NEWS

When a Catholic family visits its faithful departed, the Diocese of Phoenix seeks to ensure that space is bathed in peace, a sense of God’s loving closeness and the joy of believing the individual is now with his or her heavenly Father, awaiting Jesus’ return to bring all believers home. But when the diocese leaders considered the mausoleum at St. Francis Cemetery in Phoenix — its second-oldest burial ground — they knew an upgrade was in order to maintain that mission.  

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even though its focus was mainly scientific, a Vatican-sponsored conference on aging and longevity could not ignore the ongoing convalescence of 88-year-old Pope Francis. The pope returned to the Vatican March 23 after more than five weeks in Rome's Gemelli hospital, but his doctors have prescribed two months of a drastically reduced schedule to allow him to recuperate.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Change can be frightening, but the Holy Spirit encourages the faithful to face their fears, follow Jesus' light and be "born again," Pope Francis said in a prepared text. "If we do not accept to change, if we close ourselves up in inflexibility, in habits or our ways of thinking, we risk dying. Life resides in the capacity to change to find a new way to love," he said in the catechesis prepared for his general audience March 19.

Ana Luisa Martinez has always loved the Blessed Virgin Mary, but that love grew much deeper when she and her husband took their children on a seven-month pilgrimage. It wasn’t your ordinary pilgrimage.  With four sons ranging in age from 13 all the way down to the tender age of 14 months, it involved extensive preparation, planning and plenty of prayer. 

More than 1,300 candidates and catechumens, those who will enter into full communion with the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, were personally welcomed by Bishop John Dolan this month as they enter the final stages of their preparation. The encounters took place at the diocesan Rite of Elections, an integral part of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) that is celebrated annually during the Lenten season. Over the past two years, due to the vastness of the Diocese of Phoenix, Bishop Dolan has celebrated the liturgy in multiple locations for the opportunity to personally welcome more of the individuals who are entering the Catholic Church.  

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Valley of the Sun affiliate named Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix an “Unsung Mental Health Hero” on Thursday at the 9th Annual Giving Breakfast in Phoenix. Themed “Heroes Among Us: Shining a Light on Unsung Mental Health Heroes,” the event celebrated individuals and organizations making a profound impact in the mental health community.

For the first time in more than two years, the state of Arizona is set to execute an inmate on Wednesday, March 19. The Office of Prison Ministries and the Office of Respect Life Ministries held a prayer vigil Tuesday night at St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix led by Bishop Eduardo Nevares. A group of faithful gathered to pray for inmate, Aaron Gunches, the victim, the families and for an end to the death penalty. Opposition to the death penalty is rooted in the Catholic Church’s teaching that every person is created in the image and likeness of God, imparting sacred dignity to all human life.

Growing up in Mexico, Junuee Castro had a close relationship with her grandparents. It was a bond imbued with deep Catholic faith that continues to propel her forward today. “They were involved in church, so that really stuck with me,” Castro said. “My grandfather, for example, every Thursday he would bring me to a full hour of adoration, to our small chapel there in town. My grandmother, she taught me the prayers that I still pray to this day.” Castro, the bilingual coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Phoenix, was hired in October of 2024. She shines in a role that has been vacant for nearly 14 years at the diocesan level. 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis spent the night without a breathing mask, the Vatican press office said March 18, indicating that his need for supplemental oxygen continues to diminish. The pope received high-flow oxygen through a nasal tube overnight, it said, a change from the noninvasive mechanical ventilation he had been using since he had a breathing crisis Feb. 28. He has been hospitalized since Feb. 14. The decision to forgo overnight mechanical ventilation aligns with a medical plan to "progressively reduce" the 88-year-old pope's supplemental oxygen intake, the press office said, though it does not mean he will no longer use it at night.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Going to Mass and receiving Communion are signs of putting one's trust in God and understanding he is the one who gives the courage and strength to live life to the fullest no matter how little one has, the preacher of the papal household told members of the Roman Curia. "When we gather to celebrate the Lord's Supper," the sign of the Eucharist is what makes visible that the Lord is "in us and we in him," Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini said March 13 during his eighth Lenten meditation offered for the Curia.