 Fr. Hyacinth Joseph Valine, OP
On Christmas Eve of 1897, Joseph Valine was born of Manuel and Mary, in the Azore Islands. When he was just 8 years old, Joseph’s
father, a farmer, moved the family to Vallejo, California, where many other Portuguese
families had settled.
Inspired by the Dominican missionary priest who was his pastor,
Joseph decided to become a Dominican. He
entered the Order on 21 September 1923, taking the name Hyacinth. Following his ordination in 1929, he began
ministering to the Portuguese of California.
He was sent to Utah in 1941. There,
he became known as the “Doughnut Priest,” for he used to bake doughnuts at St.
Bridget’s Chapel in Milford, Utah. This
was, in fact, one of his methods for raising money for building chapels in rural Utah. Seven churches in Utah were built by him. At St Bridget’s, he also opened a Youth
Center. For awhile, he would drive 600
miles to the
various chapels he had established in southern Utah.
When he “retired,” he would drive only 300 miles.
He wore out more than a few vehicles in his travels.
Even when he was 90, he was pastor of three
churches, and ministered to a flock scattered around a rural part of Utah roughly the size
of New Jersey. “No one wants my
job,” he once jovially replied, when asked why, even in his 90s, he had not fully
retired.
 And even amid all his travels and all the demands of his missionary work, he
still managed to help people on a personal level. In
Milford, Utah, for example, there is a train stop, to which many homeless travelers came. They all knew where Fr. Valine’s rectory was,
for, to such as these that came to him, Fr Valine assured food, bed and shower.
“His influence [throughout Utah],” states an article in Extension magazine (May 1988), “has resulted
in a number of converts – one is now a monsignor – and has also brought people
back to the Church.” Catholics and non-Catholics alike sing his praises.
On June 10, 1976, the bicentennial
year of the Dominguez and Escalante Expedition through Milford, Utah (San
Bridgita), "Fr. Valine Day" was officially observed by the Town of Milford.
A commemoration in his memorial at the city park is in the works. To
contribute to this memorial, please contact
St. Bridget's Catholic Church, 210 South 100 West,
Milford, UT 84751, (435)387-2732.
In 1988, the Catholic Extension Society presented him with its Lumen
Christi award, which honors “Catholics who have dedicated their lives to extending
the Faith among the poor and unchurched in America.”
The main celebrant for the Mass of the award ceremony was the Society’s
chancellor, Joseph Cardinal Bernardine.
Among his other accomplishments while in the Order, he was a member
of the first graduating class of St. Thomas Aquinas College, Chicago, in 1927. On 10 February 1983, Fr Valine was, by order of
Pope John Paul II, formally vested with membership in the Equestrian Order of the Holy
Sepulcher of Jerusalem.
From an article in the May 1988 edition of Extension (magazine of the Catholic Extension
Society)
Without any money and with a flock of parishioners whose incomes were
insufficient to support their parishes, Father Valine set out to build the churches, using
any means available. First, he became a
farmer, raising alfalfa for sale to local dairymen and pioneering the use of sprinkler
irrigations systems in the area. Then he
became Milford’s caterer. When those
activities became too physically taxing, he turned to doughnut making.
From the same article as above:
Father Valine finds in his priesthood and Catholic Faith the sources
of spiritual strength he has needed to do his missionary work for so many years. “Being a priest is a way of life that allows
me to help as many people as I can; I would exchange it for anything else.”
From an article in the June 1988 edition of Extension
Mention Father Valine’s perseverance and he shrugs; because he
himself is not impressed by all his hard work or sacrifices. Remark about his enduring patience and he
confesses that he things you might be stretching the point.
But I’m not! Father Valine is one of the most patient and loving
missionaries I have ever met.
When Father sums up his life’s work, he say, “The thing of
which I am most proud is this: that I have
kept the Catholic Church alive in this part of the country [Utah].” And I want
to add, “not just alive, but alive and shining with the Light of Christ.”
A letter of Vicar Provincial Mark McPhee, OP to the Fathers and
Brothers of the Province of the Holy Name:
Dear Fathers and Brothers:
On Wednesday, November 9th, I had the privilege of being present at a
clergy banquet in Salt Lake City, which was a tribute to a remarkable man.
During the past twenty-five years, Father Joseph Valine has become a
legend in the areas of the Diocese of Utah. At
the banquet which honored his tremendous sacrifice, over half of the priests of the entire
Diocese were present, some having driven over three hundred miles.
Most of us learn never to expect the rare vision sometimes granted by
Christ that we should see the effects of our labors in fields white for harvest. And so we must console ourselves with the fact
that we are where we are supposed to be, and doing what we are supposed to be doing.
So it was with uncommon pride that I represented our Province as we
paid homage to one who so justly deserved it.
Father Valine is, first, a man of great kindliness, and secondly, of
dedication. He is loved by his neighbors and
has won the respect of many not of our faith – and of those even hostile to it.
Father is a real missionary, and that can be back-breaking and
heart-breaking work. However, he responded to
the tributes of the many Fathers who were present at the banquet with the following words: “You say that I have lived sacrifice in the
performing of my duties in you Diocese; I assure you that there has been no sacrifice,
because it has been a work that I love.”
The Priests of the Diocese presented Father Valine with a large
plaque [sic] marked with the state of Utah and all the areas in
which Father Valine has served; the plaque had the following inscription:
Rev. Joseph H. Valine, O.P.
Silver Jubilee of Priestly Service in Utah.
1941-1966
All Things to All Men!
Fancier of used Cadillacs to
cover nearly
a million miles as priest and
missioner.
Agricultural expert to Rural
Utah
Creator and merchandiser of Fine
Pastries
And Sweet dairy products.
I write this in order to share with you this tribute, not only to
Father Valine, but to our Province, and in order to ask you to keep this man
well-remembered in your Masses and Prayers.
Fraternally in St. Dominic,
Mark McPhee, O.P.
Vicar Provincial
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