September 28: In Mormon Country

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is September 28th, and our story is In Mormon Country. Just weeks after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, two Spanish Franciscans became the first Europeans to enter present-day Utah.

The priests, Fathers Francisco Dominguez and Sylvester Vélez de Escalante, came north from Santa Fe in July 1776 to establish missions among the Ute and Laguna. Political changes in Spain, however, soon forced the friars to abandon their work and the few converts they made.

Catholics wouldn't return to the region until the end of the American Civil War, when prospectors discovered silver and gold in Utah's mountains. Catholic immigrants came to work in the mines, and missionary priests followed. One of those priests persuaded Brigham Young to sell him land in Salt Lake City. And in 1871, his successor used the land to build Utah its first Catholic church, St. Mary Magdalene.

Two years later, Father Lawrence Scanlon arrived to serve as pastor. Born on September 28, 1843, Scanlon had come to San Francisco from Ireland in 1869 as a newly ordained priest. Four years later, convinced that Catholics needed to establish a foothold in a territory fast becoming known as Mormon country, he volunteered for the Utah missions. To that end, Scanlon spent most of his first decade in Utah on horseback, visiting even the most far-flung mining camps every month. The priest also persuaded the Sisters of the Holy Cross to come to Salt Lake City.

Together, they built a hospital, school, and orphanage. Rome recognized Scanlon's accomplishments in November 1886, when the 43-year-old priest was named Vicar Apostolic of Utah. Then, when Salt Lake became a diocese in 1891, Scanlon became its first bishop. Almost immediately, Scanlon began planning for a cathedral. He already had the land, just five blocks away from the Mormon's Temple Square. But, at the time, Utah's wealth was concentrated in Mormon's hands, and raising the money proved nearly impossible. Not until 1899 could Scanlon lay the cornerstone for the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

Sixteen years later, with the interior still unfinished, Scanlon was laid to rest inside his cathedral's walls. Scanlon's dedication highlights that true missionary work often demands patience, strategy, and reliance on God's providence. Pray for missionaries and faith leaders in challenging regions.

Find a small way to support or encourage local missions this week. Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, September 29th, for another story of faith and courage in America.