It was not even a month after being declared a pilgrimage site in 2000 that St. Anthony Mission in Sacaton, Ariz., was up in flames, the fire caused by arson. Because of the fire, St. Anthony did not have that year of pilgrimage.
Now, 25 years later, the new St. Anthony Mission Church stands as a beacon of hope not just for the Gila River Indian Community but for the whole Diocese of Phoenix.
It was at the dedication Mass in June of 2024 that Bishop John Dolan announced that St. Anthony Mission would be a pilgrimage site during the 2025 Jubilee year of hope.
Bishop Dolan celebrated Mass on December 29th at St. Anthony, one of six opening Masses taking place at each of the jubilee pilgrimage sites over the next week. The Mass said at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral on December 28th officially launched the Jubilee year in the Diocese of Phoenix.
St. Anthony has faced multiple hardships. For nearly 30 years, the community did not have consistent access to the sacraments. It wasn’t until the Franciscan Friars of the Holy Spirit (FHS) arrived in 2016 and came to serve the people of the Gila River Reservation, that St. Anthony began to have consistent Sunday Mass along with the rest of the sacraments.
Soon after arriving in the diocese, community servant, Fr. Antony Tinker, FHS, was assigned with the task of rebuilding St. Anthony Mission. He talked about the tragic burning of the original church in 2000.
“It was a disappointment to the community on so many levels.”
Motioning to the celebratory Mass that took place on December 29th, Fr. Tinker said, “This is renewed hope. It’s an honor and blessing.”
The Mass began outside surrounding the Peace Pole, a symbol of hope. Each pilgrimage site declared by Bishop Dolan has a Peace Pole with the message: May Peace Prevail on Earth.
The pole at St. Anthony Mission includes the Native O’odham language amidst seven other languages.
The Native language is in jeopardy of being lost on the Gila River Reservation.
This was expressed by Regina Antone, the Lieutenant Governor for the Gila River Indian Community. She was born and raised on the reservation and four generations of her family attend St. Anthony. She has had a first-hand experience in seeing the tragic loss of her Native language.
Antone’s father went to boarding school and was encouraged to only speak English.
“When [my siblings and] I came along, he would not teach us the culture, would not teach us the language, because he didn’t want us to be bullied and mistreated in school.”
Antone’s father is like so many Native Americans who were taught to assimilate. Elders have recognized the importance of teaching the language to the younger generation before it’s too late.
“Now the elders…have tried to revitalize [the language] and bring it back. So it’s very important.”
Many of the elders were present the night the Mission burned. Antone recalled that tragic event.
“A lot of the community members remember standing there in the middle of the night, crying, just watching it burn.”
After the fire, Antone took on the responsibility of fundraising to rebuild the Mission.
Hope dwindled in the community as the fundraising seemed never-ending, as community members passed away before they could see the fruition of their prayers and as COVID hit shortly after construction began and the price of materials shot up.
Hope dwindled but was never extinguished as the community clung to Mary and trusted in Jesus.
“Every time we’d struggle, something else would come and we’d get money, we’d meet new people who could help.
“What inspired me was this community, not just the Catholic community. Watching it being built, people were calling it the beacon of light. To see it being built was bringing back faith and hope.”
Antone remembered that on the day of the dedication of the new church, people wept.
Hope was tilled in the community and now it is bursting forth. The community is excited to share that hope with every pilgrim who walks through the doors during this Jubilee year.
The community is also excited to share their love of Our Lady of Guadalupe this year.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, who appeared as a Native to St. Juan Diego, is especially important to the people of Gila River. St. Juan Diego is one of the saints carved into the altar at St. Anthony Mission.
The community’s love of Our Lady of Guadalupe is helping to prepare the Diocese of Phoenix to welcome Our Lady into our hearts. This Jubilee year is the beginning of a seven-year pastoral plan on evangelization laid out by Bishop Dolan, culminating in 2031 with the 500th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady to St. Juan Diego.
The community honored Mary at the Mass on December 29th. Traditional Matachine dancers partook in a dance passed down by Juan Diego, a dance of the rosary. Elder in the community, Perlita Ennis watched as her son danced the rosary in thanksgiving for all that Mary had done in the community. Ennis was one of the community members who had prayed countless rosaries for the rebuilding of the Mission.
In his homily, Bishop Dolan talked about the hope that was planted in the hearts of community members like Ennis many years ago.
“You, members of this beautiful community, had embraced that virtual hope long before this church was built, when you were worshiping, literally under a tree, after the fire.”
Bishop Dolan emphasized the division and strife in our world, which can be conquered by the hope of Jesus.
“We will begin to establish what’s called a culture of evangelization. [We] will take ownership of the call to proclaim the glory of God in everyone’s life, beginning with those who are impoverished, those who are in war-torn nations, people who are suffering in prison and families who struggle with people who have medical or mental-health related issues. There is hope, and we’re called to evangelize and proclaim.”
Bishop Dolan encouraged the community to get to know their patron, Saint Anthony, not only asking for his intercession with lost things but with people who feel lost.
“There are so many people who are lost…Let [us] march with Christ Jesus, with Mary and Joseph, and even Saint Anthony. Find those who have given up, and say to them, ‘I have great hope in God and so should you.’ This is what we should be inviting people to consider, a hope that is not in vain.”
There were already pilgrims present at this first Mass of the Jubilee year at St. Anthony.
Before the final blessing, Bishop Dolan asked for everyone to raise their hands who had made a pilgrimage to the Mission.
Seeing the raised hands of pilgrims was a very powerful moment for elder, Betty Whitman who grew up on the reservation and has been attending St. Anthony her whole life.
Whitman has been on pilgrimages herself and would always pray for the Native people of St. Anthony on the Gila River Indian Community. Seeing those who had made a pilgrimage to St. Anthony moved Whitman to tears.
“I feel…the joy of everything. It’s just a joyous day. It was just so good to see all the people that came.”
Regina Antone’s father and elder in the community, Donald Antone Sr., is elated over St. Anthony being a pilgrimage site.
“We never expected anything like this before. It’s an honor. It’s a great feeling to be involved in something like this.”
The community at St. Anthony has been encouraged by the Pope’s message, inviting Catholics to come home. Donald hopes that St. Anthony can become a home for others, and he believes that this Jubilee year will bring more people home.
“I’m the Old Timer around here, so I see a lot of new faces. I got a feeling that this is coming about, bringing in new people, new family. Two new families came recently…and we call them our family now.”
Everyone is invited to become a part of the family at St. Anthony and to experience the same hope that the community has experienced. Pilgrims are welcome at Sunday Mass throughout the year at 10 a.m.
