WEST HAVEN, Weber County — The Catholic Church soon will expand to western Weber County, as longtime St. Mary's Catholic Church in Ogden relocates to West Haven.

A new church is under construction at about 4000 S. 3900 West to replace the just over 50-year-old St. Mary's building at 2740 Pennsylvania Ave. in Ogden.

The new facility is being built in honor of Jesus' mother to continue to serve the spiritual needs of western Weber County Catholics. According to Dave Freston, chairman of St. Mary's building committee, the church should be moving into the new building by early March, just before Easter.

"It's a little over twice as big," he said of the new facility, which covers about 18,000 square feet on a 10-acre site. "It is significantly larger."

The main building includes space for worship, administration and education.

St. Mary's has about 700 families on its membership rolls, so the extra space is necessary. Also, the new church's location is closer to the center of its service area of West Haven, Roy, Hooper and other surrounding communities.

"This is more out in the community we serve," Freston said.

He said the seating for Mass also will be about double with the new facility.

"Our new foyer is about as big as our old worship space," he said.

"We will have room for everybody."

There is also a separate, 2,500-square-foot rectory on the site, as well as room on the southeast to expand Catholic facilities there in the future, including a school, if needed.

The development of the new church began about eight years ago and it has involved a series of blessings and service.

First, significant money was saved by using Building God's Way, a comprehensive nationwide program for the design and construction of churches.

The old St. Mary's church building has been sold, and that has helped funding for the new facility, though no cost for the new church is being made public. Next, many items and labor were donated for the new facility. The site work was donated by a professional, who is also a parishioner, and much of the subcontracting was done in-kind.

All the stained glass from the old St. Mary's building is being transferred to the new facility. "We can embrace our past and heritage," Freston said.

Another advantage to the new facility will be energy conservation. It is designed to significantly reduce heating and cooling costs. "It's a beautiful building," Freston said.

The ecumenical spirit has even been a part of the new church project. The nearby ward of the Kanesville Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organized a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for St. Mary's new church.

"The community has and will be very involved," Freston said.

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Catholics in Utah

Total members in Utah: *120,000
Total parishes: 48
Total missions: 17
Diocesan priests: 52

*Estimated

Source: Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake

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E-mail: lynn@desnews.com