History of the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona:
Phoenix was originally part of the Diocese of Tucson, with 17 congregations of women religious serving in various capacities. The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary arrived in 1943 at the invitation of the Jesuits at Saint Francis Xavier Parish in order to help establish the parish school as well as Xavier College Preparatory, an all-girls high school.
With the tremendous growth of the city , the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix was established Dec. 2, 1969 by Pope Paul VI. This population has continued this growth since then, almost doubling in size from 3 million in 2000 to approximately 5 million in 2023. As noted below, the cities of Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Scottsdale and Tempe are all within the Phoenix area.
Catholic places of interest in the Phoenix area:
City of Phoenix:
Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery
Saint Joseph Maronite Catholic Church and Shrine of Saint Sharbel
Saints Simon and Jude Cathedral
City of Chandler:
Saint Columba Kim Roman Catholic Church (Korean Mission Church)
City of Gilbert:
Saint Mary Magdalene Roman Catholic Church
City of Mesa:
Reliquarium at Saint Timothy Catholic Church Relics of saints on display for veneration
City of Scottsdale:
Saint Bernadette Catholic Church
City of Tempe:
All Saints Catholic Newman Center and Mary College at Arizona State University: daily Mass, beautiful iconography on display in the Newman Center and also a branch of The University of Mary.
Traveling to Phoenix:
By air: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (code PHX) has many airlines offering nonstop flights from Phoenix to more than 120 domestic destinations and 26 international destinations.
By train: Passenger trains no longer serve Phoenix (although there are plans to get that service resumed). For three decades, Phoenix has stood out as the largest city in the United States without direct Amtrak service. Now, federal and state officials are taking steps that could eventually reconnect Arizona’s largest city to passenger rail service linking Phoenix with Tucson and national routes extending toward California and Texas.
Currently, “The Sunset Limited” serves the two cities of Tucson and Maricopa. The nearest Amtrak stations are in Maricopa (MRC), 35 miles to the south and Tucson (TUS), 113 miles to the south.