The Catholic Sun

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- For more than 700 years, the Catholic Church has celebrated "jubilee" or "holy" years as special times to renew people's faith and experience God's forgiveness, particularly by going on pilgrimage. The official Vatican website for the Holy Year 2025 -- www.iubilaeum2025.va -- says, "In 1300, Pope Boniface VIII called the first Jubilee, also known as a 'Holy Year,' since it is a time in which God's holiness transforms us."

In remembrance of those individuals served by Catholic Cemeteries & Funeral Homes in April 2024

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Meeting members of the Swiss Guard, including 34 new recruits, Pope Francis thanked them for their dedication and generous service protecting the pope every day. He told them they stand out for their professionalism and their "kind, attentive, indeed scrupulous style," during an audience at the Vatican May 6, ahead of the swearing-in ceremony for the new guards later that day. Family members of the new recruits were also present at the audience.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Jesus calls believers not only to be servants of his kingdom, as the prophets and Mary were, but also to be his friends, Pope Francis said. "Friendship is not the fruit of calculation, nor of compulsion, it is born spontaneously when we recognize something of ourselves in the other," he said May 5. "Jesus, in the Bible, tells us that for him we are precisely this: friends, people beloved beyond all merit and expectation, to whom he extends his hand and offers his love, his grace, his word."

PHOENIX --- For the second year in a row, the Diocese of Phoenix used the liturgy and the Eucharist to honor and pray for the professionals, caregivers and clergy who serve those with mental health concerns, part of a growing effort to spotlight the once-misunderstood area of care. The Office of Mental Health Ministry invited professionals, social workers, counselor, pastoral caregivers and mental health ministers to Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral, where Mass was celebrated Sunday in their honor.

CASHION, Ariz -- If there is a phrase the faithful live by concerning their physical worship spaces, it is that the Church is the body of Christ – its people. So, when parishioners of St. William in Cashion lost their building to fire last week, including religious education classrooms, their food pantry and parish hall, they knew they could lean on their pastor, Fr. Andres Arango, as well as one another. A close-knit, largely Spanish-speaking community of predominantly blue-collar families, St. William has anchored the Catholic population of the east Avondale area since the 1960s, when it was built as a mission to serve immigrant farmers. Growth eventually forced St. William to seek a larger building, and in 1981, it bought a former Southern Baptist church at 111th Ave. and 3rd Street, renovated it, and dedicated it the following year.

Members of the 2024 graduating class at Xavier College Preparatory in Phoenix, were recently awarded more than $20 million in scholarships from universities, nonprofits,...

The Bishops of the Arizona Catholic Conference (ACC) released a statement on Thursday in response of the repeal of Arizona’s pre-Roe law. 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.

PHOENIX, April 24, 2024 — Brophy College Preparatory honored 16 seniors from the Class of 2024 as spring Distinguished Students at a recent ceremony held at the school’s Harper Great Hall. Brophy’s Distinguished Students, also recognized in the fall, are selected by Brophy Prep faculty, coaching staff and counselors based not only on their exceptional academic and service achievements, but also for having grown to be model representatives of the enduring qualities of Brophy Prep’s Jesuit-educated graduate at graduation: intellectually competent, open to growth, loving, religious and committed to doing justice.

Chandler, Ariz. – St. Mary-Basha Catholic School recently announced a dynamic expansion of its elective course offerings for junior high students beginning in the...