the Church here to get creative to face the challenges with few resources. Father Javier Virgen, who until last November served as administrator at the Ephraim and Gunnison missions, trained volunteers to go door to door visiting known Catholic families to try to keep his flock together. Many Hispanics have settled in the Central Valley area to work on the dairy farms and in turkey processing plants.

Fedelina Sanchez, a mother of three, has been doing home visits after her shift at the local nursing home for about five years. "People are surprised and pleased" at the visits, she says, through her son Diego. "They're happy to know that others share their beliefs."

That's why any semblance of the Church is important to maintaining the Faith here. "If you don't have a Catholic presence, you feel kind of isolated," says Amy Storey, who has lived all over the U.S. but who was struck by the absence of churches in this state. "People at work ask, ‘What ward are you in?' (A Mormon "ward" is a geographic designation like a Catholic parish or diocese.) I tell them, ‘I'm not in a ward. I'm a Catholic.'"

This year, with a Catholic Extension grant, Catholics in Storey's hometown of Beaver, Utah, plan to convert a former house into a church and social hall.
"It'll give us a chance to get together with people we might not be able to any other way," she adds. "We're just thrilled."

Read more