A Unique Union of Religions
Although the area surrounding Silver Reef was predominantly Mormon, the miners who arrived during the boom years came from many different religious backgrounds. Most were not from Utah. Many, such as the skilled Cornish miners, were immigrants from England and Ireland, Protestants and Catholics respectively. As a result, Silver Reef quickly developed a wide range of religious beliefs.
The new Catholic residents, mostly miners, hoped to organize a Catholic High Mass. But there was no proper church to hold it in, nor any choir capable of singing Latin.
Father Lawrence Scanlan
Born in 1843 in County Tipperary, Ireland, Father Lawrence Scanlan was ordained in 1868 and soon volunteered for missionary work in the American West. He arrived in Utah in 1873 and became the first long‑term Catholic priest assigned to the region, traveling constantly to serve scattered mining communities.
He became well known in the silver mining town of Pioche, Nevada. When the Pioche stampede to Silver Reef occurred in October 1876, residents were delighted when Scanlan visited in 1877. He held Mass in homes, baptized children, and provided pastoral care to a community living far from familiar traditions. Recognizing the need for a permanent church, he organized fundraising efforts in 1878.
Construction of a church and hospital for Silver Reef was underway, but Scanlan still hoped to hold a High Mass for his growing congregation.
John Menzies Macfarlane
The Washington County surveyor at the time, John Menzies Macfarlane, was also the choir director at the St. George Mormon Tabernacle. Formerly of Cedar City, he had been called by Erastus Snow (the Latter-day Saint leader for whom Snow Canyon is named) to organize a choir in St. George to lift the community’s morale in the harsh desert environment.
While surveying mining properties in Silver Reef, Macfarlane often stayed in a local boarding house rather than traveling back to St. George. It was there that he met Scanlan, and the two quickly became friends. When Macfarlane learned of Scanlan’s dilemma, their unlikely friendship set the stage for one of the most astonishing moments in early Utah history.
Macfarlane was involved in laying out and surveying the townsite of Babylon when the Stormont Mill was being built. In this 1877 tract map of Babylon, you can clearly read his signature and notes.
Catholic High Mass in a Momon Tabernacle?
When Scanlan prepared to celebrate a full Catholic High Mass, he approached Macfarlane with a bold request that would ripple through the community: Would the St. George Tabernacle Choir, composed entirely of Latter day Saints, learn a Latin Mass and perform it in the Tabernacle?
Macfarlane didn’t hesitate. He sought permission from Erastus Snow, then studied the score, gathered his singers, and rehearsed the unfamiliar Latin until it rose through the soaring interior of the new Tabernacle, a space built for bold sound, now suddenly filled with something entirely unexpected. A Catholic Mass in the Tabernacle was unheard of, and word spread quickly because everyone wanted to see whether it would really happen.
On the appointed day in May 1879, the Tabernacle filled with miners, townspeople, Catholics, Latter‑day Saints, and curious onlookers. Careful not to offend, Scanlan began by saying, “I think you are wrong and you think I am wrong, but this should not prevent us from treating each other with due consideration and respect.”
Scanlan celebrated the High Mass with solemn beauty. Macfarlane’s choir responded with soaring harmonies that stunned the room. For a brief moment, the boundaries that usually defined frontier life simply fell away.
It wasn’t intended as a grand gesture. It was the natural result of respect, friendship, and two communities choosing cooperation over division. It became one of the most remarkable stories in southern Utah’s history: A Catholic High Mass, sung by a Latter-day Saint choir, held inside the St. George Tabernacle.
Today, the Silver Reef Museum preserves this moment as a reminder of what can happen when people meet with trust and goodwill. It’s a story as surprising as it is inspiring, and one that still echoes throughout southern Utah.
The Story Comes to Life
The video below dramatizes this unique story of two religions coming together to address a need in their community. This video was produced by the Silver Reef Foundation LLC nonprofit organization in 2023.
How You Can Learn More
If you’d like to read more of the details regarding this unique story, get yourself a copy of the book Silver, Sinners and Saints, A History of Old Silver Reef, Utah. Along with the Scanlan / Macfarlane story, there are many other fascinating historical stories that occurred in Silver Reef included in this book.
The book is available for purchase in the Silver Reef Gift Shop.
