Bishop John Dolan shared a visit with two very special guests at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in downtown Phoenix last week.  

Joe and Laurie Kay, who recently relocated to Phoenix, were the first two pilgrims in the Diocese of Phoenix to visit all six 2025 Jubilee Year pilgrimage sites and scan the unique QR codes at each site, completing the virtual puzzle which reveals a beautiful image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  

Bishop Dolan, who has extended an invitation to everyone in the diocese to take part in this fun and engaging opportunity for the whole family—bringing pilgrims through the Valley and to Prescott, Sedona, Sacaton and Kingman—will be mailing a special gift to each person who completes this virtual pilgrimage puzzle during the Jubilee Year.  

He presented the inaugural gift to Joe and Laurie in person, a printed version of the Our Lady of Guadalupe image, in front of the original image which hangs in his office.  

Joe and Laurie Kay receive an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe from Bishop Dolan. Brett Meister/CATHOLIC SUN

Joe and Laurie, who moved to the diocese less than two years ago, happened to be watching the televised Sunday Mass from Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral on CW7 when Bishop Dolan’s message about TILMA, his seven-year pastoral plan on evangelization, aired.  

“… he was describing this pilgrimage and his pastoral letter, and I just sat there and listened to the whole thing and was just so impressed,” shared Laurie. “We have a bishop that’s, you know, rolling his sleeves up… I felt just the call to really get to know who our bishop is and what better way to do it than hop on this?”  

Joe and Laurie decided at that moment to attend all six opening Jubilee Year Masses, which took place Dec. 28, 2024, through Jan. 5, 2025, bringing them to all corners of the nearly 44,000-square-mile diocese. Their travels consisted of visits to Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral and St. Mary’s Basilica in Phoenix, St. Anthony in Sacaton, Ariz., St. Mary in Kingman, Ariz., Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, Ariz., and Sacred Heart Parish in Prescott, Ariz.  

They hopped in their car and began the nearly 1,000-mile journey, experiencing the warm welcome of every parish and the diverse beauty of the diocese along the way.  

One moving experience for the couple took place at St. Anthony Mission, a parish that was destroyed by a fire in 2000 and officially dedicated their newly built church in June 2024.  

“We are greeted by one of the local people in the parish and he said, ‘Hey, would you like to make the walk with us up to the parish and say prayers with the people?’ and I thought, ‘Wow this is beautiful, for sure!’” shared Joe. “And so we got together with the team of people in the parish and we did a walk for about 20 or 25 minutes prior to Mass. That was so welcoming. It was beautiful.”  

“Everybody was just like, this is our hope,” added Laurie, noticing the parishioner’s gratitude for the new physical structure in which they celebrated Mass. “Their hope was to have a new church and we’re sitting in it. It was just so beautiful to be part of that.”  

Joe and Laurie were also moved by the kindness of parishioners at Chapel of the Holy Cross.  

When they arrived, Joe and Laurie realized the Mass was a ticketed event due to the small size of the chapel. When asked if they were sitting inside or outside, Joe responded they he wasn’t sure, but that they were pilgrims. The parishioners said it was no problem, and got the couple a seat for Mass.  

Joe and Laurie spent their time on the road praying the rosary and found being on the journey together strengthened their faith and their connection. They also loved that the pilgrimage sites were so spread out, and through their travels they discovered how large their new diocese is.  

“It was such a beautiful experience. Our faith is living and breathing,” said Laurie.  

When asked if they would recommend the TILMA pilgrimage to others, Joe responded without pause, “Without a doubt. It’s going to touch you once you do it. You’re going to say ‘Thank you, Lord for taking me on this pilgrimage’ because it’s going to help your life and others that are in your life. 

“I’m so happy that we had the experience of doing this…” he continued. “It’s been a very inviting diocese to be in, so we’re encouraged and inspired.” 

Listen to Joe and Laurie share their full experience of making the TILMA pilgrimage on The Bishop’s Hour radio show, here 

For all information on Bishop Dolan’s seven-year pastoral plan on evangelization, visit dphx.org/tilma.