NEWS

As spring comes into full bloom, Catholic Schools throughout the Diocese of Phoenix are busy preparing special festivities to honor Our Lady during the month of May, traditionally a time of special focus on the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church. Prayer and Practice For more than 20 years, St. Agnes Catholic School in Phoenix has celebrated the tradition of May crowning, the placing of a wreath or crown on a statue of Mary in veneration. The crowning, which is a joyful and cherished tradition in the community, will take place on May 1. “It is a beautiful expression of the school community’s love and reverence for the Blessed Virgin Mary,” explained Kelly Aranowski, the principal of St. Agnes Catholic School.

Eight seminarians from the Diocese of Phoenix’s Nazareth Seminary were part of the largest graduating class from the University of Mary on Saturday (April 26) in Bismarck, N.D. The eight graduating seminarians, the first group from the Nazareth Seminary to do so, are Bobby Balser, Jacob Barnett, Chris Lukaszewski, Julian Mena, Jose Munoz, Br. Damien Van Amerongen, Alexander Vinciguerra and David Wilmowski. Saturday began with a baccalaureate Mass, celebrated by university President Msgr. James Shea in the campus chapel, followed by the commencement ceremony at the Bismarck Event Center where an all-time high 1,081 graduated. Fr. Kurt Perrera, the vice rector of Nazareth Seminary, Fr. Jesús Martinez and Fr. Peter McConnell from the Diocese of Phoenix were also in attendance.

The young St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School girl’s eighth grade basketball team clenched the Catholic Youth Athletic Association (CYAA) championship on Thursday (April 23). The Avondale, Ariz., team, comprised of only six eighth graders, was assisted by classmates in fifth and sixth grade to fill out their bench. While one player has club basketball experience, the majority of the team has learned to play basketball from their time on the Wildcats school team.

Bishop John Dolan made his first-ever visit to Circle the City, a Phoenix-based nonprofit healthcare group that works to meet the needs of men, women and children facing homelessness in Maricopa County, on Thursday (April 23) for a tour of multiple facilities around the valley. Circle the City was founded by Sr. Adele O’Sullivan, CJS, MD, and her community, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. After her initial career as a pharmacist in the 80s, Sr. Adele noticed a lack of sanitary conditions for wound care, challenges with medication management and the lack of a place for rest and recovery after a serious illness or injury for those experiencing homelessness. She earned her medical degree from the University of Arizona in 1984 and returned as a doctor to care for people living on the street. In 2012, Circle the City was founded.

Bishop John Dolan celebrated a baccalaureate Mass at St. Agnes Parish in Phoenix on Monday evening (April 20) for the first-ever graduating class of local seminarians from The University of Mary. The graduates are part of Nazareth Seminary, the historic, fully local seminary in the Diocese of Phoenix.  Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo Nevares, Auxiliary Bishop Peter Dai Bui, Bishop Emeritus Thomas Olmsted, Vicar General Fr. John Muir and Rector of Nazareth Seminary Fr. Paul Sullivan concelebrated the Mass. Family members of the seminarians, seminary formation staff members and 14 additional priests — including Vice-Rector of Nazareth Seminary Fr. Kurt Perrera and Director of Vocations Fr. Will Schmid — were also in attendance. 

Students, faculty, families and alumni gathered at All Saints Newman Center at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Ariz., on Monday (April 20) for Mass and the dedication of the new organ by Bishop Emeritus Thomas Olmsted.  After Mass, tours showed the organ’s internal works. Visitors played the organ with John Peragallo IV — whose family has serviced over 400 instruments across the United States —while John Peragallo III explained its mechanics and pipes, ranging in size from 16 feet to the size of a pencil. There was also a concert featuring performances by John Peragallo III, Lindsey Johnson, Mary Pendleton-Hoffer and Gavan McVey. 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- One year ago today, Pope Francis died at 7:35 a.m., April 21, 2025.  It came the day after Easter, when -- barely able to raise his hands -- he gave his blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world). Looking drawn and worn, the 88-year-old pope from Argentina took his final ride in the popemobile, spending about 15 minutes among the crowd. But then, the next morning, which was a major holiday in Italy, church bells tolled the death knell after U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, announced that Pope Francis had died just a few hours ago. "His whole life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and his church," Cardinal Farrell said in a video announcement broadcast from the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where Pope Francis lived.

My husband, Rich, has always supported my work in ministry. But he was initially ambivalent about my involvement with Kino Border Initiative (KBI), a nonprofit that provides humanitarian assistance to families and individuals in Nogales, Mexico — often immediately after deportation.  Experiencing KBI had enriched my life greatly, so for months I invited him to join me for a weekend there. Eventually, he agreed.  During that visit, Rich struck up a conversation with a man who had recently been deported from Los Angeles — Rich’s hometown. The man was wearing a Dodgers cap — the team Rich grew up loving. That small, familiar detail opened the door to conversation.  They talked baseball. They talked about Los Angeles. Slowly, they began to talk about life.  The man shared that he had two small sons still in Los Angeles and feared losing the landscaping job he had held for five years. Rich and I also had two small sons. We, too, had left Los Angeles for Phoenix so that we could better provide for our family. In that shared space of fatherhood, hope and responsibility, something shifted. 

Xavier College Preparatory’s Swim and Dive team in Phoenix is making waves nationally for their academic excellence.  The team earned Gold-Level Team Scholar recognition from the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (NISCA), achieving a 3.928 team GPA, placing them among the top academic programs in the country.  In addition, six Xavier student-athletes were named Academic All-Americans, an elite distinction awarded to just 10–15 percent of high school aquatic athletes nationwide. To qualify, students must maintain a minimum 3.75 GPA while competing at a high level and contributing positively to their team. 

At a time when young adults discover their freedom and often leave the faith, Diocese of Phoenix Newman Centers are present on college campuses to build community, personally accompany students and foster authentic encounters with Christ. All Saints Catholic Newman Center, Holy Spirit Newman Center and Holy Trinity Newman Center have shown abundant growth, serving hundreds of young adults — Catholics and non-Catholics alike — changing hearts along the way.  House of hope  Holy Spirit Newman Center, established just 10 years ago, serves the community at Grand Canyon University (GCU). The humble house of hope with a bright purple door stands not too far from campus. Though the building itself is small, the Newman Center has had a big impact on souls in the last decade.  Senior Karina Avalos, one of the hundreds of students impacted over the years, had a strong encounter with the Lord at a Newman retreat after struggling to have faith in something greater.