The Diocese of Phoenix is holding a special Mass this month to commemorate the anniversary of the passing of Fr. William Wasson, whose single act of compassion toward a young thief more than a half century ago led to an organization that has lifted thousands of orphaned and abandoned children across Central America out of poverty and into accomplished lives as parents, professionals and people of faith.
The diocese will celebrate the Mass on Sunday, Aug. 16, exactly 20 years after Fr. Wasson’s death in 2006.
He was 82.
The liturgy at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix will be followed by a three-day gathering in October for supporters, friends and leaders of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) — which translated means Our Little Brothers and Sisters — the organization Fr. Wasson founded. Many of the men and women he and his colleagues raised will be at the fall event.
“It’s a pretty amazing story,” said Fr. Michael Straley, a retired priest and pastor in the Diocese of Phoenix who has served with NPH for over a decade through preaching, raising funds and sponsoring over 20 children.
Born in Phoenix on Dec. 21, 1923, Fr. Wasson developed a compassion for the poor at an early age.
In an NPH-produced video biography, “The Orphan’s Father,” Fr. Wasson recalls once seeing an image of a young child in a home for runaways, orphans and abandoned children.
“I’ll never forget the look in his eyes,” he said, “… the loneliness — it haunted me.”
Divine appointments
In prep school, he and a classmate would join a priest to visit boys in juvenile homes.
It was then that he felt called to the priesthood.
A graduate of St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Phoenix, Fr. Wasson earned his Master of Arts in law and social sciences. But in seminary, he developed a thyroid problem. Due to concern it would be a lasting condition, he was declined ordination in the United States.
Discouraged, he followed his father’s advice to travel to Mexico for rest and to sort things out.
But Fr. Wasson decided to stay, landing a job teaching criminology at Mexico City College, now known as the University of the Americas. He later became a counselor at the American School Foundation, a nonprofit private school in Mexico City, working both jobs.
Fr. Wasson did this for nearly two years while attending Mass regularly and remaining active in the faith.
A series of divine appointments would dictate what happened next.
After learning the bishop of Cuernavaca, about 60 miles south of Mexico City, was seeking priests, the two met, discussing Fr. Wasson’s medical condition. The bishop agreed to ordain Fr. Wasson if he could secure a doctor’s clearance stating Fr. Wasson could continue priestly duties over the years.
Fr. Wasson did so, the bishop accepted the medical evaluation and in 1953, he ordained Fr. Wasson, assigning him to the tiny “church of the poor” in Cuernavaca’s impoverished Tepetates market district,
Fr. Wasson had been serving there about a year when the encounter came that would alter his life forever.
The church’s collection box was broken into one night, and a day later after learning that police had arrested someone, Fr. Wasson went to police headquarters and asked to see the individual.
“I found out it was a boy, [age]15. So, I talked to [him] and said, ‘If I’m able to get you out of here, would you stay with me, go to school and obey me just as you would your real father?’” he recalled.
The boy broke down in tears, replying, “Yes, I will, I will!”
Fr. Wasson brought him home, and the boy remained there for four years.
Three days later, “[the authorities] brought me eight more children from the city jail,” Fr. Wasson recalled.
That series of events was the beginning of NPH.
“He didn’t plan to do this,” Fr. Straley said, referring both to the Mexico ordination and the founding of a ministry to thousands of children in need across Central America.
“[He] was just following the Holy Spirit. And he continued to do so. You could say the same thing about Mother Teresa.”
‘It kept growing and growing’
After taking in the initial group, Fr. Wasson rented an old house, furnished it with mattresses and used beds and turned to his first fundraising efforts.
A parishioner paid the first month’s rent of 1,000 pesos, and Fr. Wasson began collecting leftover soup from hotel restaurants, which he would heat and serve with tortillas to the children.
And authorities continued sending him children.
“So many were referred to us,” he recalled. “They were orphaned, abandoned with no place to stay. It kept growing and growing until it became almost 500.”
Today, NPH operates in nine countries, serving more than 9,000 children, including more than 5,400 in its family homes program and another 3,300 through its support programs.
Over the years, it has helped thousands of others.
Following Mexico, NPH opened homes and schools in Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Peru and Bolivia
Visits by Bishop Dolan
Bishop John Dolan has seen the organization’s work up close, visiting NPH schools in Honduras in 2024 and in Mexico in 2025 and 2026.
During his 2025 pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Bishop Dolan’s first-ever visit to the capital, he toured Escuela Bachillerato Tecnológico Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos High School, an NPH school in Cuernavaca. Equipped with computer labs and a library, the school provides vocational and technical education in mechanical and electrical engineering, social work, tourism and business administration.
“It’s pretty impressive,” the bishop said.
He discussed the visit as part of a special edition of his podcast, “TILMA,” last year.
Accompanied by Martha Gamez, senior director of Engagement and Legacy Giving in the diocese’s Office of Mission Advancement, Bishop Dolan met with students and staff, and was struck by the way personnel helped ease youngsters into their learning spiritually, emotionally and mentally.
Along with prayer, children gather for an exercise called ‘tapping,’ gently tapping their head and other acupressure points such as the hands, face and upper body. Meant to stimulate these points to release blocked energy, the process works to soothe the nervous system and promote emotional balance.
“It calmed you down,” the bishop said. “That’s what a lot of these students needed because they’re coming from very different environments. The anxiety level [in their lives] is great.”
Bishop Dolan made another visit to the school in July 2026. During his trip he spoke to Bishop Ramon Castro of the Diocese of Cuernavaca about beginning the process toward a cause for sainthood for Fr. Wasson.
‘Amazing stories’
The experience is a small slice of Fr. Wasson’s original philosophy reflected throughout NPH’s mission: Addressing immediate crisis while forming a lifetime bond to build stable, independent futures for men and women.
“The goal is still to accompany children and families for the long term, helping them become healthy, educated, compassionate adults who give back to their communities,” said NPH USA Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Rayno.
“His philosophy was never simply to provide charity or meet immediate needs. Instead, he built a family. He believed that children flourish when they experience unconditional love, security, responsibility, meaningful work, sharing with others and faith put into action.
“He demonstrated a conviction that every child deserves love, dignity and the opportunity to reach their God-given potential.”
Rayno will join other NPH leaders, supporters and their guests during the organization’s gathering Oct 23-25.
New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks, a once-NPH volunteer who later served the organization from 2005-2010 as its regional director in Central America, will host the event and deliver a keynote address Oct. 24 at the Doubletree Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The weekend also will bring together adults, or hermanos mayores, who were helped by NPH as children.
A number have become professional doctors, architects, teachers and lawyers who are raising their own families.
“There are amazing stories,” said Belinda Roda, NPH USA’s senior donor relations officer, who lives in the Diocese of Phoenix.
“We’re helping children who wouldn’t have had the opportunity if Fr. Wasson hadn’t started this.
“He touched a lot of people.”
For more information on the Mass celebrating Fr. Wasson, click here.
