The Diocese of Phoenix ( la, Dioecesis Phoenicensis; es, Diócesis de Phoenix) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

ecclesiastical territory or

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

in the state of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It was established on December 2, 1969, when it was split off from the

Diocese of Tucson The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson ( la, Dioecesis Tucsonensis, es, Diócesis de Tucson) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southwestern region of the United States. It is a suffragan see of the Me ...

. Its jurisdiction includes Maricopa, Mohave,

Yavapai The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” (from ''Enyaava'' “sun” + ''Paay'' “people”) – were divided into four geographical bands who identified as separate, i ...

, and Coconino counties (excluding the territorial boundaries of the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American Indian reservation, reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwe ...

), and also includes the Gila River Indian Reservation in Pinal County. The incumbent

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

John P. Dolan John Patrick Dolan (born June 8, 1962) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as bishop in the Diocese of Phoenix since August 2022. Early life and career Dolan was born June 8, 1962, in San Diego to Catherine and Gerald ...

. The Diocese of Phoenix is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandri ...

of the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...

of Santa Fe.

History

Early history

Jesuit priests began to work in northern Mexico in the 1610s in the lowlands near the coast. Originally, these missionaries worked out a peaceful compromise with the people of the

Yaqui River The Yaqui River (Río Yaqui in Spanish) (Hiak Vatwe in the Yaqui or Yoreme language) is a river in the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. It was formerly known as the Rio del Norte. Being the largest river system in the state of Sonora, th ...

valley allowing for the establishment of more than fifty mission settlements. This broke down when the Jesuits opposed the native

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...

ic religious tradition. The Opata people were more receptive to the missionaries and allied with them. After this, the Jesuits began to move into Pima and Tohono O'odham territories in present-day Arizona. Spanish exploration and missionary work was sufficient to consider the territory part of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the A ...

. An agreement between General Pedro de Perea and the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

of New Spain resulted in the general shaping of the province, initially called ''Nueva Navarra'' in 1637, but renamed ''Sonora'' in 1648. The most famous missionary of what is now the

American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado ...

was

Eusebio Kino Eusebio Francisco Kino ( it, Eusebio Francesco Chini, es, Eusebio Francisco Kino; 10 August 1645 – 15 March 1711), often referred to as Father Kino, was a Tyrolean Jesuit, missionary, geographer, explorer, cartographer and astronomer bor ...

. He arrived in the province of ''Nueva Navarra'' in 1687 and started missionary work in the Pimería Alta area. He began his first mission at Cucurpe, then established churches and missions in other villages such as Los Remedios, Imuris, Magdalena, Cocóspera, San Ignacio, Tubutama and Caborca. To develop an economy for the natives, Father Kino also taught them European farming techniques.

20th century

21st century

In 2009 the Diocese contributed $50,000 to the successful campaign by Stand For Marriage Maine to overturn an impending legalization of same-sex civil marriage in Maine. On June 11, 2014, the diocese was "stunned and deeply saddened" at an attack on two priests during a burglary at Mater Misericordiae Mission in Phoenix. Parochial vicar Rev. Kenneth Walker, FSSP, 28, ordained a priest just two years, was fatally shot. Rev. Joseph Terra, FSSP, was wounded. On October 13, 2017, marking the 100th Anniversary of the last apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, Bishop Omstead consecrated the diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Sex abuse scandals

On August 4, 2017, it was announced that a civil lawsuit was filed against Thomas J. O'Brien, who served as Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix between the years 1982 to 2003, O'Brien is accused of having sexually molested a boy on several occasions at parishes in Phoenix and Goodyear from 1977 to 1982. O'Brien died on August 26, 2018, following complications from Parkinson's Disease. In June 2019, Joseph J. Henn, a former priest, was extradited from Italy to face charges of molestation in Phoenix. He had been laicized and expelled from the

Salvatorian The Society of the Divine Saviour ( la, Societas Divini Salvatoris), abbreviated SDS and also known as the Salvatorians, is a clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men in the Roman Catholic Church. The members of the congreg ...

order in 2006. On February 25, 2020, indicted Diocese of Phoenix priest Thomas Spaulding, who was accused of sexually abusing at least two boys in Maricopa County, died awaiting trial. Spaulding, who was 75 years old when he died, was charged in January 2020 with six counts of sexual misconduct and one charge of child molestatation. In December 2020, a sex abuse lawsuit was filed against the Diocese of Phoenix. Among the accusations made in this lawsuit was the constant transfer of accused Diocese of Phoenix clergy out of the state of Arizona.

Media

The diocese uses several types of media to fulfill its evangelization efforts:

Radio ministry

Radio Family Rosary is a radio ministry of the Diocese of Phoenix founded in 1983. The station begins with a recitation of the

rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or ...

every day. After the rosary the station focus on a particular saint, or a point of catechism is held. The station was founded by Dorothy Westfall, after a suggestion from a Phoenix parishioner suffering from

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

. Bishop Thomas Olmsted often uses radio communication and has a website with information about his "bishop's hour." on Immaculate Heart Radio. The diocese began financially supporting En Familia radio

KIDR KIDR (740 kHz) is an AM radio station in Phoenix, Arizona. KIDR is owned by En Familia, Inc. and airs a Spanish-language Roman Catholic religious radio format. The station's transmitter is off South 23rd Avenue in Phoenix. The station broadc ...

in 2012 to reach out to those who speak Spanish.

Newspaper

'' The Catholic Sun'' is the official newspaper of the Diocese of Phoenix. The paper is delivered to more than 115,000 homes in the counties of Coconino, Maricopa, Mohave, and

Television

Mass is broadcast live from Cathedral of Saints Simon and Jude each Sunday morning by KAZT, along with a show immediately following entitled "Catholics Matter". The Mass was once on KUTP.

Social media

The diocese has an active presence on YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and others and continues to expand its presence online.

Bishops

The list of bishops of the diocese and their tenure of service:

Bishops of Phoenix

# Edward Anthony McCarthy (1969–1976), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop and later Archbishop of Miami # James Steven Rausch (1977–1981) # Thomas O'Brien (1982–2003) # Thomas Olmsted (2003–2022) #

(2022–present)

Auxiliary Bishops

* Eduardo Nevares (2010–present)

Priests from the Diocese who became Bishops

* James Sean Wall, appointed Bishop of Gallup in 2009

Statistics

According to 2019 data from the diocesan web site, the Diocese of Phoenix reported these statistics: * Estimated Catholic Individuals.....1,225,677 * Estimated Catholic Households....296,652 * Diocesan Priests (including retired, sick, or absent).....138 * Extern Priests.....78 * Religious Priests.....93 * Permanent Deacons.....222 * Religious Brothers.....7 * Religious Sisters.....134 * Seminarians.....40 * Parishes.....94 * Missions.....23 * Catholic Cemeteries.....6 * Catholic Funeral Homes.....2 * High Schools (Diocesan and Private)...7 * Elementary Schools.......29 * Pre-Schools..........29

Parishes and Missions

Maricopa County

#Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission, Aguila #St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Church,

Anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short s ...

#St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Avondale #St. Philip Benizi Mission, Black Canyon City #St. Henry Church, Buckeye #Our Lady of Joy Church, Carefree #St. William Church, Cashion #St. Gabriel the Archangel, Cave Creek #St. Andrew the Apostle Church, Chandler #St. Mary Church, Chandler #St. Columba Kim Korean Church, Chandler #Santa Teresita Church, El Mirage #Ascension Church,

Fountain Hills Fountain Hills is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Known for its impressive fountain, once the tallest in the world, it borders the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and Scottsdale. The ...

#St. Michael Mission, Gila Bend #St. Anne Church,

Gilbert Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South A ...

#St. Mary Magdalene Church, Gilbert #Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church,

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia *Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre * Glendale, Queensland, ...

#St. Helen Church, Glendale #St. James Church, Glendale #St. Louis the King Church, Glendale #St. Raphael Church, Glendale #St. Thomas More Church, Glendale #St. John Vianney Church, Goodyear #Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Guadalupe #St. John the Baptist Church, Komatke

Gila River Indian Community The Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) (O'odham language: Keli Akimel Oʼotham, ''meaning "Gila River People"'', Maricopa language: Pee-Posh) is an Indian reservation in the U.S. state of Arizona, lying adjacent to the south side of the city of ...

Mission #All Saints Church,

Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a ...

#Christ the King Church, Mesa #Holy Cross Church, Mesa #Queen of Peace Church, Mesa #St. Bridget Church, Mesa #St. Timothy Church, Mesa #All Saints Catholic Newman Center, Tempe ASU #Good Shepherd Mission, New River #St. Charles Borromeo Church, Peoria # Cathedral of Saints Simon and Jude, Phoenix #Corpus Christi Church, Phoenix #Holy Family Church, Phoenix #Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Phoenix #Most Holy Trinity Church, Phoenix #Our Lady of Czestochowa Polish Church, Phoenix #Our Lady of the Valley Church, Phoenix #Sacred Heart Church, Phoenix #St. Agnes Church, Phoenix #St. Anthony Church, Phoenix #St. Augustine Church, Phoenix #St. Benedict Church, Phoenix #St. Catherine of Siena Church, Phoenix #St. Edward the Confessor Church, Phoenix #St. Francis Xavier Church, Phoenix #St. Gregory Church, Phoenix #St. Jerome Church, Phoenix #St. Joan of Arc Church, Phoenix #St. Joseph Church, Phoenix #St. Luke Church, Phoenix #St. Mark Church, Phoenix #St. Martin de Porres Church, Phoenix #

St. Mary's Basilica, Phoenix St. Mary's Basilica – officially The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary – is a church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, Diocese of Phoenix located at 231 North 3rd Street at the corner of East Monr ...

#Mater Misericordiae Mission Tridentine Latin Masses, Phoenix #St. Matthew Church, Phoenix #St. Paul Church, Phoenix #St. Theresa Church, Phoenix #St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Phoenix #St. Vincent de Paul Church, Phoenix #Vietnamese Martyrs Church, Phoenix #Our Lady of Fatima Mission, Phoenix #Our Lady of Guadalupe Church,

Queen Creek Queen Creek is a town in Maricopa and Pinal counties in the state of Arizona. The population was 59,519 as of the 2020 census, up from 26,361 at the 2010 census. It is a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona located in the far southeast area of the ...

#St. Dominic Mission, Rio Verde #St. Francis of Assisi Mission,

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

#St. Paschal Baylon Chapel,

#San Lucy Mission, San Lucy Village of the Tohono O'odham Nation, Gila Bend #Blessed Sacrament Church, Scottsdale #Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Scottsdale #Our Lady of the Angels Conventual Franciscan Church and Renewal Center, Scottsdale, a ministry of the OFM Franciscan Province of Saint Barbara #St. Bernadette Church, Scottsdale #St. Bernard of Clairvaux Church, Scottsdale #St. Daniel the Prophet Church, Scottsdale #St. Maria Goretti Church, Scottsdale #St. Patrick Church, Scottsdale #St. Clement of Rome Church, Sun City #St. Elizabeth Seton Church, Sun City #St. Joachim and St. Anne Church, Sun City #Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Sun City West #Prince of Peace Church, Sun City West #St. Steven Church, Sun Lakes #St. Clare of Assisi Church, Surprise #All Saints Catholic Newman Center, Tempe ASU #Holy Spirit Church, Tempe #Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Tempe #Resurrection Church, Tempe #St. Margaret Church, Tempe #Blessed Sacrament Church, Tolleson #St. Anthony of Padua Church,

Wickenburg Wickenburg is a town in Maricopa and Yavapai counties, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 7,474, up from 6,363 in 2010. History The Wickenburg area, along with much of the Southwest, became part ...

Pinal County

Missions #St. Peter Mission, Bapchule #Holy Family Mission, Blackwater #St. Anthony Mission,

Sacaton , native_name_lang = ood , settlement_type = CDP , image_skyline = Sacaton-Cook Memorial Church-1870-1.JPG , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = The C. H. Cook Memorial Church, listed in the National ...

#Our Lady of Victory Mission, Sacaton Flats #St. Anne Mission, Santan #St. Catherine Mission, Santa Cruz

Ak-Chin Indian Community The Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak-Chin) Indian Reservation (O'odham language: ʼAkĭ Ciñ O'odham) is a federally recognized tribe and Native American community located in the Santa Cruz Valley in Pinal County, Arizona,

#St. Francis Mission

Yavapai County

#St. Francis of Assisi Mission, Bagdad #St. Frances Cabrini Church,

Camp Verde Camp Verde ( yuf-x-yav, ʼMatthi:wa; Western Apache: Gambúdih) is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town is 10,873. The town hosts an annual corn festival in July, sponsored and org ...

#St. Catherine Laboure Mission, Chino Valley #St. Cecelia Mission, Clarkdale #Good Shepherd of the Desert Mission,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

#Immaculate Conception Church, Cottonwood #St. Joseph Mission, Mayer #Sacred Heart Church, Prescott #St. Germaine Church,

Prescott Valley Prescott Valley is a town located in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States, approximately east of Prescott. According to the 2020 United States Census, Prescott Valley has a population of 46,785 residents. History Prescott Valley's Fitzmau ...

#St. John Vianney Church,

Sedona Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. It is within the Coconino National Fo ...

Coconino County

#San Francisco de Asis, Flagstaff #Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel, Flagstaff #St. Pius X Center, Flagstaff #Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel, Flagstaff #Holy Trinity Newman Center, Flagstaff NAU #El Cristo Rey Mission,

Grand Canyon Village Grand Canyon Village is a census-designated place (CDP) located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County, Arizona, United States. Its population was 2,004 at the 2010 Census. Located in Grand Canyon National Park, it is wholly ...

# Chapel of the Holy Cross,

#St. Francis Church, Seligman #St. Joseph Church, Williams

Mohave County

#St. Margaret Mary Church,

Bullhead City Bullhead City is a city located on the Colorado River in Mohave County, Arizona, United States, south of Las Vegas, Nevada, and directly across the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada, whose casinos and ancillary services supply much of the e ...

#Our Lady of the Desert Mission,

Dolan Springs Dolan Springs is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,989 at the 2020 census, down from 2,033 at the 2010 census. Geography Dolan Springs is located in nor ...

#Our Lady of the Lake Church,

Lake Havasu City Lake Havasu City (, ) is a city in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,144, up from 52,527 in 2010. It is served by Lake Havasu City Airport. History The community first started as a ...

#La Santisima Trinidad Mission, Littlefield and

Scenic Scenic may refer to: * Scenic design * Scenic painting * Scenic overlook * Scenic railroad (disambiguation) * Scenic route * Scenic, South Dakota, United States * Scenic (horse), a Thoroughbred racehorse Aviation *Airwave Scenic, an Austrian p ...

#St. Mary Church, Kingman

Schools

There are seven Catholic high-schools within the Diocese of Phoenix, 29 elementary schools, and 29 pre-schools.

Benedictine University Benedictine University is a private Roman Catholic university in Lisle, Illinois. It was founded in 1887 as St. Procopius College by the Benedictine monks of St. Procopius Abbey in the Pilsen community on the West Side of Chicago. The insti ...

and the

University of Mary The University of Mary (UMary or simply Mary) is a private, Benedictine university near Bismarck, North Dakota. It was established in 1959 as Mary College. The university is the largest degree-granting institution in western North Dakota. It h ...

offer degree programs within the Diocese of Phoenix, and the diocese operates campus ministry programs at Newman Centers for four public universities.

Congregations

As of 2020, twenty-eight communities of religious men and fifteen communities of religious women have a presence in the Diocese of Phoenix. A diocesan Office for Consecrated Life serves as a guide for members of religious communities and for persons interested in consecrated life in its various forms.

Cemeteries

References

External links

* *
List of parishes
*
Other Catholic Organizations in the Diocese of Phoenix
*
Coat of arms of the bishop and of the diocese
*
Office for Child and Youth Protection

Arizona Catholic Conference

"Bishop's Hour" radio program

Catholic Charities Community Services Arizona

"The Catholic Sun" newspaper

Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Phoenix
*

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese Of Phoenix Phoenix Phoenix

Diocese of Phoenix The Diocese of Phoenix ( la, Dioecesis Phoenicensis; es, Diócesis de Phoenix) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory or diocese in the state of Arizona in the United States. It was established on December 2, 1969, when it was split ...

Culture of Phoenix, Arizona Christian organizations established in 1969 Phoenix