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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Centuries of experience dealing with the death, or occasional resignation, of a pope has left the Catholic Church with thorough instructions detailing who has responsibility for planning the funeral, preparing for the election of a new pope and taking care of essential business in the meantime. The instructions are found in St. John Paul II's 1996 apostolic constitution, "Universi Dominici Gregis," which was revised by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 and again just before he resigned in 2013.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Here is an explanation of some of the terms and practices related to the time between the death of Pope Francis April 21 and the election of his successor.

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. 

When Christ prayed to His Father in Scripture, He often went out into nature — withdrawing to a deserted place, climbing up a mountain or praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Young adults throughout the Diocese of Phoenix have been following suit, encountering God in creation and being drawn deeper into their faith along the way.   Their road map? Care for Creation, one of the seven pillars of Catholic Social Teaching.   “Catholic Social teaching is the part of the teachings of the Church that focus on the holistic human dignity of each and every person,” explained Abigail Standish, coordinator of Catholic Social Teaching for the Diocese of Phoenix.   

On the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker, May 1, the Catholic Church recognizes and celebrates men who live a vowed religious life and are known by the title “brother.”  While men in religious life may be called brother during their years of formation on the road to the priesthood, May 1 particularly commemorates vowed religious men whose vocation is a life of non-sacramental service and the immense gift they are to the universal Church.  

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. 

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 doctors and other health care professionals who come out of Creighton University’s Phoenix campus will fill a slice of the provider shortage facing Arizona and the United States. But they will add to those numbers with something school officials believe is more significant. “We created a culture of a Jesuit Catholic institution in the West,” said Regional Dean of Students Dr. Randy Richardson.

Fr. Fernando Camou, a Diocese of Phoenix priest who is pursuing a Sacred Theology Doctorate in Liturgical Theology at the University of The Holy Cross in Rome, shares his boots-on-the-ground experience of the sights and sounds of St. Peter’s Square in the wake of Pope Francis’ death and the upcoming conclave to elect the new pope. “The Casa Santa Maria, where I live, is 1.5 miles from St. Peter’s Basilica, a 25-minute walk. Currently, Rome is packed with tourists and pilgrims alike. The streets are usually full. Any given time I walk around, I easily hear five different languages, as both the pilgrims and tourists are from all parts of the world — Europe, Asia and the Middle East. There are many Italian pilgrims, too.  

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.