Saint Jude Mission

Since 1971 the presence of the Catholic church has been visible in Ephraim, serving as a mission for the Saint Elizabeth parish in Richfield. Priests, nuns and deacons have come persistently to serve the number of Catholics in the region. In 1984, Saint Jude's Catholic Center was established at 160 E Center St in Ephraim to provide a visible place of worship for the Catholic people of the area, fo

r their religious celebrations and a counseling and information center for students at Snow College. Sisters of the Holy Cross were working at Saint Jude since June, 1984 until 1997 in different leadership formation, social projects etc. Since the summer of 2004 Father Hernando Diaz has been serving as pastor of all four missions of Saint Elizabeth, Saint Jude, Saint Anthony of the Dessert in Torrey and San Juan Diego in Gunnison, and serving the Prison ministry in the Central Utah Correctional Facility on Fridays. San Juan Diego was established in December 2005. Father Richard Sherman served as pastor in this region from 2009-2013. Father Rafael Murillo from El Salvador served from 2013-2015. He speaks Spanish, English and Italian. Father Manuel Ceron took over as Pastor at St. Jude's Mission from 2015-2021. Father Jose Fidel Barrera Cruz took over as Pastor Fall 2021.