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Organized by the Office of Child and Youth Protection and Safe Environment, the Diocese of Phoenix held a special rosary and Mass today at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in downtown Phoenix to honor Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. Following Mass, which was celebrated by Fr. Nelson Libera, a special pinwheel celebration was held in the courtyard near St. Mary's Basilica. A pinwheel is an uplifting symbol of childhood, and it represents all our efforts to ensure a healthy and safe environment of children in our community.

When a friend asked former professional hockey player Jim Nahrgang why he was becoming a Catholic, he gave a sports analogy. His son John had already converted and was in seminary, studying to become a priest. “If your son or daughter was a college athlete or a professional athlete and they were playing their games in your hometown, would you like to go to watch or would you not? Would you like to participate or just kind of stand on the sidelines and not acknowledge that this is what they’re doing?” That’s where the desire to become Catholic began for Jim.

To celebrate the Feast of St. Dymphna, the patron of mental health, St. Patrick Catholic Community in Scottsdale, Ariz. is hosting a mental health fair, May 18-19. St. Patrick’s has long been concerned with addressing issues around mental health and promoting awareness. “Through our behavioral health initiative ministry, we seek to serve as an avenue to provide literacy in mental health, to reduce the stigma of mental illness, encourage conversations around mental illness, and create a safe environment for individuals to share and seek help surrounding their mental illness,” said Eric Tamayo, pastoral associate at St. Patrick Catholic Community.

PHOENIX -- The Church’s efforts to help abuse victims heal has been steadfast since shortly after the first incidents came to light more than two decades ago. But the need for love and compassion likely will never end. “Abuse really hurts a person in the depth of their soul that they don’t forget,” said one survivor, who remains anonymous at her request following Sunday’s semiannual Mass of Healing and Reconciliation for Survivors of Abuse and Their Families; her voice lowering as a tear ran down her face in the courtyard of Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral, in Phoenix. Yet, she said her faith has remained strong.

On Friday, Fr. Estevan Wetzel was sworn in as a captain for the Army National Guard at St. John Paul II High School in Avondale, Ariz., where he currently serves as chaplain. As the school year draws to a close, Fr. Wetzel will head to Fort Jackson, S.C. for three months of basic training. Moved by the suffering of a serviceman who was dealing with the loss of two fellow servicemen to suicide, Fr. Wetzel wondered who would minister to those serving in the military. “It requires a priest that is up to the task and has the requirements,” he said.

In light of the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday, upholding Arizona’s pre-Roe abortion ban in the state of Arizona, the Bishops of the Arizona Catholic Conference (ACC) released a statement. The Arizona Catholic Conference is the public policy agency for the Diocese of Gallup, the Diocese of Phoenix, and the Diocese of Tucson. Bishops from each of these dioceses comprise the Board of Directors of the ACC.

On Tuesday at morning,  Sr.Raphael Quinn, I.B.V.M. was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Medal in recognition for her faithful service to the Church in Catholic Education. The presentation took place at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix following Mass that was celebrated by Bishop John Dolan. She has more than 60 years in education, 51 years as the principal of St. Simon and Jude Catholic School.  

PHOENIX – Easing the suffering of the impoverished, preservation of life, an end to racism and more men and women entering religious service. These were a sample of the petitions lifted up to God during a night of intimacy with Jesus Christ through His precious Body and Blood. An all-night Adoration at St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix, co-hosted by the Diocese of Phoenix allowed participants to pray before the Blessed Sacrament for God’s intervention, guidance and mercy across more than a half dozen areas of request, which also included the Filipino and Vietnamese communities, and for the faithful to be bold in sharing God’s message of redemption through His Son’s death and Resurrection.

Catholic evangelists shared in the joy of NCAA basketball fans as they gathered in downtown Phoenix from April 5-8 for the Men’s Final Four Fan Festival. College students, families and hardcore sports fans exuded excitement as they hustled into the Phoenix Convention Center. Standing outside St. Mary’s Basilica were specially trained evangelists from the Diocese of Phoenix who radiated a heightened form of happiness — the Easter joy of the risen Lord Jesus.

Bishop John Dolan will make this year’s annual Sovereign Order of Malta Pilgrimage to Lourdes alongside the ill and infirm who will travel with the organization. “Fantastic. That is awesome,” exclaimed Terra Billingsley, 58, one of three malades from the Diocese of Phoenix who will be with the Order’s Western U.S. Association April 30 thru May 8 at the southern French town in the Pyrenees Mountains. The town includes the grotto where 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous encountered 18 apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1858.