Dear Friends in Christ,
Hold on to your hats! This weekend Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Foundress of the Missionaries of Charity and Nobel Peace Prize winner, is being declared a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church on Sunday, September 4 by Pope Francis. Let’s celebrate! In February of 1989 she visited Phoenix, and she established a foundation of Missionaries of Charity here in downtown Phoenix on S. 17th Avenue at Our Lady of Fatima Mission Church. These Sisters serve the poorest of the poor in Phoenix with shelters to provide a place for homeless men, women and children to sleep and eat.
Honoring the legacy of Blessed Mother Teresa, the Diocese invites you to free events:
SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL FOR GOD at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Tempe
on Sunday, September 4th at 7:00 p.m.
A Celebration of the Canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta
An evening of song, stories and prayer, celebratingthe canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Tom Booth and many musical guests will sharethe love and mercy of God reflected in the lifeof this beautiful saint of our times!
Free admission — free will offering
Diocesan Archivist, Maria Beteran, arranged a beautiful DPC exhibit of Mother Teresa:
The habit or sari of one of the Missionaries of Charity with a Rosary made of seeds known as Job’s tears or St. Joseph’s tears.
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Our Sisters of Loreto at the Cathedral have a couple of special reasons to celebrate: the Canonization of Mother Teresa is very significant as Mother used to be a Sister of Loreto before receiving her “call within a call” to serve the poorest of the poor…also
Sister Christa Parra, IBVM, a Sister of Loreto, back in the Diocese of Phoenix,
recently made her Final Profession of Vows on July 31, 2016 in Chicago, IL.
A Mass of Thanksgiving with Bishop Thomas Olmsted at the Cathedral on August 27:
Sr. Christa Parra, IBVM with Bishop Olmsted.
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted preaches the homily.
Sr. Christa leads her Sisters in a Renewal Vows.
The Sisters of Loreto are rejoicing with Bishop!
Wow! What a big and beautiful family! Thank you, Familia Parra!
August 14-16, Bishop attended the Vows Ceremonies of the RSMs in Alma, MI. From Phoenix, Sister Maria Crucis Garcia, RSM made her First Profession of Vows, and Sister Rosemarie Timmer, RSM made her Final Profession of Vows.
Bishop Olmsted delivered a homily that inspired all!
Sr. Maria Crucis, 3rd from right, with her 4 classmates and Novice Mistress, Sr. Mary Nika Shaumber, RSM.
Bishop Olmsted with the Mother General (right) and Vicar General (left) and Sister Maria Crucis with her class of Sisters who made their First Profession of Vows.
Sr. Rosemarie Timmer, RSM with her younger sister, Hannah.
The Final Profession Ceremony was held at the Cathedral in Saginaw, MI.
On July 31, a Dominican of St.Cecilia from Nashville arrived, Sister Mary Gertrude, OP to begin her new mission to teach at St. John Vianney Elementary School in Goodyear. She is the first to arrive in Phoenix of the Dominican community to begin a new foundation to serve as the leadership of the new St. John Paul II High School in the West Valley directly next to St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Avondale. Her two companions, Sister Mary Jordan, OP and Sister Mary Brigid, OP arrived August 13.
It was a blessing to be able to have Sister Mary Gertrude, OP join us for the John Paul II Classic: Priest vs. Seminarian Basketball Tournament on August 2 at Xavier Prep:
Sr. Mary Gertrude and I were ready to cheer them all on!
Sr. Mary Gertrude meets Seminarian Kevin Penkalski.
Sister with Fr. Dan Vanyo who was cheering for Fr. Sergio!
What a beautiful smile! Everyone was having a grand time.
At half-time, Srs. Joan and Joanie, BVM were a highlight!
The Priests won by 5 points! They all played very well.
Bishop Nevares presents the trophy to the Church Fathers.
What a great group of joyful men! Go, Priesthood!
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The Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from Africa are here in Glendale!
We welcome the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a.k.a. the Sacred Heart Sisters from the South Sudan and Uganda who arrived July 4th to establish a new foundation here. What a great day to arrive in the USA on Independence Day!
Sister Betty Benjamin (left) serves full-time at Catholic Charities in Phoenix to do Pastoral outreach to Arabic-speaking refugees, while Sister Betty Duduka serves at St. Louis the King School in Glendale as a teacher’s assistant and extended day care. Sr. Sophie will arrive by September to serve at St. James the Greater, Glendale.
As the Sisters were welcomed to the community, the Regional Assembly of their priest-brothers, the Apostles of Jesus, was held at St. Andrew’s Parish in Chandler. Father David Sanfilippo was the main celebrant of the Mass, and there were almost 100 Apostles of Jesus (Religious Priests) gathered for the Regional Assembly.
Fr. Robert Aliunzi, A.J. just celebrated 25 years of Priesthood!
We, the Sisters, were invited to sing in the choir for Mass!
These Priests really know to sing well, and their choir director is dynamic!
This Regional Assembly continued at St. James the Greater Parish, Glendale.
The African Community Choir at St. James the Greater Parish in Glendale.
Bishop Olmsted and The Apostles of Jesus gathered at St. James the Greater.
Fr. Robert Aliunzi was instrumental in bringing the Sacred Heart Sisters!
Thank you, Father Robert! The Holy Spirit is doing great things here!
What a great summer it has been! I hope to see you at the celebrations for Mother Teresa’s Canonization this weekend. Enjoy your Labor Day!
God bless you.
Until next time,
Sister Anthony Mary Diago, RSM
Waking Up the World 