LOCAL NEWS

The 3rd Annual Catholic Night at Chase Field was a huge success on Friday evening (Sept. 19), as the Dioceses of Phoenix and Tucson came together for a night of faith, family and fun. The faithful were well represented throughout the stadium, with more than 3,400 tickets sold — an all time high for the popular event. Five dollars from every ticket went toward Catholic School Support 365.

St. John Bosco Catholic School in Phoenix celebrated the momentous occasion of being recognized as a 2025 National Blue Ribbon School this week (Sept. 26) with a school-wide assembly, community prayers of thanksgiving and a sweet on-theme treat: Blue Ribbon ice cream bars. The nomination was the first in the school’s history and St. John Bosco (PreK-8) was the only private-school honoree from Arizona this year.

A pilgrimage is more than a journey — it’s a sacred venture in which the pilgrim opens their heart to be changed by an experience of God. Pilgrimage is an integral part of the Jubilee Year. It is an invitation both to a personal journey of the heart, as well as physically visiting places of grace, like the six holy sites around our diocese that Bishop John has designated. More than 1,000 folks have visited these sites and what a blessing it has been not just for them, but for their families and for our entire diocesan community. But today, I invite us to consider a different kind of pilgrimage: the pilgrimage of life. In every moment, whether filled with grief or joy, boredom or blessing, we are offered an opportunity to seek the face of God. Personally, I find it easier to reach for God in times of sorrow or elation. Yet, God calls us to seek Him even in — indeed, especially in — the ordinary and mundane. In every single step, God is present and active, longing to walk with us, just as He did with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. (Lk 24:13-35)

Morning Star OB/GYN celebrated 20 years of providing holistic and life-affirming reproductive care to women in Gilbert, Ariz., on Monday (Sept. 29) with Mass at the Mercy Gilbert Medical Center chapel. Dr. Clint Leonard, founder of the practice, and Dr. Erica Kreller, his colleague, provide medical care that combines respect for fertility with unique technology that honors God’s design for women. The chapel was filled with family members of the physicians, friends and individuals present to celebrate and support the achievement.  

Catholic Education Arizona awarded tuition scholarships to 4,100 Catholic School students in the Diocese of Phoenix in September, including 140 scholarships to students with disabilities and 18 students in the foster care system through the AZ Disabled/Displaced Corporate Tax Credit. Through AZ Individual and Corporate tax credits, thousands of students are able to attend Catholic schools who would not otherwise have the opportunity. “Education scholarships for students in grades K–12 are truly life-changing and community-transforming,” said Nancy Padberg, MBA, president and CEO of Catholic Education Arizona. “We believe every family deserves the opportunity to choose the education that best fits their children’s needs.”

My grandmother’s name was Josephine, though she was affectionately called “Jo” by her friends and “Gramma” by us grandkids. When I was growing up, she lived at home with us. Gramma was quiet and helpful in the house. I still remember her holding me in her lap, reading to me in my earlier years and how she loved to watch the Padres on television, keeping score and stats on each of the players during the game. As she aged, my parents made the difficult, yet important decision for her to move into an assisted living facility. As you can imagine, there were a lot of ups and downs, as well as struggles and reliefs that came with this decision.

Ryan Everson, a fifth-year seminarian, will debut Receive Their Souls, a sacred music composition, on All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2) at St. Anne Parish in Gilbert, Ariz., at the 11 a.m. Mass and St. Bernadette in Scottsdale, Ariz., at the 10 a.m. Mass, which will be performed by the parishes’ vocal choirs. This will be the fifth piece Everson has composed through his non-profit, Angelico Sacred Music, alongside pieces like Our Father and The Act of Contrition. A graduate from Arizona State University School of Music in 2019, Everson felt prompted to use his classical training to compose music for the Church. After noticing a gap in the sacred music landscape, Everson founded Angelico in October 2024, with the mission to create Neo-Renaissance-style compositions of popular Catholic prayers in the English language.

Church of the Ascension in Fountain Hills, Ariz., kicks off a year-long celebration this week in honor of the parish’s 50th anniversary. Beginning on Sunday, Nov. 9, and carrying the theme “Reflect, Rejoice, Renew,” the parish will honor this milestone with a series of expanded outreach programs, intentional opportunities to learn about the church’s history and mission and celebratory events designed to honor the parish’s past, celebrate it present and look forward to its future. The jubilee year celebration will culminate with a Mass celebrated by Bishop John Dolan in October 2026.

When a woman becomes a mother her world changes forever. Yet, within the walls of homes and hospitals, countless women experience a devastating end to their pregnancy long before their child is born. Statistics suggest that nearly 46-percent of women will suffer miscarriage or stillbirth at some point in their childbearing years. For Catholic women in particular, miscarriage can compound the grief experienced and even test their faith, suggests Jocelyn Abyad, founder of We Carry You Still, a nonprofit outreach program that serves women and men coping with child loss, both during pregnancy and for babies that are born alive, but pass soon after.

“It was 125 degrees in my house. It was living hell.” These are the words of Edward Littell, a long-time resident of Mesa, Ariz., who has lived in his mobile home for 29 years. He is also just one of thousands of people who AllThrive 365, a local nonprofit providing services that uphold the dignity of those who are aging, has helped. When his AC unit broke down, Littell’s home became “unbearable.”