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Show FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN GITY OF SALT LAKE Rev. P. Walsh Commenced His Pastoral Duties In 18H Was Liberally Assisted By All Classes Father Scanlan Arrived In 1873 His Charge Largest Area in United States. Most Rev. J. S. Allemany, in assum ing temporary jurisdiction of Utah, appointed ap-pointed Rev. P. Walsh pastor. He commenced com-menced his pastoral duties early in JS71. Soon after his arrival in Salt Lake he opened a subscription list for the erection of a nc-.v church. His success, suc-cess, considering the small number of Catholics then residents of Salt Lake, was phenomenal, but he was liberally assisted by all classes, irrespective of creed. In the fall of the same year the littles church in which Catholics have worshiped for twenty-eight years, was completed. It was dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen by Archbishop Allemany Alle-many on the 26th of November of the same year. In the early part of the following year the first Catholic mission, mis-sion, under the direction of Father Walsh, was given in the newly dedicated dedi-cated church by Father Bouchard, S. J., of San Francisco. The next yar, 1S7.1, Father Walsh, who had the esteem and confidence of all classes1 of people, was recalled to San Francisco. Rev. L. Scanlan, who had pastora' charge of the Catholic church at Petaluma, Cal., was appointed to succeed Father Walsh in Utah. He reached Salt Lake, Aug. 14 of tha same year, and has since, as pastor, vicar foruger, vicar apostolic, and bishop, faithfully and zealously mmisterea to the spiritual wants of the Catholics of Utah. When he assumed as-sumed charge there was only on? church in the entire territory, and that encumbered with a heavy debt. His charge embraced the largest area of any pastor in the United States, but his flock were few. Like the church in the Canacle or emerging from the upper up-per chamber of the Morning of Pentecost, Pen-tecost, poor in a worldly sense, so was the commencement of the pastoral charge of the preseoit bishop of Salt Lake twenty-six years ago. With apostolic zeal, the privations which surrounded him gave zest and energy to his missionary spirit. He came to preach the gospel of Christ to the poor, and. in the fastness of the mountains could he not find among the miners and smelter hands the poor of Christ, who would gladly receive, him? And whilst offering up the adorable sacrifice sacri-fice in some rude cabin, could he not truly .say to his flock, as was said of the Apostles in similar circumstances. "Jesus stood in the midst of them?" His only luxury was the happiness resulting re-sulting from his successful missionary labors and undertakings. His first effort was to liquidate a rloKt- Af firm u-hifiV, arnllmKoi.c,1 tin a. , present church edifice. This debt was entirely wiped out in less than two years from the time he took charge of ; the parish. In the meantime, whilst laboring to pay off the debt, he had succeeded in securing the grounds on which the present St. Mary's academy stands. Without an additional appeal to his poor flock Father Scanlan was able, through the generosity of his old Pioche parishioners,, to secure the title to the above named site. He had in view the establishment of a school. The location loca-tion and the favorable circumstances undeT which the property could be secured se-cured impressed him that for a school in which the children of the city and surrounding mining camps could be educated, no botteir could then be obtained. ob-tained. Using his own judgment, seldom sel-dom at fault, he purchased the site in 1874. Having secured a lien on the prc'perty. he made known his plans, which he hoped to develop in the near future, to Archbishop Allemany. Needless Need-less to add, his plans were adopted, his action in securing the property en dorsed, and a promise to encourage his undertaking mad. Poor before, but still poorer row, and ever since. Father Scanlan was yet happier, because he foresaw that it was only a matter of time till the great object of his zealous zeal-ous ambition would be realized, viz.: the lambs and sheep of his flock would be provided for with the food of divine truth. In the. spring of 1874, with the consent con-sent of Archbishop Allemany, Father Scanlan wrote to Very Rev. Edward Sorin, spiritual supervisor of the congregation con-gregation of the Holy Cross, asking for Sisters to open a school in Salt Lake. The answer to this letter was that "at present he could not' supply his : wants, but in the future his demand I would be considered." Before the end of that year correspondence was reopened, re-opened, and in December of the same year Father Sorin wrote, stating that he would send Sisters the following year to investigate and see what the prospects were for founding a. boarding and day school in Salt Lake. Faithful Faith-ful to his promise, two Sisters from St. Mary's Academy. Notre Dame, Ind., reached Salt Lake in May, 1S73. After w-n r'avn' conference with Father Scan lan and some of the leading citizens of the city, they decided to remain, and chose for their future home the site previously pre-viously secured by Father Scanlan, being be-ing the one on which the present St. Mary's stands. All canc-nica.1 requirements require-ments being complied with, plans and specifications for the new convent home were made and drawn up by Captain Davis, U. S. A., then a resident of Fort Douglas. Ground was broken June 20th and the corner stone was laid before be-fore the end of July. The same week that ground was broken, the second Catholic mission in Utah was given by Fathers Elliot and Rosec-rans in Salt Lake, whilst Fathers Dwyer and Brady, all Paulist Fathers, were conducting con-ducting a similar mission, in Ophir. An appeal for funds for the new school then In course of erection was liberally responded to by the- citizens of Salt Lake. In July and August of that year the two Sisters visited all the mining camps that surrounded the Salt Lake valley, together with the smelters which were then in operation. A cheerful and generous greeting hailed their arrival wherever they visited, vis-ited, and every Saturday evening Father Fath-er Scanlan. who superintended the construction con-struction of the academy, was enabled, through the collections of the week, to pay all his employees. He had no other source from which to expect, j much less to draw, the necessary contingent con-tingent expenses; so he grounded his faith on the generosity of the miners of Utah for the completion of his undertaking. un-dertaking. He was not disapnointed. The following September, three months after the breaking of ground St. Mary's was ready for occupancy, and I school was opened the same month. Whilst school was conducted in some of the rooms, plasterers' and carpenters i were busily occupied im other parts of the house. . |