Record attendance at 2026 Priest Convocation

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.”

Celebrating ordination anniversaries

During the gathering, priests celebrating significant ordination anniversaries were honored:

Msgr. George Highberger – 65 years

Fr. Leo “Pierre” Hissey – 60 years

Msgr. Gilbert Rutz – 60 years

Fr. Peter Dobrowski – 55 years

Fr. Douglas Spina, Ph.D. – 50 years

Fr. William Muller, S.J. – 45 years

Bishop Eduardo Nevares – 45 years

Fr. Christopher Foeckler, M.J. – 40 years

Fr. Page Polk, O.F.M. – 40 years

Fr. Romeo Salcido Morineau, M.J. – 40 years

Fr. Edgardo Iriarte – 40 years

Fr. Eric Tellez – 40 years

Fr. Joseph “J.C.” Ortiz – 35 years

Fr. Patrick Robinson – 35 years

Fr. Robert Aliunzi – 35 years

Fr. Thomas Bennett – 35 years

Fr. Dindo “Bruno” Cuario – 35 years

Fr. Charles Goraieb – 35 years

Fr. Timothy Dogo – 30 years

Fr. Oscar Gutierrez, M.D.M., V.F. – 30 years

Fr. Pawel Stawarczyk – 30 years

Fr. Michael Accinni Reinhardt – 25 years

Fr. Christopher Fraser, J.C.L. – 25 years

Fr. Steven Kunkel – 25 years

Fr. Bitrus Maigamo – 25 years

Fr. John Payne, Jr., J.C.L. – 25 years

Fr. Jesus Zamarripa Salazar, S.V.D. – 25 years

Fr. Bino Francis, M.S. – 20 years

Fr. John Greb – 20 years

Fr. John Lankeit – 20 years

Fr. Eduardo Gomez-Rivera – 15 years

Fr. Zygmunt “Ignatius” Mazanowski, IV – 15 years

Fr. Ikechukwu Udochukwu – 15 years

Fr. Hubert Kavusa Mulekya, O.S.C. – 10 years

Fr. Frank Bowora – 10 years

Fr. John Clote – 10 years

Fr. Daniel Connealy – 10 years

Fr. Michael Gilbert – 10 years

Fr. Noble John Puthiyidath, Sch.P. – 10 years

Fr. Ryan Lee – 10 years

Fr. David Loeffler – 10 years

Fr. Rajeev “Thomas” Mathew – 10 years

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. Two million Catholics call the nearly 44,000-square-mile diocese home.