Fr. Paul Sullivan, rector of Nazareth Seminary, has been appointed the new pastor of St. Agnes, a parish in central Phoenix that during 2026 will be established as the fourth house in the Diocese of Phoenix’s Nazareth Seminary.
Fr. Bradley Peterson, O. Carm., who has been pastor at St. Agnes for the last 17 years, will be taking a sabbatical and residing at the Carmelite St. Therese Priory in Phoenix. Fr. Jorge Monteroso Merida, O. Carm., who has served as parochial vicar at St. Agnes, will be taking on a new assignment in New Jersey.
Carmelite priests have served the parish since 1972. There will be a special farewell Mass for the Carmelite community at St. Agnes Parish on June 7, 2025, celebrated by Bishop John Dolan. There are no plans to make any changes to the parish school or convent.
Seminary expansion
When the Diocese of Phoenix opened Nazareth House on the campus of St. Gregory’s parish in Phoenix back in 2019, the concept was simple: Form men for the priesthood locally, keeping them close to parishes within the diocese.
Two additional houses of formation were added not long after at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Scottsdale in 2023 and at St. Mary’s House next door to the Basilica in downtown Phoenix in 2024. This summer, work begins to renovate the rectory at St. Agnes parish in Phoenix to welcome upwards of a dozen seminarians to the fourth in the series of houses making up Nazareth Seminary.
“Depending on who the Lord sends, it could be 12 to 15 men,” said Fr. Sullivan. The plan is for men to be able to move into the renovated house during 2026.
Once it’s complete, the St. Agnes House will become the first home where seminarians reside during their formation process, and Nazareth House will become the location for what’s known as the configuration phase of formation, where seminarians complete their theology studies. Fr. Sullivan said the name of Nazareth House will likely change to St. Gregory House to reflect its proximity and connection to the parish while the name of the overall seminary will remain Nazareth Seminary.
The St. Agnes House seminarians will “be taking classes at University of Mary at Arizona State University or at community colleges,” Fr. Sullivan said. “They’ll be getting their general studies out of the way and getting used to seminary life.” Community living, daily prayer and service activities within the Diocese of Phoenix will round out their first year at St. Agnes House.
The St. Agnes rectory, built in 1954, has never been renovated. Fr. Peterson said updates to the electrical system would be necessary.
“There are no three-pronged outlets in the building,” Fr. Peterson said. As for the windows, they are “sliders that let in a lot of dust.”
There is an existing chapel on the premises as well as a basement, Fr. Peterson added.
“We’re going to take a look at the wonderful space built by [founding pastor] Msgr. Donohoe and we’ll consider how best to use it,” Fr. Sullivan said.
The current bedrooms setup in the rectory, while fitting for priests, could be reconfigured to better accommodate more seminarians.
“As with the other three seminary houses, we would seek to maximize communal space such as kitchen, dining space, living room and chapel,” Fr. Sullivan said.
Selection process
With 94 parishes in the Diocese of Phoenix, there were many sites to consider for the expansion of the seminary. So why St. Agnes?
“It’s a wonderful location and a wonderful bilingual community with a school,” Fr. Sullivan said. “The more diverse the population, the better the setting is to prepare seminarians for a very diverse diocese.”
Fr. Peterson sees the hand of Providence in the selection of St. Agnes parish as the site for the seminary’s expansion. When Bishop John Dolan was laying out his vision at the priests’ convocation — an annual gathering of priests throughout the diocese — during his first year as Bishop of Phoenix, he talked about having a local seminary, Fr. Peterson said.
“At that moment, in my heart I said, ‘St. Agnes would be perfect for that.’”
Parishioners are accustomed to having seminarians about, Fr. Peterson noted. Since 2018, Carmelite seminarians have lived in the rectory as Fr. Peterson guided them in pastoral ministry as part of their formation. They regularly visited classes at the parochial school, helped out at parish events and even led a Christ in Our Neighborhood small group at a nearby assisted living facility.
“I said the reason Bishop Dolan chose St. Agnes is because you’re the best parishioners in the diocese,” Fr. Peterson told his people when he shared the news that Nazareth Seminary would open its fourth house at the parish.
Blessing the community
Lifelong parishioner Mona Shelley attended St. Gregory Catholic School and sent her four children there. She now has two grandchildren who attend the school and another who graduated from there. She said having the nearby Nazareth House seminarians around has been a blessing to St. Gregory’s.
“To my eye, it’s just helped rejuvenate many parts of it,” Shelley said. “I think it’s enhanced our parish 100 percent.”
She said the seminarians have helped out with funeral receptions and inspired the entire community.
“To me, it was so beautiful the first couple of times I saw them all come together, to be part of the Mass. It’s just such a good example for our students and it’s a chance for the parents and the grandparents at the Mass to get to know them a little bit more,” Shelley said.
“As a parish, we are excited to be able to go and spend time with them.”
“St. Agnes is just a lively parish and with all its activities, it’s a great setting for the seminary,” Fr. Sullivan said.
