Bishop Dolan

They came in droves from all over the Diocese of Phoenix for a day of inspiration, training and commitment with an eye toward a Synod of Young Adults that will begin this summer in the diocese.  More than 100 young adults, including college students, working professionals, religious sisters, seminarians and youth ministry leaders, took part in a daylong event aimed at training them to facilitate listening sessions for the upcoming synod.

Mother Teresa was one of the most well-known figures in the world.  At just under five feet, her small stature and blue-striped sari were recognized across cultures, oceans and belief systems. She's especially known for spending much of her life serving the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta, India. It was in these overcrowded, unsanitary and severely underserved neighborhoods that she spent her days accompanying the dying, tending to the wounded and feeding the hungry. 

In this Jubilee Year, one of Pope Francis’ 10 hopes is for youth and young adults to experience the joy and beauty of living the Gospel. Four young adults share the stories of their unique journeys to finding hope and fulfillment in God. 

This week, eight young adults from the Diocese of Phoenix are heading to Nairobi, Africa, as the inaugural group of Bishop John Dolan’s newly developed program, Engage your Equal (E.Y.E.) — an opportunity to facilitate global solidarity among young adults around the world and to foster a deeper understanding of the universal Church. This service immersion experience in a foreign country is the first of three major components of the program, which also includes intentional community support among participants and implementing shared experiences into ministries throughout the diocese upon their return.

Clergy and faithful representing several Christian communities as well as Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches gathered May 7 in downtown Phoenix to pray the Via Lucis.   Also known as the Stations of the Resurrection, the prayer service focuses on Christ’s triumph over the tomb. The candlelight event began in the chapel of the Diocese of Phoenix’s Diocesan Pastoral Center (DPC) and was led by Bishop John Dolan.   The prayers of the Via Lucis, Bishop Dolan said in his opening remarks, are based on the Resurrection accounts in the early Christian Scriptures. He thanked those who gathered to focus on Christ’s Resurrection.  

CHANDLER AZ- Golden shovels shined brightly on the sunlit afternoon of April 30th at Seton Catholic Preparatory High School in Chandler Ariz. as staff and diocesan leaders “dug in,” breaking ground for the construction of their new Event Center. Since 2020, Seton Catholic has fundraised and invested close to eight million dollars in campus renovations including baseball and softball field lights and a full redesign of their front entrance. Now, through a generous seven-million-dollar gift by Shea Homes, they are continuing to build up their campus to match the first-class Catholic education the school offers. 

The Diocese of Phoenix remembered Pope Francis in its Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, part of a 9-day period around the world for Catholics to mourn his recent passing.   Bishop John Dolan led an estimated 1,000 worshippers at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix, telling the congregation that Pope Francis followed Jesus’ example by sharing and living the truth that no one is beyond God’s love and mercy, nor should anyone be excluded from hearing that message.  “Francis reminded people there were no barriers to God’s love, no person God did not want to reach or could not reach,” Bishop Dolan said in his homily. 

Black ribbons and half-roundels adorned the outside of St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix and its adjacent courtyard April 22 as a sign of mourning for Pope Francis. The Diocese of Phoenix celebrated the life of the Holy Father with a Remembrance Mass that evening, mourning the death of the pope.  During his homily, diocesan Vicar General and basilica Rector Fr. John Muir recalled meeting Pope Francis a year and a half ago. 

“With deep sorrow, yet with enduring hope in the Resurrection, we mourn the passing of our Holy Father, Pope Francis. A shepherd to the world, he was a man who listened—truly listened—not only to the faithful within the Church but to people of all faiths and goodwill. He reminded us that even those without faith in God could offer their kind thoughts, and he humbly welcomed them.

After more than 50 years serving at St. Agnes Parish in Phoenix, the Carmelite priests are departing. They leave behind a parish imbued with Carmelite spirituality and a community that has been deeply affected by it. Joan Gore, a parishioner since the early 1960s, said she and her husband raised seven children in the neighborhood and sent them all to St. Agnes Catholic School. As a Third Order Carmelite, Gore has great love for the 800-plus-year-old order and its members. “All of them have been so dear to me through the years,” Gore said. “I start crying when I think about it because they’ve always been dear friends, all of them. I’m going to miss them terribly.”