About Our Lady of Lourdes · Magna, Utah
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church is a Catholic parish in Magna, Utah — a historic copper-mining township on the southwest side of the Salt Lake Valley — serving English- and Spanish-speaking Catholics under the Diocese of Salt Lake City. The parish was established in 1916 and is housed in a striking native-stone church built in the Old English Gothic style, much of whose original structure, including beautiful stained-glass windows and stone walls, is still intact. Today it is run as a mission-style parish by Reverend Kelechi Alozie, who serves as parish Administrator and as Chaplain to the Utah State Prison. Weekend Masses are celebrated in English and Spanish, and the parish is best known locally for its long-running annual Spaghetti Dinner, a beloved community fundraiser that in 2022 marked its 90th year.
- Established
- 1916
- Patron
- Our Lady of Lourdes (the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Lourdes apparition)
- Rector
- Reverend Kelechi Alozie (parish Administrator; also serves as Chaplain to the Utah State Prison)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salt Lake City
Why belong here
Our Lady of Lourdes offers a bilingual Catholic home in Magna — a working-class, historic mining town on the Salt Lake Valley's west side — with a Saturday Vigil Mass in English, two Sunday Masses (English and Spanish), and a daily 8:00 am Mass that makes weekday devotion easy. It is one of only a handful of parishes in the diocese housed in a 1928 native-stone church, and the parish is best known for its annual Spaghetti Dinner, a beloved 90-plus-year-old community fundraiser whose proceeds go directly to parish programs serving parishioners and those in need in Magna.
Mass times at Our Lady of Lourdes
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish Identity & Patron
The parish takes its name from Our Lady of Lourdes, the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in connection with the Marian apparitions reported in 1858 at the grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes, France. Her feast day is February 11. The parish adopted this title at its 1916 founding and has kept it for more than a century, even after the diocese reorganized several surrounding parishes and town boundaries over the decades.
- Patron: Our Lady of Lourdes (Blessed Virgin Mary, apparition at Lourdes, France)
- Feast day: February 11
Church Building & Architecture
The church stands on the parish grounds at 2840 S 9000 W in Magna, easily located from the UT-201 freeway. Built in 1928 and re-dedicated on April 25, 1995, it was designed in the Old English Gothic style and constructed of native stone — part of the same building project that produced Saint Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in Midvale. Much of the original structure is still intact, including the exterior stone walls (visible from inside) and a series of original stained-glass windows. Visitors enter through a small foyer, where stairs lead up to the balcony and cry room, and a separate door opens into the vesting area.
- Original 1928 native-stone construction, Old English Gothic style
- Re-dedicated April 25, 1995
- Original exterior stone walls and stained-glass windows preserved
- Balcony and cry room accessed from the front foyer
History & Community Life
Founded in 1916 to serve the Catholic families of Magna — a copper-mining township originally known as Pleasant Green (renamed Magna in 1906) — the parish has watched its industrial town grow and change for more than a century. Major recorded milestones include the 2013 purchase of a new rectory under then-pastor Rev. Javier Virgen, the impact of the March 18, 2020 5.7-magnitude earthquake whose epicenter was in Magna itself, and a 2016–2017 break-in in which three juveniles destroyed antique religious artifacts and stole thousands of dollars of church property.
- 1916: Parish established
- 1928: Stone church constructed and dedicated
- 2013: New rectory purchased under Rev. Javier Virgen
- 2020: Impacted by 5.7 Magna-centered earthquake (March 18) and 4.1 aftershock (March 22)
- 2016–2017: Break-in and theft by three juveniles
Mass, Sacraments & Devotions
Liturgies at Our Lady of Lourdes are celebrated in both English and Spanish. The weekly schedule is built around the Saturday Vigil at 5:00 PM in English, two Sunday Masses (10:00 AM English and 12:00 PM Spanish), and a daily 8:00 AM Mass Monday through Friday. Holy Days are observed with Masses at 9:00 AM and 7:00 PM. The parish's diocesan page does not list confession or adoration times, so penitents are encouraged to call the parish office to arrange the sacrament.
- Saturday Vigil: 5:00 PM (English)
- Sunday: 10:00 AM English / 12:00 PM Spanish
- Daily Mass: 8:00 AM Monday–Friday
- Holy Days: 9:00 AM and 7:00 PM
Annual Spaghetti Dinner
Our Lady of Lourdes is widely known across the Salt Lake Valley for its annual Spaghetti Dinner, a tradition that in September 2022 marked its 90th year. Held in the parish hall on the church grounds at 2840 S 9000 W, it is a family-friendly fundraiser open to the public and accessible to people with disabilities; volunteers — Catholics and non-Catholics alike — are welcome, and those who work three or more hours during preparation week receive a complimentary meal. Take-out orders are available and proceeds go directly to parish programs that serve parishioners and the community in need. The dinner features homemade Italian sauce made with Colosimo's signature 'sauz-e-letzs,' parishioner-baked pizzelle (Italian waffle cookies), prize-drawing baskets run by the Council of Catholic Women, and a Notre Dame-themed outdoor eating area.
- Tradition running 90+ years (since ~1932)
- Jubilee 90th anniversary held Sunday, September 25, 2022, 1:00–7:00 PM
- Take-out orders open from 11:00 AM; pre-orders accepted online
- Colosimo's 'sauz-e-letzs' in the homemade Italian sauce
- Pizzelle (Italian waffle cookies) baked by parishioners
- Council of Catholic Women prize-drawing baskets
- All proceeds directed to parish programs serving those in need
Parish Staff & Clergy
The parish is currently administered by Reverend Kelechi Alozie, who additionally serves as Chaplain to the Utah State Prison. The parish phone number, (801) 508-1595, rings directly into the parish office. The diocesan history notes that Rev. Javier Virgen was the parish's pastor at least by August 2013, when the parish purchased its new rectory, and he remains listed among the priests with faculties in the Diocese of Salt Lake City.
- Rev. Kelechi Alozie — Administrator, Our Lady of Lourdes, Magna / Utah State Prison Chaplain
- Rev. Javier Virgen — Pastor as of August 2013
Diocese of Salt Lake City
Our Lady of Lourdes is one of more than two dozen parishes in the Diocese of Salt Lake City, which was established as the Vicariate Apostolic of Utah on November 23, 1886, became the Diocese of Salt Lake on January 27, 1891 under its first bishop Lawrence Scanlan, and was renamed the Diocese of Salt Lake City by papal decree in 1951. In May 2023, Pope Francis established the new ecclesiastical Province of Las Vegas and named Salt Lake City a suffragan diocese of that province. Our Lady of Lourdes, Magna appears on the diocesan parish timeline as early as 1916.
- Diocese of Salt Lake City (suffragan to the Archdiocese of Las Vegas since May 2023)
- First bishop: Lawrence Scanlan
- Parish established: 1916
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Reverend Javier (G.) Virgenby August 9, 2013
Pastor at the time the parish purchased its new rectory; still listed among priests with faculties in the Diocese of Salt Lake City.