NEWS

Nearly 100 people from 25 different congregations gathered at St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix on Friday night for a special Mass in celebration of World Day for Consecrated Life. This marked the 28th consecutive year the Church has dedicated February 2nd as a day set aside to recognize the men and women who live a life consecrated to God. This includes their public pronouncement of the evangelical councils of poverty, chastity and obedience in their specific religious communities’ charism and mission or through promise to live in service to God through public consecration.

PHOENIX -- It was a day that changed Peter McSparran’s life. “I was aboard a submarine,” the U.S. Navy veteran, 61, of Sun City West...

Silvia Starrs is a prison ministry volunteer and knows the incarcerated and their families by name. She accompanies them, meeting their spiritual, physical and emotional needs. “In prison, there's lots of broken hearts. Not just the prisoners, but also their families. We love meeting their needs, helping to build bridges back to the families.” One child that Starrs mentored through prison ministry really touched her heart. At the time, she didn’t know how she’d mentor Angelina while working and raising her children, but the Lord had a different plan. “God put her there. I knew that was love at first sight. When you say ‘yes’ to our Lord, He works all things out.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Artisans teach the world that every material thing contains beauty, and that work gives people a little share in the creative action of God, Pope Francis said. Artisans bring together "the abilities of the hands, the passions of the heart and the ideas of the mind," the pope said Feb. 10 as he met with some 7,000 members of Confartigianato Imprese, an Italian confederation of artisans and small businesses.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis will go to Venice in April to visit a women's prison where the Holy See has set up its pavilion for the Venice Biennale, a major international contemporary art exhibition. The pope will make the one-day trip April 28, according to a joint press release Feb. 13 from the Dicastery for Culture and Education and the Patriarchate of Venice. He will visit the Holy See pavilion at the Giudecca women's prison, and he will meet with the church community of the patriarchate, it said. Details of the final program were to be "announced soon."

In remembrance of those individuals served by Catholic Cemeteries & Funeral Homes in January 2024

The Lord heals the brokenhearted is not only the theme for this year’s Charity and Development Appeal (CDA), it could be the motto of First Way Pregnancy Center, says Glynnis Weston, who is the head peer counselor. The center accompanies women in their pregnancies, providing spiritual and emotional support. The center offers educational classes to mothers and fathers, medical grade pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, diapers, clothing and more.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Faith can help musicians, poets, sculptors, directors and other artists transmit truth and beauty to their audiences, Pope Francis said. "Believing in God the creator can only encourage a being to surpass him- or herself, to project him- or herself into divine life through artistic inspiration," the pope said Feb. 15 during a meeting with representatives of the Diakonia of Beauty, a French organization founded in 2012 to promote exchange between artists and the Catholic Church.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- During Lent, Pope Francis said, Catholics -- and especially Catholic seminarians -- should rediscover the joy of simplicity, pay less attention to their appearance than to their prayer lives and make a special effort to get along with everyone they live with. Progress on the Lenten "path of conversion and renewal," the pope said, starts with "allowing oneself to be conquered by renewed awe at God's love," the foundation of every vocation.

This March, a great milestone will be celebrated by the Diocese of Phoenix as 2024 marks the 50th anniversary since Natural Family Planning methods began to be offered in parishes. A Mass of Thanksgiving will be held at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix on Sunday March 3rd at 11 a.m. celebrated by Bishop Emeritus Thomas J. Olmsted and a light reception all the parish hall will follow. All the faithful of the diocese are invited to come celebrate, especially those who have been instructors or helped the Natural Family Planning (NFP) initiative in any capacity.