Resurrection Parish marks 40 years with Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine, celebration

By Andrew Junker | Dec. 3, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

TEMPE — Resurrection Parish will kick off a year-long celebration of its 40th anniversary with Mass, music and a fiesta Dec. 12. The parish will also dedicate a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe in their new church.

“The Diocese of Phoenix started its own 40th anniversary last year by honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, so we decided it would be a good way to start our celebration by erecting a shrine for Our Lady inside our church,” said Fr. Joe McGaffin, pastor of the parish.

The Tempe parish, located at 3201 S. Evergreen Road, was the first one established by the new Phoenix Diocese 40 years ago. The parish has seen a lot changes in those four decades, the most recent example being its new church.

A monsoon ripped through the existing church in July 2007, forcing the parish to celebrate Mass inside its multipurpose hall for nearly two years while they raised funds and constructed a new building.

“It’s kind of heartwarming to know that the parishioners have stuck through thick and thin,” Fr. McGaffin said. “There have been a lot of high roads and low roads at this parish, like most parishes, but the core people have stuck together.”

Franciscan Sister Anne Marie Smith, business manager at the parish, said old parishioners and those who left during the construction of the new church have been coming back as well.

“It’s great,” she said. “Every week we have people coming in to see the restored church.”

The day of celebration will begin at 8 a.m. with a breakfast. At 8:30 a.m., children and adults from the parish’s formation programs will reenact the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego.

“There is a devotion here to Our Lady of Guadalupe and the children have been learning about her,” Sr. Anne Marie said. “It’s all been leading to this.”

A procession around parish grounds will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a banner of Our Lady and mariachi music. Mass follows at 11 a.m. with a fiesta that will conclude at 3 p.m.