2021 Year in Review
SALT LAKE CITY — The year 2021 brought a “new normal” to the world. Public activities that had been banned in the previous year because of the COVID-19 pandemic became more acceptable, although many people even now continue to avoid crowds and take other precautions such as wearing face masks to avoid spreading the virus.
In these conditions, parishioners in the Diocese of Salt Lake City slowly began returning to Sunday Mass over the past year. Other church activities also have begun to resume, although even as we prepare to ring in 2022 many parishes still require parishioners to wear face masks and observe social distancing protocols for Sunday Mass.
Despite the difficulties of the past year, Catholics in Utah continued to live their faith during 2021. What follows are a few highlights from the year.
January
Father Reynato Rodillas, pastor of St. James the Just Parish and spiritual advisor for the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, died on Jan. 8.
Joan Loffredo, who served as the diocese’s chief financial officer for 22 years, retired.
Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery installed a remembrance wall that honors the deceased priests and deacons who have served in the Diocese of Salt Lake City.
February
The Diocese of Salt Lake City published “Year of Saint Joseph,” a booklet containing reflections on Pope Francis’ apostolic letter “Patris Corde,” as well as prayers and other resources for the Year of Saint Joseph, which ran from Dec. 8, 2020 to Dec. 8, 2021.
The Grand Teton Music Festival on Location filmed a concert at the Cathedral of the Madeleine that was shown on the festival’s YouTube channel.
The diocesan Office for Deacons released a series of videos that explore different aspects of the permanent diaconate.
March
The diocese began inquiry sessions for a new Diaconate Formation Program class.
April
Fr. Hernando Diaz, a retired priest of the diocese, celebrated his 50th anniversary of priesthood ordination.
The St. Vincent de Paul dining hall reopened after having been closed to in-person services because of the coronavirus.
St. Patrick Parish in Salt Lake City reopened the doors of its church, which had been closed because of damage from the March 2020 earthquake.
May
Dr. Gabriele Terrone, the Cathedral of the Madeleine’s organist and assistant music director, was featured on the May 1 episode of BYU Radio’s “In Good Faith” program.
Seminarian Tristan Dillon was ordained a deacon on May 14.
On May 26, Bishop Oscar A. Solis lifted most of the pandemic restrictions for liturgical gatherings in the Diocese of Salt Lake City.
June
Father Dominic Briese, OP, celebrated the 25th anniversary of priesthood ordination on June 1.
The “Treasures of the Church” traveling relics exhibition drew hundreds of the faithful to the Cathedral of the Madeleine on June 19.
July
Holy Cross Sister Catherine Kamphaus retired July 31 after 54 years in Catholic education, including 17 as superintendent of Utah Catholic Schools. She now serves as director of parish life at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Salt Lake City.
Fr. J.J. Schwall and Fr. Michael Sciumbato retired as priests of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, and Dominican Father Francis-Hung Le, who had served in the diocese for the past two years, was reassigned by his order to Seattle, Wash.
September
The Bishop’s Dinner, the annual fundraiser for the Cathedral of the Madeleine, returned to its traditional in-person format after having gone virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Diocesan Pastoral Congress implemented a new format, with each parish and mission holding its own event featuring video presentations by Bishop Oscar A. Solis and the keynote speakers in English and Spanish. The presentations were followed by small-group discussions at most parishes.
October
Catholic Community Services of Utah launched a 12-week food service training program to help people experiencing homelessness achieve self-sufficiency.
Bishop Solis opened the synod process in the diocese with a Mass on Oct. 17 in the Cathedral of the Madeleine, asking all the faithful to participate in the sessions that will be held at their parish or mission. The process “is a pivotal moment in the life of the Church,” the bishop said during his homily at the Mass.
November
The St. Joseph High School Boosters celebrated 50 years of supporting the school’s athletic programs.
Saint George Parish began fundraising efforts for a new church in Washington City to serve the growing Catholic population in the area.
December
Father Rafael Murillo, pastor of Saint Marguerite Parish in Tooele, celebrated his 25th ordination anniversary on Dec. 14. Parishioners surprised him on that day with a mariachi band.
Father Alan Hohl, OCSO, died Dec. 16. He had been in monastic vows for 66 years and had been a priest for 58 years when he died. He had been a member of the Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity in Huntsville; when it closed, he and the other monks moved to St. Joseph Villa.
Monsignor Robert J. Bussen, a retired priest of the diocese, celebrated his 50th ordination anniversary on Dec. 17. Friends and former parishioners celebrated with a party.
Local Catholics also have supported the efforts of domestic and overseas emergency response efforts at major Catholic aid organizations, Catholic News Service reported.
Right up through December, extreme weather events and natural disasters of 2021 continued to upend local communities.
“We had about 85 disasters,” in the United States this past year, said Kim Burgo, vice president for disaster operations for Catholic Charities USA, according to the Catholic News Service.
Charitable agencies respond to disasters declared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as well as local events, like floods, that impact local communities, she said.
The West Coast wildfires and major storms such as Hurricane Ida were some of the top disaster priorities of the past year, along with floods, tornados and winter storms in the Midwest and the South, she said.
Catholic Charities USA supports the local disaster response through financial assistance, technical support and, in the case of a late August landfall of Hurricane Ida in Louisiana, virtual deployment of case managers as a coronavirus surge was complicating logistics.
Often the response at the local level can last five to seven years, and there are many places in the country that have preexisting economic challenges, “so you end up with a bad hurricane or tornado in a place where they never really recover before the next one comes, and you end up with a constant state of recovery,” she said.
Kim Pozniak, senior director of global communications at Catholic Relief Services, said that in 2021 CRS spent about $380 million on emergency response programming.
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