CELEBRATING 142 YEARS - Faith, Family, Fun, and The Assumption

Over the course of its 142-year history, several fires have plagued our parish of St. Mary of the Assumption. One of the most famous of these occurred in January 1950, when our beloved church building at 121 Park Avenue caught fire, destroying the roof and much of the interior.

At that time, with the mines largely closed, Park City was in depression and the town’s population small. Convinced that the community was fading, the Bishop of Salt Lake City was set to close the parish, leaving the local Catholics without a church.

However, the St. Mary’s family never lost faith. Led by prominent Parkite and parishioner Jim Ivers, the unemployed miners of St. Mary’s quickly rebuilt the roof, restored the Church building, and convinced the Bishop to keep St. Mary’s open.

Later that same year, His Holiness Pope Pius XII promulgated Munificentissimus Deus, “The Most Bountiful God.” The apostolic consultation defined the Assumption of Mary as dogma of the Catholic Church. The declaration, which the parishioners of St. Mary of the Assumption always knew to be true, brought a renewed sense of hope to the local Church of Park City.

WEIGHED DOWN BY EVER SO MANY CARES, ANXIETIES, AND TROUBLES... WE ARE GREATLY CONSOLED TO SEE THAT... PIETY TOWARD THE VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD IS FLOURISHING AND DAILY GROWING MORE FERVENT, AND THAT ALMOST EVERYWHERE ON EARTH IT IS SHOWING INDICATIONS OF A BETTER AND HOLIER LIFE.

By 1991, more than 40 years later, St. Mary’s remained not only open, but bursting at the seams. With new families struggling to all fit into the church building at 121 Park Avenue, parishioner Jim Ivers once again led the way.

With his wife Sally, Jim donated land in the meadow of Park City’s entry corridor for a new church. In 1997, the new church was completed and dedicated on August 15th, the feast of St. Mary of the Assumption.

Every August since then, St. Mary’s has held a 4-mile procession from the church at 121 Park Ave (now the Old Town Chapel) to our new church in honor of the Assumption of Mary.

The procession has evolved into a day-long celebration beginning with a “pre-party” at the Old Town Chapel to decorate and adorn the statute of Our Lady with flowers. Then followed with a “Miners’ Latin Mass” in the Old Town Chapel in honor of those dedicated miners who started it all, a Mass at the same spot and in the same way they would have worshiped in 1881 and 1950. Then continued with the procession itself, including public recitation of the Rosary in Spanish, English, and Latin, along with bagpipes, Mexican horns, and drums. And finally concluding with a bilingual Mass and party at the main campus to unite the St. Mary’s family.

The day-long Assumption celebration embodies the spirit of St. Mary’s. With Mass in three languages at three locations and countless fun traditions such as overnight parties for Our Lady of Guadalupe and Posadas and the candlelit traditional Latin Rorate Mass in honor of Mary . . . no matter what someone finds most attractive in their spiritual life, Saint Mary of the Assumption offers it.

Without so many people incorporating themselves into the Body of Christ here at St. Mary’s and giving back to God in so many ways, this growth in Faith, Hope, and Charity, would not be possible.

Thank you for your support, and happy Feast of the Assumption!