By Ambria Hammel | May 21, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

Forty years is by no means a significant span of time against the Church’s rich history.

For the Diocese of Phoenix, however, it’s everything. The diocese officially turns 40 on Dec. 2, and to mark the occasion, local Church leaders are making final edits to the diocese’s first history book.

“We felt it was important to have a formal history of the events that led up to the creation of the diocese before everybody who witnessed them is gone,” said Sr. Jean Steffes, CSA, chancellor for the diocese.

Sr. Jean is overseeing the project with Jim Neal, archivist for the diocese. It should be available for purchase at all parishes this fall.

The 175-page book is roughly sectioned off by date. Each of the diocese’s 93 parishes has space to tell its story too.

The book’s first 75 pages records Phoenix’s “prehistoric” time, which dates to the 1500s.

The first chapter recounts Franciscan Father Marcos de Niza’s arrival as a missionary, Jesuit Father Eusebio Kino’s settlement in the late 1600s and the area’s changing leadership from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in New Mexico to the Diocese of Tucson, to Phoenix.

Fr. Steve Avella, a history professor at Marquette University, wrote the book’s first section. He’s written other diocesan narratives and is particularly interested in the Catholic Church west of the Mississippi River.

“I’m amazed at the ability of the Church in Phoenix to respond to the rapid growth, particularly during and after World War II,” said Fr. Avella, who hopes to ultimately write a comprehensive history of Catholic life in the American west.

Fr. Avella said it’s important for Catholics to learn about their diocese to bring them into their heritage. Fr. Tim Davern, parochial vicar at St. Anne Parish in Gilbert, agreed.

“Many people don’t know much beyond what they gleaned from a couple of conversations” about their parish history or the diocese’s history, Fr. Davern said.

Fr. Davern was a seminarian under Phoenix’s first bishop and provided historical guidance on the anniversary project. He also helped edit the book.

“It serves as a good survey of the events that led up to the creation of the diocese,” Fr. Davern said.

First four bishops

Other chapters chronicle the last 40 years according to each of the diocese’s four bishops. Fr. Avella spent a week in Phoenix last summer conducting interviews with the area’s long-time Catholics — priests, religious and laity — followed by phone calls and e-mails. He began writing in September and finished in late October.

“You were blessed with a remarkable group of bishops,” Fr. Avella said.

Sr. Jean described Bishop Edward A. McCarthy (1969-1976) as one who built civic and church community and Bishop James S. Rausch (1977-1981) as being social justice-oriented.

Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien (1981-2003) will be remembered for his large liturgies, such as the Festival of Faith, Sr. Jean said. Local Catholics will also remember his role during visits from Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II.

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted’s legacy includes his pro-life activities and restoring the order of the sacraments of initiation in 2005.

The book, “Celebrating 40 Years: 1969-2009, The Diocese of Phoenix. Encountering the Living Christ,” also uses photos to tell the diocese’s story. Jim Neal, archivist, pulled some from the diocesan archives. Others came from the diocese’s forefathers, the public library and the Phoenix Museum of History.

“It will be very richly illustrated,” Neal said. He added that the publisher, Editions Du Signe based in France, balanced the photos and text well during the layout process.

“There’s not a space that’s without information,” Neal said.

The book also devotes a page each about the diocese’s 22 missions and its college ministries.

“It’s been an unbelievable project in terms of synthesis,” Sr. Jean said. Fr. Avella poured through more than 10,000 pages of information, including Alive magazine, a predecessor to The Catholic Sun, in compiling the book.

The book — which will also include a Spanish version — heads to the printer next month. It will be in a European format, 8.5 inches by 14 inches.

Sr. Jean said working on the diocese’s anniversary project showed a strong collaboration across the diocese since the beginning among lay leaders and the Church. A collaboration, which Neal hopes, will continue as the Diocese of Phoenix closes in on its 50th anniversary.

If the diocese moves forward with a subsequent book, he wants more input to round out the parish pages.