Bishop John Dolan announced his new Pastoral Council for the Diocese of Phoenix on Sunday during Mass at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix. The 22-member council, comprised of clergy, religious and laity, attended the Mass, which aired live across the diocese on AZTV, Channel 7.

An initiative established in October of 1965 as one of the many positive results of Vatican II, the pastoral council’s role is to investigate, consider, and to formulate practical conclusions about those things which pertain to pastoral works. Its president is the diocesan bishop.

Members of the new council were presented beautiful rosaries, handmade by Fr. Steve Kunkel, the pastor at St. Thomas the Apostle in Phoenix.

Be sure to check-out an upcoming story in The Catholic Sun on the members of the new council and their backgrounds at catholicsun.org

 To view images from Sunday’s Mass, click here.