SALT LAKE CITY — The Most Reverend John C. Wester, bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, was on hand Feb. 18, when the Utah House of Representatives and Senate passed joint resolution HJR 10, honoring the lives and accomplishments of Franciscan Fathers Francisco Atanascio Dominguez and Silvestre Velez De Escalante. The resolution was part of the celebration of Utah Hispanic/Latino Day. Bishop Wester was accompanied by Diocesan Government Liaison Dee Rowland, Father Omar Ontiveros of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Maria-Cruz Gray, director of the Diocesan Office if Hispanic Ministry, Deacon Ricardo Arias of the Diocesan Office of Vocations, and other members of the Hispanic community. The legislation was sponsored in the House by Representative Mark A. Wheatley (D), recognized the two Catholic pioneers not only for their efforts to search for an overland route between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Monterey, Calif, but for their influence in the settlement of the territory that would one day become the state of Utah. In the House, Wheatley said that while the Spaniards had only a vague idea of the lands of Utah, the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition confirmed the existence of unconverted inhabitants in Utah and established trails which benefited traders for years to come. The joint resolution, among other attributes of the pioneer priests, recognized their excellent records regarding the land, plants, and animal life of Utah, and mapped many features of the Four Corners area; they provided useful ecclesiastical and political information on the territory, including information of the areas that would eventually become Utah Valley, Spanish Fork, Cedar City, and Lake Powell. Wheatley noted that the town of Escalante, Utah, and the Escalante River derive their names from Father Escalante, and history shows that the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition contacted the Ute Indians living in Utah and preached Christianity to them. HJR10 also mentioned that even though no direct link was found between Monterey and Santa Fe, Frs, Dominguez and Escalante led an expedition which, at last, penetrated, explored, and chronicled the Interior West. The resolution recognized that the journals and maps of the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition became invaluable tools to those who would follow, opening what would be called 40 years later the old Spanish Trail between Santa Fe and California. In his remarks, Bishop Wester spoke with gratitude for the recognition of Frs. Dominguez and Escalante. He spoke of their heroism, their suffering, and hardships that resorted to their eating leather to simply survive. He said their great fiber of character was indicative of the character of the Hispanics and Latinos today. "As with all explorers and adventurers for humankind, they had a need for companionship, help, and assistance along the way," Bishop Wester said. "They left a great lesson for all of us – that we need to work together to meet our common goals." Utah is a state of great faith, the bishop said, "where religion, private, and civil entities work together. The separation of Church and State does not men the two cannot cooperate and help the other: The state is not faithless and faith is not unconcerned with matters of the public square. "Fathers Escalante and Dominguez represent noble people of Hispanic descent today in Utah, the bishop said. "Pray that we can work together to forge new paths for their well being as these priests forged new paths for all of us." Utah Hispanic/Latino Day, sponsored by the Utah Hispanic/Latino Task Force and the State Office of Hispanic/Latino Affairs, gave all who attended the opportunity to get to know their Hispanic and Latino legislators, learn about the state legislative process, and celebrate the Utah House of Representatives and State Senate Joint Resolution 10 honoring Father Francisco Atanascio Dominguez and Father Silvestre Velez Escalante for their efforts resulting in the opening of Utah and the West.
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