DCCW Information at, Salt Lake City, UT 84058 US - Learn more About Us

DCCW History

Presidents of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women:

Board Members of the National Council of Catholic Women:

On April 29, 1989, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Ogden, Bishop William K. Weigand bestowed the Papal “Pro Ecclesia Et Pontifice” Award on twenty-four women from the Diocese.  The majority of these were past, living Presidents of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (DCCW), along with other women from the Diocese.  All were honored for their many contributions to the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

This recognition was given to:

Mary Bowers, Justine Buller, Mary Cerroni, Henrietta Diamanti, Jeanne Donahoe,

Margaret Dowse, Emma Entwistle, Virginia Gillett, Mary Hedderman, Bobbie Hunt

Rosa W. Key, Marian Lipman, Wanda McDonough, Anne Mark, Margaret May, Bernice Mooney, Susan Neilson, Rosalee Norwood, Delores Pennington, Kay Sheehan, Eleanor Smith, Helen Struble, Irene Sweeney, and Melba Williams.

            The first half of the 1990’s, brought women together again in Salt Lake City for another General Assembly of the National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW).  In the Fall of 1992, Catholic women from across the country came to Utah to share, plan and pray together.  It was at this General Assembly, that Mrs. Susan Neilson was installed as the Province Director for the Province of San Francisco.  Because of this, for the next two years, women from the Province came to Park City for yearly meetings.  At this same time, Jeanne Matyjasik was president when the Most Reverend George H. Niederauer was installed as Bishop. 

During this same decade, there was much growth within the DCCW.  This is due to the outreach programs that the Presidents from this time period enacted.  Mrs. Mary Adams, President between 1996 – 1998, one of the most “traveled” presidents during this time, journeyed from one end of the state to the other, promoting leadership and other endeavors of the DCCW.  Outreach to all women’s’ groups in the Diocese is a prime goal of the DCCW.  As large as the Diocese is, the DCCW encourages affiliation and participation as a means of providing support and solidarity.

The Diocesan Council celebrated its 75^th Annual Convention in April, 2003; proving the longevity of the organization. The “new millennium” also saw more women involved in leadership positions in the National Council of Catholic Women.  From 2002–2004, Mrs. Bobbie Hunt was the Province Director for the Province of San Francisco on the National Board.  Again, Province meetings were held in Salt Lake City.  In 2006, the Most Reverend Monsignor J. Terrence Fitzgerald, appointed Mrs. Rosa W. Key the president of the Black Catholics of Utah.  This was the second time that Mrs. Key served in this capacity.  Bobbie Hunt, along with thirty-one women from our Diocese attended the NCCW Convention in Columbus, Ohio, on September 20-23, 2007.  At the Convention, Mrs. Hunt was elected President of the National Council of Catholic Women.  She had been serving as the Region 2 Vice President.

Under the presidency of Lydia Farnell (2006 – 2008), the DCCW has come to a new age of technology.  Not only does it have the capability to give PowerPoint presentations, it also has its own website. Because of these tools and past efforts to unify the Parish Councils of Catholic Women, the State DCCW Convention attendance has increased as has the “Woman of the Year” nominations. 

The women of the DCCW again welcomed another new Bishop, The Most Reverend John C. Wester at the April 2007 Convention.  In September, 2008, the Council will host the NCCW General Assembly in Salt Lake City for the third time.  The Diocesan Council of Catholic Women is a progressive and proactive organization.  It will continue to be a strong Christian presence in the Diocese.     

DIOCESAN HISTORY 

 Over 200 years ago, the first Catholic priests traveled from New Mexico through Utah looking for an overland route to the Pacific Ocean. Today, Catholics in Utah number well over a hundred thousand, including 63 parishes and missions, and 17 Catholic schools. An area of nearly 85,000 square miles comprises the Diocese of Salt Lake City. It was in 1776 that Franciscan friars Francisco Dominguez and Silvestre de Escalante crossed this territory with the help of local Native American guides. Six months later, diminishing supplies and threatening weather forced their expedition to return to New Mexico. It would be nearly 100 years before Catholic priests would formally establish their first foundation in Utah Territory. In 1871 Fr. Patrick Walsh built the first Catholic Church in Utah, dedicating it to St. Mary Magdalene. Father (later Bishop) Lawrence Scanlan arrived in 1873 to become pastor. Soon he would be given responsibility for the pastoral care of the Catholic military men, immigrant miners and railroad workers who numbered in the hundreds. Small churches, schools, an orphanage and a hospital were built, staffed by clergy and Holy Cross Sisters, to serve the growing Catholic population. From that time to the present, this diocese has been blessed with assistance from Catholic Mission Societies such as the Catholic Church Extension Society, U.S. Bishop’s Committee on Home Missions, the Black and Indian collections and the Catholic Communication Campaign. As the nineteenth century came to a close, it was clear that the Catholic community in Salt Lake City was rapidly outgrowing the small church of St. Mary Magdalene. The time had come for the Catholics to erect a landmark of faith in downtown Salt Lake City. In 1890 Fr. Scanlan purchased a lot where the present Cathedral stands for $35,000. The Vicariate of Utah became the Diocese of Salt Lake a year later, and a rectory was built on the site by Bishop Lawrence Scanlan, the first Catholic bishop of Utah. Ground was broken for the new church in 1899. Construction for the building would last nearly a decade, costing a small fortune for the estimated 3,000 Catholics in Utah at the turn of the century. In 1917, the interior was artistically enhanced and the church was renamed the Cathedral of the Madeleine. Seventy years later, in the 1990’s, the inside of the Cathedral was renovated and restored over a three-year period, costing 9.7 million dollars. It stands today as a beautiful monument to the early Catholic Church in Utah, and is listed on the Utah State Register of Historic Sites as well as the National Register of Historic Places. As the Catholic population in the nineteenth century grew, the number of religious women and men increased dramatically. The Holy Cross Sisters opened schools as well as Holy Cross Hospital where they ministered for over 100 years. Benedictine Sisters arrived in Ogden from Minnesota to establish a hospital and priory. The present day Christus-St. Joseph Villa was opened for the care of the elderly by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word from Texas. Trappist monks arrived in 1947 to build their monastery in Huntsville. Discalced Carmelite nuns from California founded Carmel in 1952, now located in Holladay. There were Franciscans, Jesuits, Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, Vincentians, Dominicans and the Blessed Sacrament Community. In addition to the Holy Cross Sisters, there were Daughters of Charity, the Mercy Sisters, the Mexican Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and communities that catechized in the Missions: Sisters of the Holy Family, Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters and Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement. So too hundreds of lay women and men dedicated their lives in service to the missionary Diocese in Utah. Today in the Diocese of Salt Lake City there are 19 religious orders. There are over 200 priests, deacons, brothers and women religious serving across the state, as well as thousands of lay ministers. Varied ministries reach out to people of different ethnic backgrounds, especially Hispanic people, who make up a large percentage of the growing Catholic population. Catholic Community Services (founded in 1945) helps refugees, the homeless, the poor and other marginalized members of society. The Intermountain Catholic weekly newspaper (founded in 1898) provides a network of communication to a vibrant community of faith. Following in the footsteps of two brave Franciscan explorers, the Diocese of Salt Lake City has grown from its humble roots as a missionary diocese of miners, immigrants and railroad workers, to an important presence on the Utah landscape. The Catholic Community of Utah continues to grow and flourish into the new millennium.