The Catholic Sun

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Young people must take control of technology and "humanize" online spaces to be friendly, creative places -- not isolated echo chambers, forms of addiction or ways to escape, Pope Leo XIV said. "Instead of being tourists on the web, be prophets in the digital world!" he told thousands of students gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall Oct. 30. "How wonderful it would be if one day your generation were remembered as the 'generation plus,'" he told the mostly Gen-Z crowd to applause, "remembered for the extra drive you brought to the church and the world."

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.

Parishes in the Diocese of Phoenix will be rolling out a survey to parishioners on Nov. 15 called The Disciple Maker Index (DMI), to gather data on which parish efforts, programs and activities are effective in helping individuals and families grow in their faith, and where there is need of improvement. Catholic Leadership Institute, which provides bishops, priests, deacons, religious and lay persons across the U.S. and Canada in the Roman Catholic Church with pastoral leadership formation and consulting services, developed the survey in 2014. Since then, DMI has been used as a diagnostic tool in more than 4,600 parishes throughout North America. 

National organizations have recently taken notice of the Diocese of Phoenix and recognized four of its employees in one office to key roles. Jose Antonio Martinez, Junuee Castro, Eneida Scoby and Armida Escarcega all work in the Office of Evangelization, Discipleship and Spirituality (OEDS) at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in downtown Phoenix, but their influence stretches beyond the confines of the Phoenix Diocese. The team, led by Director Diane Saunders, has attracted the attention of national organizations, including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

A Mass of thanksgiving was celebrated Sunday (Oct. 26) in honor of the 25th anniversary of St. John Paul II Polish Catholic School at Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish in Phoenix. The Polish parish, which was founded in 1995 and celebrates Masses in Polish, teaches young children the Polish language, culture, history and geography as well as Polish patriotic and Catholic traditions at the St. John Paul II school on Saturdays. The school is named after the late pontiff, who was a native of Wadowice, Poland. Bishop John Dolan presided over the Mass. Afterward, the community had a meal, where the school children, graduates and teachers prepared a special program.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Living in hope means accepting that one does not have answers to all questions and staying calm amid conflicts and tensions, Pope Leo XIV said. "We do not have the answers to all the questions already. But we have Jesus. We follow Jesus. And so, we hope for what we do not yet see," the pope told pilgrims at a special Jubilee general audience Oct. 25. In the pope's brief remarks, he offered pilgrims the example of Nicholas of Cusa, a German cardinal and papal diplomat in the 1400s, which the pope described as "an equally troubled age" of wars between nations and divisions among Christians.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV will issue a document on Catholic education Oct. 28, marking the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's declaration on education, a top Vatican official said. Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, also told reporters Oct. 22 that in the document Pope Leo will name St. John Henry Newman "co-patron" of Catholic education.

Thousands travelled from across the Diocese of Phoenix to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe this month (Oct. 19) at the annual Arizona Rosary Celebration. Organizers of the 50th anniversary of the event said the celebration drew one of the largest crowds ever to the Phoenix Convention Center, surpassing 5,000 attendees in person and thousands more who watched via Facebook and YouTube. Arizona Rosary Celebration, organized by the Knights of Columbus, Arizona State Council, with assistance from the Diocese of Phoenix, Legion of Mary, Catholic Daughters of America and other lay organizations, featured a procession, matachín dancers, the praying of the Rosary and a presentation by a budding Marian expert. 

The Diocese of Phoenix will celebrate its annual Red, White and Blue Mass to honor and pray for military veterans, Sunday, Nov. 9, two days ahead of Veterans Day, the national holiday to honor American servicemen and women. The Mass at St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix, will begin at 11:30 a.m. Fr. Estevan Wetzel, who serves as chaplain for the Arizona National Guard, will serve as one of this year’s celebrants. Fr. Wetzel, who is also the diocese’s director of Prison Ministries, will deliver the homily. He will concelebrate the Mass with Fr. Fernando Camou, rector of St. Mary’s.

“When my parents got married, they wanted a lot of kids. My dad jokes that he wanted his own personal sports team, but my mom's body didn't work right, and the doctors told her that she couldn't have any children.” Twelve-year-old Benjamin “Bubba” Mark Taylor, Jr., of Prescott Valley, Ariz., drew in the crowd as he shared his story during the annual Life Connections banquet at the Espire Events Center in Prescott, Ariz., earlier this month. The sixth grader was invited to speak at the event because of the impact he has made in the community, personally fundraising $7,274.30 for the pro-life pregnancy resource and referral center since August of this year. And it’s all thanks to an expired walk-a-thon flyer, a creative idea and some sweet lemonade.