About Good Shepherd · East Carbon, Utah
Good Shepherd Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish in East Carbon, Utah, located at 201 Center Street in the heart of Carbon County's small mining-community town. It belongs to the Diocese of Salt Lake City and is served from Notre Dame de Lourdes Catholic Church in Price, which provides the parish with its priest. Mass is celebrated on Saturday at 4:00 pm, with confessions heard beforehand, and the parish works closely with its two associated missions (San Rafael Catholic Mission and Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic Mission) under a single pastor.
- Established
- 1947
- Patron
- The Good Shepherd (Jesus Christ)
- Rector
- Very Reverend Arokia Dass David
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salt Lake City
Why belong here
Good Shepherd is a small but faithful Catholic community in the rural coal-mining country of eastern Utah, where regular weekend access to Mass is a real gift to the local faithful. Because it is part of a pastoral cluster served from Notre Dame de Lourdes in Price, parishioners and visitors receive consistent priestly care and access to the sacraments—Mass, Confession, and the option to arrange anointing or other rites—by appointment. It is a welcoming parish for Catholics living in or passing through East Carbon who want to keep holy the Lord's Day in this part of Carbon County.
Mass times at Good Shepherd
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday, 3:15–3:45 pm or by appointment
History of Good Shepherd Parish
Good Shepherd Parish was established in 1947 in Dragerton—the company town built by the Utah Fuel Company for its coal miners that later became East Carbon City. According to the Diocese of Salt Lake City's official history, the parish was created the same year as Saint Elizabeth Parish in Richfield, during Bishop Duane G. Hunt's long tenure, in which fourteen new parishes were founded across Utah. The church was dedicated on October 10, 1947. Like many parishes of its era in Carbon County, Good Shepherd was planted to serve Catholic families drawn to the region by the mines. More than seventy-five years on, the parish continues to serve the people of East Carbon and the surrounding communities. The Diocese of Salt Lake City formally recorded the parish's 75th Anniversary on October 8, 2022, as a milestone in the life of the diocese.
- Founded: 1947 in Dragerton (later East Carbon City)
- Dedication: October 10, 1947
- 75th Anniversary celebrated October 8, 2022
- Part of the wave of fourteen parishes founded under Bishop Duane G. Hunt
Clergy and Pastoral Leadership
Good Shepherd is currently served by Very Reverend Arokia Dass David, who is pastor of Notre Dame de Lourdes Catholic Church in Price, Good Shepherd Catholic Church in East Carbon, and the associated missions San Rafael Catholic Mission and Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic Mission. Fr. David was born in Paramakudi, Tamil Nadu, India; was ordained a priest on April 26, 2009; came to Utah in 2013; and was named administrator of this pastoral cluster effective August 1, 2019, becoming pastor in 2021 when he was incardinated into the Diocese of Salt Lake City.
- Pastor: Very Reverend Arokia Dass David
- Cluster: Notre Dame de Lourdes, Good Shepherd, San Rafael Mission, Saint Michael the Archangel Mission
- Contact for priest: (435) 637-1846
Parish Cluster and Missions
Good Shepherd is one member of a pastoral cluster of four Catholic communities across Carbon, Emery, and Grand counties, all cared for by a single pastor out of Notre Dame de Lourdes in Price. San Rafael Catholic Mission and Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic Mission (East Carbon) are the two mission parishes linked to Good Shepherd in this arrangement.
- Notre Dame de Lourdes Catholic Church — Price (center of the cluster)
- Good Shepherd Catholic Church — East Carbon
- San Rafael Catholic Mission
- Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic Mission — East Carbon
Location and Contact
Good Shepherd Catholic Church is located at 201 Center Street in East Carbon, Utah, in the heart of the small mining town that grew up around the old Dragerton camp. Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office through the Notre Dame de Lourdes rectory in Price at (435) 637-1846. The parish is listed within the Parish Finder directory of the Diocese of Salt Lake City.
- Address: 201 Center Street, East Carbon, UT 84520
- Phone: (435) 637-1846
- Diocesan Parish Finder listing: dioslc.org/parishfinder
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Very Reverend Arokia Dass David2019–present (administrator from August 1, 2019; named pastor in 2021)
Born in Paramakudi, Tamil Nadu, India; ordained April 26, 2009 in India; came to Utah in 2013; named administrator of Notre Dame de Lourdes, Good Shepherd, and its missions effective August 1, 2019; incardinated into the Diocese of Salt Lake City in 2021 and at that time became pastor.