FOURTH UTAH CATHOLIC WEEK OF JUSTICE, PEACE AND LIFE

PASTORAL LETTER TO THE PARISH

Announcing the Fourth Utah Catholic Week for Justice, Peace, and Life - Parish of Saints Peter and Paul – West Valley City, Utah

Theme:

Peru and Ecuador: Realities, Challenges, and Hope

From the Andes to the Wasatch: One Faith, One People, One Mission for Justice, Peace, and Life.

 Sunday, June 28 – Sunday, July 5, 2026

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

As a community called to walk together in faith, solidarity, and missionary discipleship, we joyfully announce the celebration of the fourth Utah Catholic Week for Justice, Peace, and Life, dedicated this year to the realities, challenges, and hopes of our brothers and sisters from Peru and Ecuador.

Many families in our parish and throughout the Diocese of Salt Lake City carry in their hearts the deep spiritual, cultural, and human heritage of the Andean world. Their stories of migration, resilience, faith, and hope are now part of the life of the Church in Utah. For this reason, we wish to enter into a deeper encounter with the ecclesial, pastoral, anthropological, cultural, and sociological realities that shape daily life in Peru and Ecuador.

A Week of Encounter and Conversion

During this week, we will reflect on:

• The ecclesial voice of the bishops of Peru and Ecuador, who courageously defend human dignity, peace, and the common good.
• The pastoral challenges of communities living amid violence, political instability, economic inequality, and forced migration.
• The anthropological richness of Andean cultures, where community, reciprocity, respect for elders, and care for creation illuminate the Gospel.
• The cultural expressions of faith—devotions, music, art, and popular religiosity—that sustain hope in difficult times.
• The sociological realities affecting families: insecurity, poverty, environmental degradation, and the search for a dignified life.

These realities are not foreign to us. They resonate in the lives of many parishioners who now call Utah home. Their struggles and hopes are also ours, because in Christ we form one Body and one People of God.

A Call to Justice, Peace, and Life

In communion with the Universal Church, our local Church, we renew our commitment to:

• Defend human life from conception to natural death
• Promote peace founded on justice, dialogue, and reconciliation
• Accompany migrant families seeking stability and dignity
• Care for creation and vulnerable communities affected by environmental harm
• Build a parish where every person is welcomed, accompanied, and strengthened

An Invitation to Participate

I warmly invite every family, ministry, and parish group to take part in this week’s activities: moments of prayer, formation, cultural celebration, testimonies, and community dialogue. Together, we will listen to the cry of the poor, the voice of the Church, and the wisdom of cultures that enrich our common life.

May this week strengthen our identity as a missionary parish, open to the Holy Spirit and committed to the Gospel of justice, peace, and life.

We entrust this week to the maternal intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of the Andes, Our Lady of El Quinche, and Our Lady of El Cisne, and I impart to you my heartfelt blessing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

In Christ,

Father Sebastien SASA, PhD, MPA

Pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Parish

West Valley City, Utah, July 14, 2026