Mass at the St. Helen’s Catholic Church in Roosevelt on Christmas Eve not only was special because of the season, but also because the congregation moved back into a newly remodeled chapel.

Repairs to the building became necessary when a water leak was discovered the first week in July.

“We’ve been having church in the social hall, really called the parish center,” said Karon Simonton, St. Helen's director of religious education. “It is actually lots bigger, but it doesn’t have the atmosphere of the church. We Catholics believe in having different icons present. Those weren’t in the parish. Having them again is very comforting.”

Judy Guinn, a member of the church's board and housekeeper for the priest, described discovering the water problem. “We walked in and there was a horrible musty smell.”

Following the smell led them to a cellar that runs under the sacristy, a room where sacred objects are kept and where the priests prepare for Mass. The cellar not only housed the furnace but also was storage for Christmas decorations and other items. This area was filled with water almost to the top step.

“We called the city to shut the water off,” Guinn explained. “We thought we’d quickly find where the leak was and have it repaired.”

Because the basement provided no access to waterlines, the floor was removed to accommodate a search for the leaky pipe. This required removing the benches and eventually much of the sheetrock. Although the source of the water eluded workers for a long time, they did uncover much of the building’s history.

Six weeks later the source of the water was finally discovered.

“In the far northeast corner of the church part itself there was a little galvanized pipe,” Guinn said. “We thought it was a gas line and not a water line so we ignored that until we finally couldn’t find another place.”

Guinn was given the responsibility of overseeing the renovation. “With the Father’s input, of course,” she added when questioned about her responsibilities.

As the damage from the water break was repaired, additional problems were discovered, such as deteriorating walls and damaged benches. Termites were discovered in one wall. Eventually the church received new carpeting, sheet rock, paint and more comfortable pews.

“It has been fun and interesting,” Guinn said about the six-month project.

“I feel so grateful for the members of our parish who made this possible,” Simonton said. “I felt like I was back home when we had the Christmas Mass in our church. Although our church is small, it is home to our church family and dearly loved by us all.”

She said the church's membership consists of around 100 families.

UNCOVERING HISTORY

When workers began to pull floorboards from St. Helen’s, they discovered the foundation of an old farmhouse that had been turned into a place of worship back in the early 1940s.

In removing the floor, construction crews discovered that the church was built on stone. The beams supporting the building were held up by rocks. Piles of dirt, rocks and debris also were present under the church, presumably left by the priest who took on the task of renovating the farmhouse.

The priest had come to the Uintah Basin after the new Bishop of Salt Lake City was consecrated on Oct. 28, 1937. One of the first things the Utah bishop did was invite two Paulist priests to establish a house in Utah. This new bishop was realistic when he pointed out that Uintah and Duchesne counties had a combined area of 7,560 square miles, a population of 17,298, and possibly 100 Catholics.

In the late 1930s the two priests that were sent to northeastern Utah were using Vernal as a base and conducting outdoor trailer chapel missions in the area. They made a trip to Roosevelt with the mobile chapel in October 1938. The holy men apparently got a rather cool reception, for only 20 people showed up. According to records kept by the parish, attendance the following summer improved when 150 people came to Mass.

In February 1940, the Paulists moved from Vernal to Roosevelt because it was considered more centrally located and had more Catholics. During cold winter months, the trailer chapel was often not in operation.

In 1940 a rectory was dedicated in a house across the street from where the present St. Helen's Church sits. Starting sometime around 1943, a priest ambitiously decided to construct a church out of a farmhouse doing most of the work himself.

In 1980, another reconstruction of the church occured. Interior walls and ceilings were replaced. Windows were added, as well as additional seating.

Church records now will show another improvement completed at Christmas 2009.