Vision for Significant Downtown Development Project Also Unveiled
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix continues to show growth and vibrance with historic and record-setting numbers. Tuesday morning the 54-year-old diocese, one of the fastest growing Catholic dioceses in the country, officially opened its third seminary house located next to the historic St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix. The diocese also announced plans for a significant development project that will positively impact people of all faiths in downtown Phoenix.
One year ago (Oct. 3, 2023), Bishop John Dolan shared that the Nazareth Seminary had been created, allowing young men to study and discern to become priests in Arizona, a first for the diocese. Historically, Arizonans who wanted to become priests had to travel out of state. This fall, there are a record 50 seminarians studying to be priests in the Diocese of Phoenix’s Nazareth Seminary program.
“We are thrilled to open St. Mary’s House today and continue building the foundation of the Nazareth Seminary that will aid the priests for our future,” said Bishop John Dolan, the fifth bishop in the diocese’s history. “It is wonderful that we have been able to repurpose such an historic building with rich ties to the Catholic beginnings in Phoenix. We are thankful for the support of our donors and look forward to young men growing in their path to the priesthood here.”
Thanks to a generous donation from The Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation, St. Mary’s House, the former friary at St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix, has been retrofitted to house 20 men in their Philosophy Year. The 75-year-old building becomes the third of four houses in the Nazareth Seminary, following the household model of formation, taking into consideration the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ “Program for Priestly Formation, Sixth Edition,” where men live in community as in a family.
St. Joseph’s House will be the fourth and final house and is expected to open in Fall 2026 for men in their Theology Year in preparation for ordination. The diocese hopes to celebrate the Ordination to the Holy Priesthood Mass for the first class of men to graduate from all four houses of formation of Nazareth Seminary in June of 2030.
The second part of Tuesday’s announcement included Fr. John Muir, the vicar general for the diocese and the pastor of St. Mary’s Basilica, sharing the vision and future plans to build a new, downtown multi-million-dollar facility for people of all faiths and ages to gather for meetings, fellowship and education. The plans, which have been jumpstarted by a significant grant from Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, will include a mental health ministry space, a coffee and gift shop, among other amenities to serve the downtown Phoenix community and the young adults from the nearby universities.
“These new initiatives represent an exciting new chapter, not only for the Diocese of Phoenix, but also for downtown Phoenix in general,” said Fr. John Muir. “These developments will empower a new level of service and Gospel-based outreach to countless people for years to come.”
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NAZARETH SEMINARY
Household Model Seminary Program
- Nazareth House – Formation years, located near St. Gregory parish in Phoenix (opened in 2019)
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) House – Spirituality year on campus of OLPH in Scottsdale (opened in August ’23) 3
- St. Mary’s House – Philosophy years at former friary at St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix (opened Oct. 1, ’24) 4
- St. Joseph’s House – Theology years, expected to open in fall of 2026 in Phoenix
