Cande de Leon, Executive Director of the Office of Mission Advancement

Cande de Leon serves as the first Executive Director of the Office of Mission Advancement for the Diocese of Phoenix. Joining the team in 2016 he leads a team committed to advancing the Mission of Christ through stewardship, evangelization, and discipleship formation.

Cande spent seven years in the Diocese of Corpus Christi serving as the Director of Parish Stewardship and Development. In this role he led the Diocese in raising over $37 million for the Legacy of Faith ~ Future of Hope Capital & Endowment Campaign, with a goal of $18 million. Cande also developed a diocesan wide Parish Stewardship program and converted the traditional annual appeal into a catechetical and evangelization opportunity to teach the spirituality of stewardship to every person in the Diocese.

He brings a unique blend of business acumen and ministry experience to his position and his marketing strategies in teaching stewardship in the Capital Campaign, Annual Appeal and Parish Stewardship has brought him international recognition with several awards from the International Catholic Stewardship Council. Cande often is requested to give missions and workshops on stewardship throughout the U.S. Catholic Church.

Prior to working for the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Cande served as the Operations Manager & Director of Marketing for a small business developing strategies to compete with national competitors. He received national recognition by Bridgestone Firestone for his Marketing Campaigns and went on to start his own consulting firm. His message is consistent: our life has “value”, our life has “purpose” and people are counting on you to help them. Cande eventually found his way in serving the church through his own consulting business.

Cande served four years in the United States Marine Corps, graduated from Texas A&M Corpus Christi with a BBA, and earned a Master of Arts Degree with Holy Apostles Seminary and College in Theology for Sacred Scripture. Currently he is pursuing his MBA. Cande has been married to his wife Rosemary for 18 years and they have four daughters.