About St. Catherine of Siena · Salt Lake City, Utah
St. Catherine of Siena is a Catholic parish and Newman Center serving the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Run by the Dominican Province of the Holy Name (Order of Preachers), its primary mission is campus ministry — forming students intellectually, spiritually, and communally through a shared rhythm of liturgical prayer, preaching, and sacramental life. The parish welcomes students, faculty, staff, families, and friends of St. Catherine's who worship with the community in support of the Church's mission at the university. It is one of roughly 250 Newman Centers in the United States and sits directly across the street from campus at 170 S. University Street.
- Established
- 1981
- Patron
- St. Catherine of Siena
- Rector
- Rev. Gabriel T. Mosher, O.P. (Fr. Gabriel Mosher, OP, KCHS)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salt Lake City
Why belong here
St. Catherine's is the Catholic home at the University of Utah — a Dominican-run parish where students, faculty, staff, and friends pray, study, and serve together. The community gathers around daily Mass, regular confession, weekday adoration, and the Liturgy of the Hours, and is shaped by serious preaching, formation in the Thomistic tradition, and a real rhythm of student community life. If you are looking for the fullness of Catholic sacramental life and genuine fellowship on or near the U of U campus, this is the parish.
Mass times at St. Catherine of Siena
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday — 5:30 PM
- Tuesday — 5:30 PM
- Wednesday — 5:30 PM
- Thursday — 5:30 PM
- Friday — 5:30 PM
- Saturday — 4:15 PM (or 4:00 PM per the Diocese listing)
- Sunday — 5:30 PM
Adoration times
- Monday — 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
- Tuesday — 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
- Wednesday — 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
- Thursday — 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
- Friday — 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
- Saturday — 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
- Sunday — 5:30 PM to 6:15 PM
Who We Are
St. Catherine of Siena is a Catholic parish entrusted to the Dominican Province of the Holy Name and established as the Newman Center for the University of Utah. The parish exists primarily to serve students, faculty, staff, and their families, while also welcoming friends of St. Catherine's and others drawn to the Dominican charism who worship with the community. The common life is shaped by a shared rhythm of liturgical prayer, preaching, and sacramental life, lived in the Dominican tradition.
- Dominican parish of the Province of the Holy Name
- Newman Center for the University of Utah
- Primary mission: campus ministry
- Welcomes students, faculty, staff, families, and friends
History
Catholic presence at the University of Utah began in 1948 with the establishment of St. Ambrose Parish and the University of Utah Newman Center on May 20, 1948. The Dominican Province of the Holy Name assumed the apostolate in 1981, and the parish was renamed Saint Catherine of Siena / Newman Center on December 13, 1981. The first church was dedicated June 1, 1986. A new Saint Catherine of Siena Church / Newman Center was dedicated September 6, 2004, by Bishop Niederauer with Fr. Denis D. Reilly, O.P., as pastor — the building still in use today.
- 1948 — St. Ambrose Parish & U of U Newman Center established
- 1981 — Parish renamed Saint Catherine of Siena; Dominicans arrive
- 1986 — First dedication (June 1)
- 2004 — New church dedicated September 6 by Bishop Niederauer
Dominican Life & Spirituality
The Dominican tradition shapes the parish's common life through a commitment to liturgical prayer, the preaching of the Gospel, and the pursuit of truth in study. St. Catherine of Siena — the 14th-century Dominican mystic, Doctor of the Church, and patron of the parish — embodies this charism of contemplata aliis tradere (passing on the fruits of contemplation). At St. Catherine's this means serious sacramental life, thoughtful preaching, and an integration of faith and reason ordered toward the service of the Church and the university.
- Entrusted to the Dominican Province of the Holy Name
- Centered on prayer, preaching, and study
- Formation in the Thomistic intellectual tradition
- Named for St. Catherine of Siena, O.P. (feast day April 29)
Worship & Prayer
The heart of the community is the daily celebration of the Eucharist and the daily prayer of the Church. Mass is offered Saturday evening, three times on Sunday (a quiet morning Mass, a solemn Mass, and an evening student Mass), and Monday through Friday at 6:00 PM. Confession is available every day of the week, and Eucharistic Adoration is offered Monday through Friday before Mass, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday evening.
Liturgy of the Hours
The parish prays the Liturgy of the Hours together — the official daily prayer of the Church — in the Dominican tradition. The parish website lists Morning Prayer Monday–Friday at 7:00 AM, Evening Prayer Monday–Friday at 5:00 PM, and additional hours on Saturday and Sunday.
- Morning Prayer (Lauds) — Monday–Friday 7:00 AM
- Evening Prayer (Vespers) — Monday–Friday 5:00 PM
- Saturday — 4:00 PM
- Sunday — 5:30–6:30 PM
Students at St. Catherine's
Students are the primary focus of pastoral life at St. Catherine's. The rhythms of worship, preaching, and formation are ordered toward their intellectual and spiritual formation. Student life centers on a weekly Student Mass, weekly Scripture and preaching formation, a Community Night with a shared meal, and regular confession and adoration. The parish invites students to come to Mass first, then join one of the weekly rhythms of student life, then get connected to receive updates.
- Weekly Student Mass (Sunday evening)
- Weekly Formation — Scripture and preaching
- Community Night — shared meal and time together
- Regular Confession & Adoration availability
Dominican Student Missionaries
The parish hosts a residential Dominican Student Missionaries program. While pursuing academic studies at the University of Utah, the missionaries receive intensive Catholic formation in the charism of St. Dominic and the Order of Preachers. They live in community, pray together, study together, and work for the salvation of their brothers and sisters on campus. The website features the 2025-26 cohort of missionaries.
- Immersed in the Dominican charism of prayer, study, community, and mission
- Live, pray, and study together at St. Catherine's
- Engage in missionary work on the University of Utah campus
- Calling missionary disciples since 1216
Leadership & Staff
The parish is led by Dominican friars of the Province of the Holy Name. The pastor, Fr. Gabriel Mosher, O.P., oversees the pastoral life and mission of the parish; the Director of Student Mission, Fr. Cody Jorgensen, O.P., focuses on campus ministry and student formation. A third Dominican, Fr. Ambrose Sigman, O.P., is in residence. The lay team includes Molly Bruns (Director of Development), an accountant, an office assistant, and facilities/maintenance staff.
Fr. Gabriel Mosher, O.P. — Pastor
Fr. Gabriel entered the Dominican Order in 2007 and was ordained a priest in 2015. He spent his first seven years as a priest at Holy Rosary Parish in Portland, Oregon, before being named pastor of St. Catherine of Siena in 2022. He holds the designation KCHS.
- Entered the Dominicans: 2007
- Ordained: 2015
- Served Holy Rosary Parish, Portland, OR: 2015–2022
- Pastor of St. Catherine's: 2022–present
Fr. Cody Hyacinth Jorgensen, O.P. — Director of Student Mission
Fr. Cody came into the Church at the Prince of Peace Newman Center at the University of Washington in 2008 during his undergraduate studies in Biochemistry and Informatics. He entered the Order of Preachers in 2011, holds a Masters in Philosophy and a Masters of Divinity, and was educated especially in the tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas. His area of focus is sacred music and the liturgy. He spent a pastoral year at St. Thomas More Newman Center at the University of Arizona and a year studying in Rome at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum). He was ordained in 2019 and was sent to St. Catherine's that same year to lead student ministry.
- Entered the Dominicans: 2011
- Ordained: 2019
- Sent to St. Catherine's: 2019
- Focus: sacred music and the liturgy
Fr. Ambrose Sigman, O.P. — In Residence
Fr. Ambrose Sigman, O.P., is a Dominican priest in residence at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church and Newman Center, listed by the Diocese of Salt Lake City among the parish's clergy.
Lay Staff
Lay staff support the parish's mission alongside the friars.
- Molly Bruns — Director of Development
- Accountant
- Office Assistant
- Facilities / Maintenance
Visit & Contact
The parish welcomes everyone — students, neighbors, and visitors — to worship with the community. The parish office can be reached by phone or email, and individual staff members can be contacted directly to schedule a meeting.
- Address: 170 S. University St., Salt Lake City, UT 84102
- Phone: (801) 359-6066
- Office email: [email protected]
- Fr. Gabriel: [email protected]
- Fr. Cody: [email protected]
- Molly (Development): [email protected]
Notable Features
A standout visual element of the sanctuary is the replica of the Cross of the Stigmata behind the altar — roughly 9.5 feet tall by 6.5 feet wide — reproducing the cross before which St. Catherine of Siena received the stigmata mystically on her hands and feet. The parish is also one of only about 250 Newman Centers in the United States and is staffed by the Dominican Province of the Holy Name.
- Replica Cross of the Stigmata behind the altar
- One of ~250 Newman Centers in the U.S.
- Staffed by the Dominican Province of the Holy Name
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Denis D. Reilly, O.P.around 2004 dedication
Pastor when the new Saint Catherine of Siena Church / Newman Center was dedicated on September 6, 2004, by Bishop Niederauer.
- Rev. Thomas DeManthrough 1989 and into early 1990s
Had ministered on university campuses for 23 years; reported in 1989 Deseret News feature as leading the center.
- Rev. Thomas Kraftjoined September 1989
Joined the center and parish in fall 1989 to assist with teaching and ministry.
- Rev. Fr. Ken Gumbert, O.P.through fall 1989
Dominican priest who left the center in fall 1989 to pursue graduate studies.
- Rev. Gabriel T. Mosher, O.P.2022–present
Entered the Dominicans in 2007, ordained 2015; served first seven years at Holy Rosary Parish in Portland, OR; named pastor of St. Catherine's in 2022.