LOCAL NEWS

My cradle Catholic parents instilled in me the importance of going to Mass religiously (no pun intended) but were never able to articulate why we went, answering only "because we are Catholic and that is what good Catholics do."

Ahead of his role at the Installation Mass for Bishop Dolan on Tuesday, Monsignor Luca Caveada, the Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature of the United States to the Holy See, celebrated Mass on Sunday at St. Francis of Assisi Mission. The Mass included a special celebration of the feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha (July 14).

As the temperatures in the Valley soar, the monsoon storms roll in, and the pools become too warm to be considered refreshing, our thoughts begin to turn to school.

The Diocese of Phoenix installed Most Rev. John P. Dolan as its fifth bishop Tuesday in a Mass filled with ceremony, joyous and reverent hymns and an address by the new bishop that called upon Catholics as well as people of all faiths to be “good, love and blessed.”

The episcopacy of John Patrick Dolan has begun.

In a game that came down to the final minutes, the Phoenix Sons (seminarians) secured a 39-37 win over the Church Fathers (priests).

“I think that God put it in me to be really drawn to Catholicism at a young age,” Adriana Osorio said with quiet conviction as she sat back in the molded-plastic seating at a Mesa fast-food restaurant.

A representative of the papal ambassador to the United States has paid two visits to the Diocese of Phoenix’s Native American missions.

Northern Arizona University (NAU) junior Isaiah Padilla couldn’t hide his excitement as he explained the itinerary for Welcome Week at Holy Trinity Newman Center: “We climb a mountain, we go into underground volcano tubes, we have a dunk contest, we run across campus in the dark without adult supervision. It’s great.”

Three Catholic leaders in the Diocese of Phoenix were recognized Wednesday evening as nominees for the 35th Annual ATHENA Awards.