More than 190 priests from across the Diocese of Phoenix are gathered in Flagstaff, Ariz., this week for four days of prayer, fellowship and formation during the annual 2026 Priest Convocation. The event began Monday and will wrap up on Thursday afternoon (Sept. 24).

The annual gathering, themed “Our Priestly Encounter with the Sacraments,” provides the opportunity for priests to learn together, spend time with the bishops, share in fraternal community and come back renewed to their parish communities. Morning and evening prayer, Eucharistic adoration, Mass, communal meals, small groups and guest speakers are all part of the agenda. The week also included a Jubilarian Dinner, celebrating significant milestones for years of service as a priest.

“We chose this theme because our diocese is beginning listening sessions on the sacraments this year, as part of TILMA, Bishop Dolan’s seven-year pastoral plan on evangelization, and it felt right to bring our priests into that same conversation first,” said Auxiliary Bishop Peter Dui Bui, who also serves as the Vicar for Clergy for the diocese.

“Think about it: most Catholics meet Christ through a priest’s hands, at the baptismal font, in the confessional, at the altar,” he continued. “That’s a tremendous grace, and honestly, a tremendous responsibility. So, for a few days our priests are stepping back from their parishes to pray together and talk honestly about what it means to carry that gift.

“The hope is that every priest drives home not just informed, but renewed, ready to be an instrument of God’s grace in a fresh way.”

Established on Dec. 2, 1969, the Diocese of Phoenix has 95 parishes, 24 missions, 29 elementary schools, seven high schools, four universities and one seminary. 2 million Catholics call the nearly 44,000-square-mile diocese home.