Dear friends,

It has been a baptism by fire these first two weeks in Phoenix – I don’t think there has been a single day below 110o since I’ve been here! But truly, I have received such a warm welcome here at SFX, and I am truly grateful to God to have been missioned here as your new associate pastor.

A little bit about myself: My mother, Dee, grew up in rural Washington state in an Irish Catholic family, while my father, Reynaldo, grew up in Quezon City in the Philippines. They met and married in New York, where both my older brothers were born. My dad got a job with the Boeing Co., and so the family moved out to Seattle, where I was born and raised.

Dear fellow parishioners of St. Francis Xavier:

A couple of weeks ago I celebrated the first anniversary of my arrival here at our parish. It has been a year of adjustment, change and challenge. As you know by now, St. Francis Xavier is different from any of the other four parishes of which I was pastor.

I am grateful for many things, first among them your warm welcome (and not simply because I arrived in July!) and cooperation. This is the longest time I have lived out of state in my time as a priest and in the process I have come to like the desert, the slower pace and the fact that, even before Covid, I hardly use my car. Nice to live so close to work! (PS: I am not missing San Jose.)

I am grateful for my Jesuit community. I could not imagine a nicer group of people to be marooned with during a pandemic!

A week ago Thursday I tuned into the funeral service for John Lewis, the civil rights crusader and member of Congress. As with all Black Christian services, it was truly a celebration of Congressman Lewis’s life with uplifting music and stirring eulogies.

John Lewis put his life on the line for what he believed. The predominant question which guided his adult life was simply this: why can’t all people living in this country experience equal treatment? As we know, the history of racial inequality in this country is long and painful. It seems to stem from the notion that there is just so much to go around: just so much money for proper housing, proper education, proper healthcare---to name a few. It’s a mentality which implies that there might not be enough for both you and me. Resources are limited, we are told. Yet, in our heart of hearts, we know that that is not true. Our land is a land of abundance.

How did St. Ignatius get involved in education?

Born in 1491 the youngest of 13 children, Ignatius’ dad wanted to tuck him away in the seminary. Ignatius on the other hand wanted the romantic life of the Royal Circuit Court. In the Battle of Pamplona in 1521 Captain Ignatius suffered injuries to both legs. During his lengthy recovery, Ignatius went through a conversion and started working on his Spiritual Exercises. Not suited to his dream of a life in the Holy Land, at the age of 34, Ignatius decided to study for the priesthood and preach his Spiritual Exercises.

In January, 2019, we were blessed as Jesuits West sent Father Joe O'Keefe, S.J. to St. Francis Xavier. Sadly, Father Joe will be leaving St. Francis at the end of the month for his new assignment at Bellarmine Prep San Jose.

His thoughtful oversight of the Pastoral Department engaged our staff and parishioners as we implemented new programs that will unveil this Fall. His benevolent nature will be missed by all who had the good fortune to work by his side.

Please join us in wishing him our very best on his new assignment.

Father Joe, we hold you in our hearts.

With a sense of prudence we fully sanitized all public spaces, including the church, the weekend of June 26/27. We recognize that anyone may test positive due to the interaction we have with others on any given day. As we proceed in the coming weeks, we will follow these processes in accordance with Diocesan guidelines, as well as, CDC and AZ Department of Health guidelines:

1. Scheduled Mass will continue; we will practice physical distance, wear face masks. All of our sanitizing and cleaning protocols will continue as currently structured using commercial grade products.

2. Meetings outside of Mass will be monitored for physical distancing. We will keep these meetings to 10-12 persons. We will request all wear face masks and maintain physical distance.

Dear Beloved in Christ,

It is with great enthusiasm that I share this news: at the June meeting of our parish Finance Council, funds were approved to purchase permanent audio/visual equipment which will allow us to stream our Mass, as well as, other special events or programs, for years to come. Thank you to our Finance Council members: Carla Consoli, chair; John Finnegan, Amy Flood, John Keane, Marie Masenga and Jeff Moloznik.

Our efforts to provide streamed Sunday Mass has been made possible through the efforts of our capable staff, led by Craig Colson, as well as a few resources, most notably, Xavier College Prep. I extend my gratitude to Sister Joanie Nuckols, Sister Joan Fitzgerald and Sister Lynn Winsor for cameras, and various A/V equipment on loan to us from the Xavier College Prep Technology Department. We have the use of this equipment through the month of July.

We want to extend our prayerful best wishes and congratulations to those who have been or will soon be fully initiated into the Catholic Church As you may know, we were prepared to welcome over 100 of our youngsters, teens and adults into the life of the Church through the Sacraments of Initiation - Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist – at the Easter Vigil in April.

In so many ways, this year has been different. But we are excited to relay the news that at special Masses being celebrated at St. Francis Xavier Church on June 20th and again on June 27th these Sacraments will be conferred. We are grateful to God for allowing us to welcome them into our parish community.

Welcome Back!

When you arrive at St. Francis Xavier for Mass you may notice a few changes. We have marked the pews to enable physical distancing so you can confidently choose where to sit. Our Ministers of Hospitality will be present to answer questions, assist with physical distancing, create lines for Communion, and enable leaving the church to be as uncomplicated as possible.

Prior to Mass, the Ministers will open the main doors; the interior glass doors will remain open until Mass starts. The Ministers will remain in the vestibule to open these doors for any parishioner needing access to the vestibule.

Dear Beloved in Christ,

The past few months have been difficult for all of us. As people of faith, we know that God has walked with us through these challenging days. Know that the Jesuits of Phoenix have kept you in our daily prayer and hold you close in our hearts.

I am pleased to share with you that we will begin to celebrate in our Church once again. Daily Mass will start on Monday, June 8 at 8 a.m. Daily Mass will be held in the main church, with the church open 30 minutes before Mass, Monday - Saturday.

Confessions will resume on Saturday, June 13 with one priest scheduled at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., using the west confessional only. And, Sunday Mass will be celebrated in the church starting on June 14, at 11 a.m. in English and 1 p.m. in Spanish.