NEWS

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- During the Holy Year 2025, which is centered on proclaiming a message of hope, Pope Francis told future priests to let hope be the guiding principle of their lives. "In the journey of life, we could identify hope as the signpost that marks our itinerary," he said during a meeting with seminarians from Córdoba, Spain, Jan. 17.

Members of Arizona’s legal community, including attorneys, judges, public officials and others within the profession, joined Bishop John Dolan, Bishop emeritus Thomas Olmsted and Diocese of Phoenix Vicar General Fr. John Muir to pray for God’s strength and guidance as the state embarks on a new legislative year during the annual Red Mass, which took place Jan. 14 at St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix.  This year marked the 55th time the diocese has hosted the Mass, which is hosted by the St. Thomas More Society, an organization of Catholic attorneys and legal professionals who seek to inspire and strengthen the faith of the Maricopa County legal community. 

It all started 10 years ago for Paul and Denise Grogger as a trip to “take a little homeless magic to downtown Phoenix” one Christmas. With their four adult children were away, and knowing that people were living on the streets, they decided to assemble some simple gift bags and drive the nearly 45 minutes from their home in Carefree, Ariz. “Paul and I drove through the downtown area. We would stop on the street, and Paul would get out of the truck and hand [the bag] to someone,” Denise recalled. 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When children are baptized, their parents and the church are giving them the greatest gift ever: the gift of faith, Pope Francis said before baptizing 21 infants in the Sistine Chapel. "Let us ask the Lord that they grow in the faith, a true humanity (and) in the joy of family," he said in his brief homily at Mass on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord Jan. 12. Afterward, he led the recitation of the Angelus prayer with visitors gathered in St. Peter's Square.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- "I am praying for all of you," Pope Francis said, using his televised Sunday Angelus address to speak directly to the people impacted by the wildfires in Southern California. "I am close to the residents of Los Angeles County, California, where devastating fires have broken out in recent days," the pope told thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square Jan. 12 to pray the Angelus with him.

A diocesan-wide day of renewal aimed at inspiring attendees to live out their Baptism so as to welcome more people into the Catholic Church will take place Saturday, Jan. 18, at Corpus Christi Parish in Phoenix. Organizers say the daylong event will attract everyone from faith formation leaders, catechists and Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) team members to parishioners at large. The retreat day is being co-sponsored by the diocesan Office of Worship and the Office of Evangelization, Discipleship and Spirituality (OEDS).  

Last week, Bishop John Dolan kicked off the 2025 Jubilee Year in the Diocese of Phoenix by celebrating six special Masses throughout the state. He was joined by hundreds of parishioners and pilgrims from around the diocese at each of the Masses, which had overflowing crowds and were celebrated at the Jubilee pilgrimage sites decreed by Bishop Dolan in October 2024.  

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a troubled world, the birth of Christ reveals God's unwavering determination to draw all people to himself and illuminate even the darkest corners, Pope Francis said. Despite being born into a world "where there is a great need for light, for hope and a need for peace, a world where people at times create situations so complicated that it seems impossible to get out of them," Jesus, the pope said, opens windows of light "even in the darkest nights of humanity."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Just as the star over Bethlehem called to and welcomed everyone to encounter the newborn Jesus, God today calls on the faithful to welcome everyone, creating safe, open spaces to find warmth and shelter, Pope Francis said. The star is in the sky not to remain distant and inaccessible, he said, "but so that its light may be visible to all, that it may reach every home and overcome every barrier, bringing hope to the most remote and forgotten corners of the planet," he said.

The sun beats down unforgivingly on Andre House on a hot afternoon in downtown Phoenix. Inside, the working poor and those experiencing homelessness quietly congregate seeking relief from the soaring thermometer and the mean city streets. One man stands in line, holding a small cup of foamy shaving cream as he waits for a shower and a set of clean clothing. Others sit quietly at long tables. In the back corner of the room, Mark Poulin, a retired psychiatric nurse practitioner, sets up for a Christ in Our Neighborhood faith-sharing group.