Kent Lowe recalled as a living witness to God's will

Friday, Nov. 07, 2014

SALT LAKE CITY — Kent Lowe, a sacristan at the Cathedral of the Madeleine and a candidate in the permanent deacon class, was known to many in the diocese before he died Oct. 22 at the age of 55. He assisted at the cathedral’s daily Mass as well as the weekend evening Masses. He also led the Vespers each night, was involved with the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s prison ministry and the nocturnal Adoration society, assisted the priest with the Youth and Young Adult Ministry’s Christ in the City and was a member of the Knights of Columbus. 

As sacristan, Kent did “everything from changing light bulbs to vacuuming bugs” that invaded the bell tower; he also trained altar servers and helped set up for events, said Father Martin Diaz, the cathedral pastor. 

“He very much got to know the community and he was part of the community,” Fr. Diaz said. “The Bible says ‘love your neighbor as yourself,’ and he had the love your neighbor part down really good. What Kent did was welcome everyone as they came, no matter who it was, no matter what their circumstance; whether it was a homeless person, or someone just looking to say a prayer or ask a question.”

At the vigil service Oct. 29, Father Eleazar Silva, director of academics for the diaconate formation class, spoke on behalf of himself and the Spanish-speaking community as he told Lowe’s sister, Janeen, “You have a wonderful brother. We loved him very, very, very much. His legacy is going to be one of love: love for God, love for his brothers and sisters, love for you. … and a legacy of gentleness. His gentle heart and his gentle ways reflected Christ beautifully to us. … He was a very, very faithful servant of God and a wonderful, a magnificent friend.”

As a gesture indicating that Lowe had committed his life to Christ, and because he had already been accepted as a candidate for holy orders, Fr. Silva placed a stole that he himself had worn as a deacon on Lowe’s body, saying that it awaited being presented by Christ in heaven.

Also at the vigil service, Janeen Lowe recalled her brother as a man who had always loved animals; as a child he had a chameleon and a hamster as pets, and raised ring-necked doves in the backyard.

“Whenever I hear a dove coo, I think of Kent,” she said, adding that he also loved gardening and had a gift for languages.

She chose two songs to be played at the service, “Be Still My Soul” and “He,” which the two of them loved “while we were growing up because it reminds us that we don’t have to be perfect for God to love us,” she said.

At the funeral Mass Oct. 30, the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, said Lowe was present in the cathedral day after day “as a sign of his gift of himself to our Church.” 

He also was present through his diaconate formation class, through helping the homeless, and to his family and friends, the bishop said. “Kent was a living witness” to Christ, and had the serenity of one who trusts that the Lord will fulfill his promises, he added.

“He was a wonderful friend and a great member of our community,” Bishop Wester said. “I think you see by the great number of people who are here today, by the beautiful cathedral choir, by our brother priests and deacons who are here, that Kent was greatly loved and had an impact on us, and you can be assured that we will remember him as we will remember you in our prayers. … We deeply regret that Kent was taken from us so suddenly, but we do rejoice that he is interceding for us now from his new vantage point as he stands at the side of Christ and prays for this Cathedral, this Church, this community of disciples whom he loved so much.”