Over on Facebook, I posted some pictures from this past weekend, when I lead a retreat for the deacons of Salt Lake City (and their wives!) and some people were shocked. “Wait. There are Catholics in Utah?! Really?” Yeah. Really. My friend Deacon Scott Dodge, who runs the diaconate program in the diocese, reports there are over 300,000 Catholics in the state — about 10% of the population. I got to rub elbows with a few of them this weekend. It was a wonderful time.
Salt Lake City doesn’t have a retreat center, so we met at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Provo. The scenery? Spectacular. The weather? Bracing. (50s and 60s — not Florida!). Every place I visited in the urban areas was remarkably clean, almost spotless. It almost felt like Disney World. How do they do that?
I loved the altar set up in the conference room where I gave my talks, and appreciated the “deacon cross” prominently displayed.
I had the privilege of preaching Mass Sunday morning before we left, and got to meet the Bishop of Salt Lake City, Oscar Solis, who joined us to celebrate the liturgy — the first Filipino-American bishop and the first Asian-American to lead a Catholic diocese.
After the retreat, Scott drove me back to the airport — but first, took me to visit the Cathedral of the Madeleine (named for Mary Magdalene).
In a word: wow. The colors are spectacular and the visual details, overwhelming.
The dramatic Stations of the Cross are unique to the cathedral. From the cathedral website:
All in all, a memorable and moving experience.
The retreat was a real blessing for me, and I hope the deacons got as much out it as I did. Until this weekend, I’d never been to Utah, so I can scratch this off my bucket list. (By my tally, I’ve now visited 42 of the 50 states). Thank you to the great Scott Dodge and the welcoming community of deacons and their wives in Utah. I hope one day to return!
