Camp Floyd, Utah — First Mass, July 1859

July 1859

Location	Camp Floyd
State/Territory	Utah
County	Utah County
Modern Diocese	Salt Lake City
Historical Diocese	Diocese of Monterey(?)
Date	July 1859
Priest	Fr. Bonaventure Keller, OFM
Religious Order	Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans)
Rite	Roman (Latin) Rite
Expedition	U.S. Army chaplain at Camp Floyd (Utah War-era garrison), not part of an exploration expedition
Confidence	confirmed

Photos

Screenshot of Archive.org page in case it goes away

Documentation

Utah History Encyclopedia (Bernice M. Mooney; Univ. of Utah Press book, hosted by Utah Education Network)

Notes

Fr. Bonaventure Keller of Philadelphia offered the first known mass in Utah in July 1859 at Camp Floyd. Keller was a U.S. Army chaplain, not an expedition member. Exact day within July 1859 not documented in any source found. Note: the more famous 1776 Dominguez-Escalante expedition crossed Utah and preached at Utah Lake, popularly commemorated with a monument cross, but no confirmed Mass from that expedition is documented.

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