Welcome! We’re glad you’re here!

The Office of Evangelization, Discipleship and Spirituality is here to serve you and to carry out the command of our Lord Jesus Christ to “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe all I have commanded you (Matt. 28:19).”

We seek to encourage every Catholic to have a personal, dynamic relationship with Jesus, fortified and fueled by the sacraments and a love for God’s Word.

Meet Our Team

Diane Saunders is the director of the Office of Evangelization, Discipleship and Spirituality for the Diocese of Phoenix.

Diane has spent her entire adult life in parish and diocesan ministry across various parts of the country. She received a Master’s of Arts in Education and Theology from Boston College and did graduate studies in Historical and Cultural Studies with a concentration in Art and Religion at Graduate Theological Union. Diane also completed post-graduate work in both spiritual formation and spiritual direction. She and her husband have been married for 43 years and have five adult children and nine grandchildren. Fun fact about Diane: As a young mom, she spent a year alongside her husband Kevin, and children living in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Contact Diane at dsaunders@dphx.org or 602-354-2404.

José Antonio Martinez is the director for Marriage, Family Life and Spirituality.

José Antonio holds a Master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry and Theology from Oblate School of Theology and is also a graduate of the Kino Catechetical Institute. José Antonio spent 15 years working in various capacities at St. Jerome Parish in Phoenix. He is also a trained Spiritual Director through the Crosiers’ School of Holy Listening, Escuela de Santa Escucha Cruzada. Over the years, he has been involved in many unique and fulfilling ministries, including adult faith formation and evangelization to families; the development of documents and manuals for training marriage preparation leaders; and workshops on Pastoral de Conjunto (Together for the Mission). José Antonio and his wife have been married for 27 years and are the parents of three young adult children. Fun fact about José Antonio: He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Cybernetics in Mexico.

Contact José Antonio at jmartinez@dphx.org or 602-354-2355.

Joyce Coronel is the manager of Evangelization and Sacramental Life.

Joyce earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, with an emphasis in Latin American Studies, from Arizona State University. She’s been a Catholic journalist for over 20 years and served as a catechist in the Chaldean Catholic Church for 10 years, preparing children for their first Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Joyce manages the Christ in Our Neighborhood small church community program. She’s also writes for Together Let Us Go Forth Magazine, the official publication of the Diocese of Phoenix, and is the co-host of The Bishop’s Hour podcast. Joyce is the author of three books. She and her husband have been married for 38 years and have five sons and four grandchildren. Fun fact about Joyce: She caught chicken pox and missed making her First Communion with her class at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School. The experience helped her manage expectations of as a catechist during the Covid pandemic in 2020.

Contact Joyce at jcoronel@dphx.org or 602-354-2025.

Eneida Scoby is the liaison for Sacramental Life, Catechesis and Faith Formation.

Eneida grew up in Mexico and worked at St. Patrick Parish in San Diego as the director of catechetical ministry and coordinator of youth ministry. Locally, she served at St. Andrew Parish in religious education and infant baptism. Eneida has certificates in catechetical and youth ministry. She also earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and completed a master’s in tax accounting. She and her husband are the parents of a young son in a diocesan Catholic grade school. Fun fact about Eneida: She was the point guard on her college basketball team in Mexico.

Contact Eneida at escoby@dphx.org or 602-354-2031. 

Junuee Castro is the coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministries.

Junuee Castro grew up in the Valley and is a lay minister serving in the Catholic Church for 20 years. She attended the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, and earned her college degree in Pastoral Studies. Junuee served in the Diocese of Salt Lake City as the Director of Youth and Young Adults and has worked in various ministries at parochial and diocesan levels, including youth and young adults, Hispanic ministry, adult formation, and spirituality. She has also served in national initiatives focusing on the young church, family, and Hispanic/Latino ministry. Junuee earned her master’s degree in Theology and Ministry from Boston College. Most recently, Junuee worked as the Director of Religious Education and Hispanic Ministry at St. John Vianney Parish in Sedona, Arizona. Fun fact about Junuee: She’s visited the Dicasteries at the Vatican in Rome to present the findings and conclusions of the Fifth National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry.

Contact Junuee at jcastro@dphx.org or 602-354-2471.

Led by the Light of Learning
Exciting adult faith formation opportunities in the Diocese of Phoenix!

Those serving in parish pastoral ministry positions and adults who are ready to deepen their Catholic faith have four great options to choose from in the Diocese of Phoenix. Read on for more details and how to get started on — or continue — your journey! Click on the links below to learn more about each opportunity and how you can get involved.

Loyola Institute for Ministry Extension, LIM (or LIMEX)

A new partnership has been formed to serve the growing needs of ministry leaders and adults within the Diocese of Phoenix with Loyola University New Orleans. The Loyola Institute for Ministry Extension program (LIM or LIMEX) offers a comprehensive and unique method for adults to grow in their knowledge of the Catholic faith. Local cohorts of adult learners are paired with trained facilitators online to examine topics such as practical theology, the Trinity and Scripture. Students can earn a master’s degree in fields such as religious education and pastoral studies.
They can also earn continuing education certificates in fields such as spirituality, pastoral care and youth ministry. Many courses are available in Spanish. To read more about LIM, check out this article in The Catholic Sun and listen to a podcast interview with LIM director Dr. Tracey Lamont.

Kino Catechetical Institute

Kino is the flagship formation program of the Diocese founded in 1972. For decades it has offered robust formation programs for parish catechists, aspiring deacons, Catholic schoolteachers and those who are simply curious to know more about their faith. Courses are offered at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in both English and Spanish. Graduates of the program can become certified catechists. To read more about Kino Catechetical Institute, check out this article in The Catholic Sun and listen to the podcast interview with program manager Luz Lobato.

Franciscan at Home

Since 2021, the diocese has partnered with a vibrant ministry of Franciscan University of Steubenville. The primary focus of Franciscan at Home is to help form disciple-makers such as Catholic schoolteachers and parents. That’s done through video workshops broken into short segments that are paired with thoughtful tasks to help reinforce learning. Courses in evangelization, catechesis, Scripture, theology, pastoral care, youth ministry and more are available. Learning is self-paced and accessible on your time schedule.
To read more about Franciscan at Home check out this article in The Catholic Sun and listen to the podcast interview with Dr. Mark Ginter, the strategic partnership liaison fellow for the Southern and Midwestern United States Catechetical Institute at Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Institute of Catholic Theology

The Institute of Catholic Theology originated in the diocese 15 years ago and is headquartered at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Parish. ICT offers courses at three satellite sites: Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Tempe, St. Thomas Aquinas in Avondale and St. Bridget in Mesa. Students can earn a foundational certificate in Catholic theology and earn undergraduate credit hours.

Courses are also available online and include Christian Moral Principles, The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Catholic Social Teaching and more.
To read more about the Institute of Catholic Theology, check out this article in The Catholic Sun.

Diocese of Phoenix’s Participation in National Grant- Funded Project Focused on the Family!

The National Community of Catechetical Leaders Parents and Families at the Center of Faith Formation Project is a Lilly Endowment Project designed to explore how to strengthen faith transmission at home in the first two decades at life and create parish communities that intentionally accompany and support parents and the whole family.

The NCCL’s Parents and Families at the Center of Faith Formation Project will establish a solid foundation of knowledge about how faith transmission is (or is not) being practiced in Catholic families so that new approaches and strategies can be designed that are reflective of research and current thinking on faith transmission in the family. The project seeks to build on how Catholic families are already transmitting faith and values so that new approaches and strategies can be supportive of parents. The new approaches and strategies will be developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive, personalized to diverse parental religiosities, and responsive to diverse family structures.

NCCL’s Parents and Families at the Center of Faith Formation Project will guide parish leaders in strengthening the parish community to accompany parents and the family in forming faith; and in designing a seamless approach to faith formation from birth through high school graduation by addressing the unique developmental and faith growth needs of young children, grade school children, young adolescents, and older adolescents. New resources and approaches will be created to guide parish communities in accompanying parents and developing a seamless approach to faith forming at home and in the parish community.

Currently, the Diocese of Phoenix is developing two cohorts, one in English and one in Spanish, to participate in this project. This endeavor is to support parents in growing faith within their family and parish. The cohorts will work with national consultants over a 5-year period to develop new strategies and approaches for family faith transmission that uniquely fit the context of each specific parish community. Below is the timeline of involvement for participating parishes.

  • Year One: July 2024 — July 2025:

— Each parish forms a team led by a parish coordinator.

—  National consultants are assigned to work with each diocesan cohort.

—  Diocesan staff participates in a national family summit training event.

—  Diocese hosts two cohort workshops for parish teams led by national consultants.

  • Year Two: July 2025 — July 2026

—Diocese hosts three cohort training workshops.

—  Monthly online cohorts’ consultant meetings will be held for parish coordinators.

— Parish teams create parish plan.

  • Year Three — Five: Implementation of parish plans with support of consultants.
  • Year Five: Evaluation Year

Please contact Eneida Scoby at 602-354-2031 or escoby@dphx.org for more information.

Christ in Our Neighborhood

One of the mainstays of evangelization in the Diocese of Phoenix is centered around small church community and the Christ in Our Neighborhood Scripture study program developed by Bishop John P. Dolan.

Small groups meet weekly to discuss and pray through the upcoming Sunday Mass readings using the free resources provided on the diocesan website. Each commentary is available in English or Spanish and can be downloaded from the dphx.org website. Participants can also use a mobile version and receive a weekly newsletter containing links to that week’s readings and commentaries.

To see how these groups work, check out The Bishop’s Hour podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts or on local Catholic radio at AM 1310. The 10-minute Christ in Our Neighborhood segment airs every week and many people have started groups simply by tuning in and getting inspired to invite friends, family and neighbors to join them for a weekly gathering.

For information about how to get involved in this uplifting, faith-building evangelization effort, click here.

Interested in Becoming Catholic?

We’re here to accompany you on the journey! Are you or someone you know interested in becoming Catholic? Reach out to Joyce Coronel, Manager of Evangelization and Sacramental Life, with any questions. You can reach Joyce at jcoronel@dphx.org or 602-354-2025.

To begin your journey, click the link: Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix (dphx.org)

Marriage and Family Life

The Catholic Church considers marriage a great gift from God. As a sacrament, marriage signals and makes present the unconditional love of God. Christ’s vision of marriage is one of vocation; it is a call from God that must be lived for the sanctification of spouses and the entire community. Our office collaborates with parishes and apostolic movements in the mission of supporting and strengthening the family, the basic unit of society and the Church. We do this by testifying to the beauty and reality of the Catholic vision for marriage and family life, while empowering families to be agents of evangelization through domestic ecclesial life. Specific areas of focus include marriage formation and enrichment, family spirituality, resources for affected families, and pastoral support for those experiencing divorce, all of which fall under the umbrella of building and strengthening the domestic church.

Sharing the vision of Christ, the Evangelization Department in conjunction with the Marriage and Family Life office of the Diocese of Phoenix seeks to work with parishes and couples, walking with all families in all their stages and in their challenges. We want to form a leadership that supports and accompanies new families enjoying their celebrations and traditions.

Helpful resources–check them out!

For information on the Restored Order of the Sacraments of Initiation, please download our helpful document that includes FAQs here.

Ecclesial Sites

National Organizations/Groups

Publishers/Periodicals