How Catholicism Came to Utah | The Priests Who Entered Mormon Territory

About this sermon

Catholicism reached Utah before the arrival of its better-known pioneer settlers. In 1776, Franciscan Fathers Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante entered the region while searching for an overland route between Santa Fe and Monterey. In this episode of How the Faith Came to the United States, we follow their extraordinary 2,000-mile expedition through mountains, canyons and deserts. Facing snow, hunger and exhaustion, the explorers prayed the Rosary, invoked the saints and entrusted their dangerous journey to divine Providence. The expedition introduced Catholic names to the landscape and produced some of the earliest detailed records and maps of present-day Utah. Later explorers, trappers, soldiers, miners and immigrants carried the Faith into Utah Territory. We also examine Father Bonaventure Keller’s ministry at Camp Floyd, the earliest recorded Catholic funeral in Utah, Father Edward Kelly’s Masses and baptisms in Salt Lake City, and the establishment of Saint Mary Magdalene Church in 1871. Finally, we meet Father Lawrence Scanlan, the tireless Irish missionary who established a permanent Catholic presence among Utah’s scattered communities. With help from the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Catholic schools, hospitals and parishes began serving the people of Utah. Based substantially upon Bernice Maher Mooney’s Salt of the Earth: The History of the Catholic Church in Utah, 1776–2007. 00:00 You Are the Resistance 00:42 How the Faith Came to Utah 00:57 Principal Historical Source 01:29 Catholicism in Utah 01:54 Domínguez and Escalante 03:11 Planning the Route to California 03:43 The Historic Expedition of 1776 05:30 Escalante’s Journal 06:20 Who Led the Expedition? 07:07 Departure from Santa Fe 07:35 A 2,000-Mile Journey 08:26 Entering Present-Day Utah 08:43 Our Lady of Mercy of the Timpanogos 09:09 The Rosary Stops the Storm 09:39 Winter and the Threat of Death 10:17 The Explorers Cast Lots 11:12 Crossing of the Fathers 12:32 Hunger, Thirst and Roasted Leather 12:49 Bernardo de Miera’s Historic Maps 13:55 Was the Expedition a Failure? 15:04 Catholic Trailblazers Enter Utah 15:53 Catholic Names Across Utah 17:04 Christian Trappers and Native Communities 19:04 Thomas Fitzpatrick’s Catholic Connections 21:04 Kit Carson and the Cross 22:14 Utah Passes from Mexico to America 22:39 Catholic Jurisdiction Over Utah 23:44 Pioneer Priests of the American West 25:25 Father Bonaventure Keller 25:39 The Utah War and Catholic Settlement 26:36 The First Catholic Community 26:44 Ministry at Camp Floyd 28:42 Anti-Catholic Hostility 29:16 Utah’s First Recorded Catholic Funeral 29:39 The First Congregational Mass 31:12 Catholic Utah During the Civil War 32:17 Father Jean-Baptiste Raverdy 33:11 Father Edward Kelly Arrives 34:21 Catholics in Mormon Territory 35:02 Salt Lake City’s First Catholic Ministry 36:39 Father Kelly Meets Brigham Young 37:31 Utah Receives a Bishop 38:12 Bishop Machebeuf Visits Salt Lake City 39:14 Catholic Ministry in Corinne 40:01 Building Utah’s First Catholic Church 40:39 Saint Mary Magdalene Church 42:07 The Historic Dedication 42:48 Catholicism Reaches Corinne 44:14 Father Lawrence Scanlan Arrives 44:56 A Permanent Catholic Presence 47:19 The Sisters of the Holy Cross 47:45 Catholic Schools and Holy Cross Hospital 48:08 Utah’s Vast Missionary Territory 48:42 Dangerous Missionary Journeys 49:29 Preaching in Provo 50:24 Journey to a Native Reservation 51:20 Father Scanlan’s Strength and Sacrifice 52:08 Catholic Education in Ogden 52:39 The Sisters Overcome Prejudice 52:55 The Vicariate of Utah https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Earth-History-Catholic-1776-2007/dp/0874808812 https://www.tanbooks.com/ type SF15 at Checkout for 15% off Mediatrix Press affiliate link - https://mediatrixpress.com/?wpam_id=9 Glory & Shine Products - https://gloryandshine.com/?utm_source=Youtube%20/%20Sensus&utm_medium=a45903521d&utm_name=65995592a1 Please remember to say 3 Hail Marys for the priest 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 ✝️ SUPPORT THE MISSION 🙏 Donate https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 📬 Free Catholic Newsletter https://sensusfidelium.com/newsletter/ 📰 Read on Substack https://sensusfidelium.substack.com/ ──────────────────── 📺 WATCH & READ 📺 Sensus Fidelium App https://sensusfidelium.tv/ 📚 Sensus Fidelium Press https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ 👕 Official Merchandise https://sensusfidelium.com/merchandise/ ──────────────────── 🤝 PARTNER WITH US 📣 Advertise on Sensus Fidelium https://sensusfidelium.com/advertise-with-sensus-fidelium/ 🎤 Invite Steve Cunningham to Speak https://sensusfidelium.com/speaking/ ⛪ Parish Formation & Consultation https://sensusfidelium.com/for-parishes/ ──────────────────── 🌎 CATHOLIC COMMUNITY ✝️ Trusted Catholic Businesses https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 #CatholicHistory #UtahHistory #AmericanCatholicHistory #CatholicUtah #SaltLakeCity #CatholicPioneers #DominguezEscalan