About St. Vivian · Superior, Wyoming
St. Vivian Mission is a small Catholic mission church serving the town of Superior, Wyoming, in the southwestern part of Sweetwater County. It is a mission of the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Rock Springs and is currently attended to by Holy Spirit Catholic Community, which unites the Rock Springs parishes under one pastoral team. The church sits on County Highway 371 in Superior (ZIP 82945) and historically served the coal-mining families of the Union Pacific Coal Company town. Its pastorate is administered through the Rock Springs rectory rather than from Superior itself.
- Established
- 1950
- Patron
- St. Vivian (St. Bibiana)
- Rector
- Attended to by Holy Spirit Catholic Community, Rock Springs
- Diocese
- Diocese of Cheyenne
Why belong here
St. Vivian Mission is the Catholic presence in the small coal-country town of Superior, Wyoming, and it belongs to the larger Holy Spirit Catholic Community of Rock Springs. For Catholics living in or traveling through Superior, it offers a familiar local church home connected to a wider parish family that celebrates Mass in both English and Spanish, runs daily Masses and a full schedule of confessions and Eucharistic adoration at its Rock Springs churches, and ministers across the Sweetwater County region.
Mass times at St. Vivian
Weekly Mass schedule
St. Vivian Mission, Superior, Wyoming
St. Vivian Mission is a small Catholic mission church serving the mining town of Superior in Sweetwater County, southwestern Wyoming. It sits on County Highway 371 (ZIP 82945) and is canonically a mission of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, Rock Springs. Its day-to-day pastoral care is provided through Holy Spirit Catholic Community, the combined Rock Springs parish family.
History of the Parish
St. Vivian's Catholic Church was formally incorporated on June 6, 1950 in the State of Wyoming as a nonprofit corporation, with its registered office at 116 Broadway Street in Rock Springs — the same address as Our Lady of Sorrows. The mission was established to minister to the Catholic families of Superior, a Union Pacific Coal Company town, so they would not have to travel to Rock Springs for Mass and sacraments. Contemporary newspaper records from 1957 identify the Rev. A.T. Diekemper as the mission's pastor; he is recorded officiating at the funerals of Superior miners and a miner's family member, confirming that the parish was an active ministry to the local mining community during that decade.
Coal-Mining Roots in Superior
Superior's identity is shaped by the Union Pacific Coal Company mines that operated there through much of the twentieth century. Catholic families in those mining camps formed the original congregation of St. Vivian's. The mission's parish register and funeral records from 1957 tie it directly to families of miners killed in the D.O. Clark mine and to members of Superior Local 2228, United Mine Workers of America.
- Rev. A.T. Diekemper, pastor of St. Vivian's, officiated at the funeral of Alfonso Gray, a miner killed in the D.O. Clark mine in Superior, February 1957.
- Gray was a member of Superior Local 2228, United Mine Workers.
- The mission also served the Polish-named Catholic families of Superior, such as the Pavlovich family.
Connection to Our Lady of Sorrows, Rock Springs
St. Vivian Mission is a mission of the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, 116 Broadway, Rock Springs — the south-side Catholic parish serving the Irish-heritage community of Rock Springs. The current Our Lady of Sorrows church building was constructed in 1932 to designs by the Boston architectural firm of Maginnis and Walsh, with James Libby as supervising architect; it is a Romanesque-style building that was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 6, 1997.
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
St. Vivian Mission is now attended to by Holy Spirit Catholic Community, the umbrella parish that unites Our Lady of Sorrows and Saints Cyril and Methodius in Rock Springs under one pastoral team. The community serves the Catholic faithful of greater Sweetwater County in both English and Spanish, with daily and Sunday Mass schedules, a regular confession schedule, and Eucharistic adoration at the Rock Springs churches. St. Vivian's parishioners are directed to those Rock Springs churches for sacraments and Mass.
- Pastors: Rev. Bill Hill and Rev. Ariel Fernando Pico Rincon
- Parish office: 116 Broadway, Rock Springs, WY 82901
- Parish phone: (307) 362-2611 or (307) 362-2146
- Rectory: (307) 362-3493
- Website: hsccwyo.org
Mass and Service Schedule at Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Because St. Vivian Mission is a mission church without a resident priest, parishioners in Superior attend Mass at the Rock Springs churches. Holy Spirit Catholic Community publishes the following schedule on its website and on the Diocese of Cheyenne parish finder.
- Saturday Vigil: 4:00 PM English at Saints Cyril and Methodius; 7:00 PM Spanish at Saints Cyril and Methodius.
- Sunday: 9:30 AM English at Our Lady of Sorrows; 11:30 AM Spanish at Our Lady of Sorrows; 6:00 PM English at Our Lady of Sorrows.
- Weekdays: Monday–Friday 7:00 AM English at Our Lady of Sorrows; Tuesday 6:00 PM English at Our Lady of Sorrows; Thursday 7:00 PM Spanish at Our Lady of Sorrows (except first Thursday of the month).
- Saturday: 9:00 AM English at Saints Cyril and Methodius (first Saturday).
- Confessions: Saturday 5:30 PM at Saints Cyril and Methodius; Thursday 6:00 PM at Our Lady of Sorrows.
- Adoration: Monday and Friday 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Tuesday 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM; Wednesday 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Thursday 7:00 AM – 8:00 PM; Sunday 12:30 PM – 5:15 PM at Our Lady of Sorrows.
Patron Saint: St. Vivian (St. Bibiana)
The mission is named for St. Vivian, also known historically as St. Bibiana or Viviana, a 4th-century Roman virgin martyr. According to her traditional life, she was the daughter of Christian parents who were persecuted for the faith; after her mother was beheaded and her father sent into exile, Vivian was placed under a non-Christian guardian. She remained faithful to Christ and in 326 AD was tied to a pillar and beaten to death under Julian the Apostate. She is venerated as a virgin martyr in both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. Her feast day is December 2.
- Also known as: Bibiana, Viviana
- Feast day: December 2
- Burial site: Basilica of Santa Bibiana, Rome (built and dedicated by Pope Simplicius in the 5th century; restored by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1625)
- Patronage: torture victims, the mentally ill, single laywomen, epilepsy, hangovers, headaches
Visiting and Contact Information
St. Vivian Mission Church is located on County Highway 371 in Superior, Wyoming (ZIP 82945). The mission does not currently hold regular Masses, and visitors should contact Holy Spirit Catholic Community in Rock Springs to confirm any service or sacramental availability. The parish office can be reached at the numbers below.
- Address: County Highway 371, Superior, WY 82945
- Parish phone (Holy Spirit Catholic Community): (307) 362-2611 or (307) 362-2146
- Rectory: (307) 362-3493
- Parent parish office: 116 Broadway, Rock Springs, WY 82901
- Website: hsccwyo.org
- Diocese: Diocese of Cheyenne
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. A.T. Diekemperat least 1957
Identified in 1957 Rock Springs newspaper records as 'pastor of St. Vivian's Catholic church in Superior,' officiating at miners' funerals.