Since shortly after Bishop John Dolan was installed as leader of the Diocese of Phoenix in 2022, his signature initiative has been mental health awareness and making the Church a full partner with those struggling with illness, along with their families, caregivers and the professionals who treat them.
Part of that effort each year is to recognize clinicians and those in ministry.
Even when the chief shepherd can’t be there in person.
On Sunday, while Bishop Dolan was in Northern Arizona presiding over confirmations, Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral Rector, Fr. Matthew Henry, celebrated the 3rd Annual Green Mass at the cathedral to honor mental health providers, caregivers and church volunteers, as well as personnel at the diocesan Office of Mental Health Ministry.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and green its signature color, symbolizing hope and resilience.
In its third full year, the ministry has commissioned nearly two dozen parishes, which have committed to bringing the ministry into their communities. It maintains a goal of one-to-two parishes per deanery, a group of parishes within a diocese, and is seeing those local programs blossom.
“Our job is to accompany or walk alongside those who contact the office to ensure they’re connected to the right resources and receive the help they need,” explained Mental Health Ministry Accompaniment Program Manager Richard DiCarlo.
“We don’t do any diagnosis or treatment.”
A retired Phoenix Police officer, DiCarlo is one of the latest additions to the expanding staff.
He acknowledged the Church is still addressing what those in the ministry describe as “the stigma” of mental health.
“Our bodies are made up of the physical and mental,” DiCarlo explained. “We’re able to see the physical illness and address it. With mental health, it’s hard to see what that might be. When you can’t see something, I think people become afraid or apprehensive about the next approach for that person.”
Director of Mental Health Ministry Mary Permoda said the ministry is boosted by prayer to be loving and compassionate.
“We all have our own suitcase of ‘things,’ that sometimes might get in the way. In the office, we always want to make sure we’re being great conduits of God’s love, mercy and compassion in a world that’s kind of crazy and unpredictable,” Permoda said.
To that end, the office, located at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in downtown Phoenix, and each participating parish provide for its visitors The Well, a space designed to capture the essence of Jesus’ character as He listened to the woman at the well, chronicled by St. John in chapter 4 of his Gospel.
“Jesus stops, sits with the woman and listens as she talks. I think for us, first and foremost in our role, is listening first and helping people find the necessary resources to guide them.”
With DiCarlo, the Office of Mental Health Ministry now has a manager for each pillar of its mission: education, accompaniment and advocacy.
God is building it in other ways as well.
In an earlier interview, Bishop Dolan noted one of the managers advocates for mental health awareness and response programs.
“They will go to universities, the state, county and cities [seeking] funding for more mental health practitioners and counselors, and to find more students for counseling,” he explained.
There also is an ongoing effort to ensure there is a counselor for every Catholic school.
A pilot program, started in fall 2024, is continuing in eight Catholic schools across the diocese. Permoda said the office is now seeking a full-time manager to work with teachers, principals, families and children.
Lynne Wyse, a teacher’s aide and director of aftercare at Ss. Simon and Jude Elementary School in Phoenix, hailed the program.
“We have students struggling with depression, body image, and they’re here in a Catholic school, where they’re hearing the Good News. Children now have a lot of pressure,” Wyse said.
“My prayer is there needs to be elementary school(s) staffed with people specifically trained to help children. I feel like if we get them help young and on the right track that they [know they] really do have a place in the Catholic Church, as they get older, they find help and solace. It’s going to change how they view themselves and life. That doesn’t fix everything, but it’s a big part of it,” she said.
The diocese also is looking at expanding its outreach to first responders, DiCarlo said.
“We are trying our best to partner with mental health therapists’ organizations that focus on first responders, specifically,” to connect police, firefighters and EMS workers to resources tailored to address the unique stresses of their vocation, which can include being called to traffic accidents, suicides, murders, domestic violence and human trafficking.
“When you’re exposed to that time and again and you’re there to accompany and advocate for somebody or help them through a situation, it puts a lot of strain on you,” DiCarlo said.
Cathy Narvaez, 59, of Whittier, Calif., attended the Green Mass toward the end of a weekend visit to Arizona. The cathedral was near her hotel and she decided to attend Mass there, unaware of Sunday’s link to mental health.
Involved in bereavement ministries both in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the neighboring Diocese of Orange, Calif., Narvaez hailed the Diocese of Phoenix’s ministry. commenting as she perused a collection of brochures and directories at a courtyard table.
“It’s a blessing this is out in the open finally,” she said. “People are looking for a place to share, not every week or something formal but ‘tell me where I can call somebody.’”
The effort is starting elsewhere.
Permoda said she is working with dioceses across the country to help develop local ministries.
“It’s really gaining traction. That’s the hope. Come out of the dark and into the light. That’s where God can heal.”
Fr. Henry said that the Church is a natural starting point for mental tranquility.
He told the congregation in his homily that one finds peace amid stress, turmoil or uncertainty by seeking out and encountering the risen Christ, illustrating his theme through the day’s readings, especially chapter 21 of the Gospel of St. John.
Recalling the unsure Peter, Fr. Henry noted that sometime after seeing the risen Christ with his fellow apostles in the upper room, he decides to return to his pre-ministry life as a fisherman.
On the Sea of Galilee, Jesus seeks out Peter and some of the other apostles and gives them a miraculous catch of fish.
Minutes later, He calls Peter to lead His brand-new Church.
“I can imagine people, and I’ve talked to many, in times of crisis, difficulty, great anguish, [saying] ‘It feels like we’re at sea, and we can’t find any solid ground,’” Fr. Henry said.
“[At times such as these] how good it is just to look at the face of someone we love. That’s exactly what Jesus does for Peter. This is what the encounter with the risen Christ does for us. It allows us to lift up our hearts. It allows us to see things in the right perspective.”
Then, with mental health ministers, caregivers and professionals throughout the cathedral standing, Fr. Henry offered a blessing:
“Blessed are You, Lord, God of mercy, who through Your Son gave us a marvelous example of charity in the Great Commandment of love for one another. Send down Your blessing on these, Your servants who so generously devote themselves to helping others. When they are called on in times of need, let them faithfully serve You in their neighbor.”
Outside after Mass, Permoda reminded someone the ministry is here “to serve anybody.”
“It doesn’t matter who you are, whether you’re Catholic or not. We are here to serve because we are Catholic.”
