St. Anne’s rises from the ashes

Bishop Christensen dedicates new church following devastating fire

Altar servers Gionni Orellana and Juan Pablo Castro assist Father Francisco Flores during the Mass of Dedication at St. Anne’s Mission. Father Flores is pastor of Pope St. John Paul II Parish in Idaho Falls and its missions.  (Courtesy Photo/Gisselle Montalvan)

By Father Francisco Q. Flores

Pastor of Pope St. John Paul II

Parish and its missions

for the ICR

In the middle of the night of July 1, 2021, lightning from a summer storm struck the propane tank in the backyard of St. Ann’s Church in Mud Lake.

Propane tanks are designed to withstand lightning strikes. However, the force of the strike rocked the tank so that the metal tubing running from the tank into the church was shaken loose. The flame from the furnace’s pilot light lasted long enough to ignite the propane hissing into the church.

The metal tube became a flaming blow torch directly beneath St. Ann’s sanctuary. The building was heavily damaged, though it remained standing. One of the fire officials later explained that because of the church’s metal roof, the inside had become like a supercharged oven, with temperatures reaching up to 1600 degrees Fahrenheit.

Everything was damaged, including the floor joists and roof beams, which were laminated wood; the glue melted and ran out from between the layers. The excessive heat caused total damage to the building.

The heat of the fire at St. Anne’s caused excessive damage to the former church, yet, the Easter Candle survived.

Yet, the Easter Candle survived the heat of the fire the day St. Ann’s burned.

Bishop Peter F. Christensen mentioned in his February 15 homily at the Mass of Dedication of the new St. Anne’s Mission that the “Easter Candle is a symbol of the faith we all hold in Jesus Christ—whom the Gospels refer to as the Light of the world. Christ, the center of our faith, is like the wick that we have as our core. We, like wax, become fuel to keep Christ’s presence burning brightly within our community. It is our faith in Jesus Christ that survives all hardships, obstacles and crushing misfortunes that may come our way. St. Anne’s community has survived and given great witness of their well-placed faith in Jesus Christ and His Church—even the Easter Candle bears witness to this truth.”

Mud Lake is not a large town, but the Catholic Church is strong and vital. There are about 70 people who regularly attend Mass, half of whom are children and young adults. The original church was purchased by catalog, railed to Idaho Falls and carted to Mud Lake on trucks in the 1960s. It seated about 60 people.

Alternate site

The insurance company offered a settlement after several months of taking inventory and assessing the value of the damage. A small group of parishioners formed a building committee, which decided that the church should be expanded, triggering fundraising efforts.

Construction, however, was slow. Idaho is quickly growing, and this corner of the state (eastern) is no exception. In the summer, Idaho Falls and the surrounding areas become a massive construction site for new homes and buildings. Needless to say, it was difficult to lure subcontractors 50 miles into the desert for the comparatively small job of rebuilding St. Ann’s Church.

Months would pass without a hint of construction activity.

In the meantime, the people of St. Ann’s Mission would come together for Mass at the school district office, a modified building belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where we would use a room that was once a chapel. Every week, they would set up the makeshift altar and ambo, set out the chairs and arrange the room.

Following Mass, everything was taken down and put away. Sometimes, the room would still bear the tattered decorations of a high school dance from the night before. Other times, the floor would be sticky or dusty. We were even moved to the gym for a time while the regular room was being remodeled. The people of St. Ann’s Mission did this for three and a half years; in that time, only one complaint reached the pastor’s ears. The people there are to be commended for their dedication and commitment, which came at a higher price during that time.

St. Anne’s completed

Finally, like a dream, in mid-November 2024, the keys were given to us, and we could finally begin using our new church. The final Mass in the school district building was celebrated on October 27, and the first Mass in the new church was celebrated by parochial vicar Father Nelson Cintra on Nov. 3.

Bishop Peter agreed to our proposed date of Feb. 15 for the dedication, and all attention quickly shifted to that day.

First on the agenda was the new altar, which was built by a retired couple from Idaho Falls, Kevin and Patty Krank. It is red oak, stained dark to match the pews, and the top of the altar is Idaho travertine from a Swan Valley mine not too far from Mud Lake.

A drawer-like structure fits in the back of the altar, designed and built to hold the two altar stones containing the relics of five martyred saints from antiquity. It was designed to be permanently sealed, which Mr. and Mrs. Krank did during the Mass as prescribed by the rite.

Another local craftsman, Pat Hedderman, spent dozens of hours refurbishing and preserving the original wooden baptismal font. He also built the central cross for the crucifix and twelve dedication crosses representing the twelve Apostles that were anointed during the Mass of Dedication. Each one has a plate inscribed with the name of an apostle, and a candle is attached to each cross. These crosses will remain a permanent sign that this is a dedicated church. Neither of these craftsmen charged for their labor.

The week beginning Feb. 10 became a flurry of activity. The new altar was delivered to the church, and the travertine top came the following day. The dedication crosses and Stations of the Cross were installed, as were images of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Divine Mercy in the sanctuary.

In God’s providence and care, days before the dedication, an image of St. Ann arrived, as did the corpus for the new cross. We had resigned ourselves to the fact that they would not make it on time. These were gifted to us by the Idaho Council of Catholic Women and a generous donor from northern Idaho.

An unused set of antique Stations of the Cross came from St. Anthony’s Mission in Roberts. These were cleaned and touched up and now grace the walls of the new St. Ann’s church.

During the Mass of Dedication at St. Anne’s Mission on Feb. 15, Bishop Peter poured sacred Chrism Oil on the altar and rubbed it into the travertine surface with his hands. (Courtesy Photos/Gisselle Montalvan)

Dedication

Saturday, Feb. 15, was a gloomy and snowy morning in Idaho Falls but a brilliantly sunny day in Mud Lake.

Bishop Peter, the priests, deacon, altar servers and parishioners gathered outside to begin the Mass. The Bishop was given entry, and the solemn celebration began. The Bishop and priests wore white, with the exception of Parochial Vicar Father Mark Uhlenkott, who had the privilege of carrying the relics of the martyred saints as they processed inside the church. He wore red vestments in their honor, as explicitly called for by the rite.

The Mass of Dedication of a new church and altar is unlike any other.

Immediately upon entering the church, the Bishop blessed water, which he used to bless the people and walls of the church. He then blessed the new altar with holy water. The rite of dedication continued after the homily with the singing of a beautiful rendition of the Litany of the Saints; the final saint implored was “St. Ann, Mother of the Blessed Virgin, pray for us.”

Bishop Peter then prayed the prayer of dedication for the new church and altar. The highlight of this prayer came when he poured sacred Chrism Oil in the middle and the four corners of the altar, then rubbed the oil into the travertine altar top with his hands. The three parish priests then anointed the walls where the crosses had been mounted.

A brazier with hot coals was placed on the altar, and the bishop charged them with incense. He then incensed the altar and was subsequently blessed with it himself, followed by the assembly. The parochial vicars then incensed the walls in the places marked with dedication crosses.

The altar was then cleaned, covered, and adorned by St. Ann’s Mission members. The candles of the altar were lit, as were the candles on each of the 12 anointed crosses. These were lit by Chayo and Claudia Figueroa, the current caretakers, and former caretakers Jaime and Coco Renova, who now live in Homedale.

It was a magnificent completion to a happy morning. The happiness continued as we returned to the school district building, although this time not for Mass, but for a festive meal in honor of God’s providential care for us. God has provided us a gem in the desert.

An appeal for funds

Rising costs due to inflation took their toll over the three and a half years since the church was destroyed. Unplanned changes and requirements added to the price.

Ultimately, the people of Mud Lake incurred a debt of $120,000.

For a regular parish, this is not a crippling amount, but it is for the roughly 50 families that make up this mission, most of them working on the surrounding farms and for agricultural companies.

I ask you to please help this community with a monetary donation. These faithful families will work hard to raise funds, but we need your help.

Please consider submitting a contribution, which can be sent to Pope St. John Paul II Parish, 145 E. 9th Street, Idaho Falls, ID 83404, Attn. St. Ann’s.

• Graciela and Héctor Pérez reverently and carefully dress the newly dedicated altar.

  (Courtesy Photo/Gisselle Montalvan)

• A drawer-like structure holding two altar stones containing five relics of martyred saints was permanently placed in the new altar. Above, Kevin Krank seals the altar stone drawer while Bishop Peter, Father Mark Uhlenkott and Deacon Alvaro Ponce observe. (Courtesy Photo/Gisselle Montalvan)