As executions resume, Bishop leads vigil to pray for end to death penalty
On May 10, as the state of Arizona prepared to carry out its first death sentence in nearly 9 years and with a second execution expected a month later, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s opposition to capital punishment, leading a prayer vigil at Ss. Simon & Jude Cathedral for an end to the practice.
The Matthew 19:14 Project provides funds for special needs students in Phoenix Catholic schools
These are a few examples of the sentiments of recent mini grant award recipients around the Diocese of Phoenix Catholic schools. The Matthew 19:14 Project (TMP) is a 501c3 non-profit organization in existence since 2020.
New facility, generosity of Shea Homes, will take OLPH, Glendale students to ‘next level’
Since 2014, when STREAM – the Catholic extension of STEM, the integration of science, technology, engineering and math into every aspect of learning to provide a more well-rounded student – was introduced, the initiative has been taking Catholic students to the next level in their education.
Years of searching culminate in conversion and the birth of a future bishop
Sitting in her quiet front room inside a modest home on a tree-lined street in Chandler, Joan Wall, mother of Bishop James S. Wall of the Diocese of Gallup, describes an early glimpse inside the Catholic Church. She was 11 years old at the time.
Arizona group creates third-class relics of Padre Kino
As the cause for canonization of Jesuit Father Eusebio Francisco Kino -- popularly referred to as "Padre Kino" and known as the "Padre on Horseback" -- continues to progress, a small group from Arizona visited the famed missionary's remains in Magdalena de Kino, Mexico, to create third-class relics for distribution.
Over 350 pray Good Friday Rosary for Life outside Glendale abortion clinic
Good Friday, the day Christians commemorate the Crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ as payment for the sin of humankind, has for two decades in the Diocese of Phoenix also been a time for Catholics to gather publicly to pray for the lives of the unborn, as well as their mothers contemplating ending their pregnancy and the workers performing those procedures.
A day in the life at Mt. Claret Retreat Center
Every day, Tom McGuire wakes up at one of the most beautiful places in Arizona. A chorus of birds chirping, lizards scampering through the gardens, and the unique ambiance of the desert greets him. Energized by his three daily cups of coffee, he walks a few yards away to the Mt. Claret business offices.
Local Catholics inspired by ‘Father Stu’ at advanced screening
Every time Mark Wahlberg’s Stuart Long fumbled through being the nuances of being Catholic on the big screen, a theater full of Catholics laughed uproariously. The audience was touched by more serious moments in Wahlberg’s biopic “Father Stu” during a premiere of the film at the Harkins Camelview at Scottsdale Fashion Square April 8.
‘Father Stu’ star Mark Wahlberg talks integrating his faith into his work
Mark Wahlberg, the star of the biopic “Father Stu” set to open in theaters on Good Friday, has been very vocal about his Catholic faith in recent years. Wahlberg was so committed to making the film about the late atheist boxer and actor who became a Catholic priest and lived his priesthood with an incurable muscular degenerative disease, that he partially financed it himself.
Sun City pastor reflects on friendship with Father Stu Long, subject of forthcoming Mark...
The worst day in the late Father Stuart Long’s life was the day the rector at Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon, told him that he would not be recommending him for ordination. Father Long’s inclusion body myositis — a rare, incurable autoimmune disease affecting the muscular system that eventually took his life in 2014 — had progressed to the point where the rector was concerned whether the seminarian would be able to carry out his sacramental duties as a priest.
