The Catholic Sun

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even though its focus was mainly scientific, a Vatican-sponsored conference on aging and longevity could not ignore the ongoing convalescence of 88-year-old Pope Francis. The pope returned to the Vatican March 23 after more than five weeks in Rome's Gemelli hospital, but his doctors have prescribed two months of a drastically reduced schedule to allow him to recuperate.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Change can be frightening, but the Holy Spirit encourages the faithful to face their fears, follow Jesus' light and be "born again," Pope Francis said in a prepared text. "If we do not accept to change, if we close ourselves up in inflexibility, in habits or our ways of thinking, we risk dying. Life resides in the capacity to change to find a new way to love," he said in the catechesis prepared for his general audience March 19.

More than 1,300 candidates and catechumens, those who will enter into full communion with the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, were personally welcomed by Bishop John Dolan this month as they enter the final stages of their preparation. The encounters took place at the diocesan Rite of Elections, an integral part of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) that is celebrated annually during the Lenten season. Over the past two years, due to the vastness of the Diocese of Phoenix, Bishop Dolan has celebrated the liturgy in multiple locations for the opportunity to personally welcome more of the individuals who are entering the Catholic Church.  

For the first time in more than two years, the state of Arizona is set to execute an inmate on Wednesday, March 19. The Office of Prison Ministries and the Office of Respect Life Ministries held a prayer vigil Tuesday night at St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix led by Bishop Eduardo Nevares. A group of faithful gathered to pray for inmate, Aaron Gunches, the victim, the families and for an end to the death penalty. Opposition to the death penalty is rooted in the Catholic Church’s teaching that every person is created in the image and likeness of God, imparting sacred dignity to all human life.

Growing up in Mexico, Junuee Castro had a close relationship with her grandparents. It was a bond imbued with deep Catholic faith that continues to propel her forward today. “They were involved in church, so that really stuck with me,” Castro said. “My grandfather, for example, every Thursday he would bring me to a full hour of adoration, to our small chapel there in town. My grandmother, she taught me the prayers that I still pray to this day.” Castro, the bilingual coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Phoenix, was hired in October of 2024. She shines in a role that has been vacant for nearly 14 years at the diocesan level. 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis spent the night without a breathing mask, the Vatican press office said March 18, indicating that his need for supplemental oxygen continues to diminish. The pope received high-flow oxygen through a nasal tube overnight, it said, a change from the noninvasive mechanical ventilation he had been using since he had a breathing crisis Feb. 28. He has been hospitalized since Feb. 14. The decision to forgo overnight mechanical ventilation aligns with a medical plan to "progressively reduce" the 88-year-old pope's supplemental oxygen intake, the press office said, though it does not mean he will no longer use it at night.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Going to Mass and receiving Communion are signs of putting one's trust in God and understanding he is the one who gives the courage and strength to live life to the fullest no matter how little one has, the preacher of the papal household told members of the Roman Curia. "When we gather to celebrate the Lord's Supper," the sign of the Eucharist is what makes visible that the Lord is "in us and we in him," Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini said March 13 during his eighth Lenten meditation offered for the Curia.

“The places that most need growth and strength and healing and renewal, that’s where Christ wants to love us particularly. And there’s a sacrament for that.”  Confession can often feel like an obligation or a place of shame, but after hearing Fr. Paul Sullivan’s radio interview on The Bishop’s Hour, you’re going to want to run to the confessional to receive the gentle mercy and understanding love of Jesus the Healer. 

Phoenix’s first Catholic hospital is gearing up for their 130th anniversary on Mar. 19th, the Feast of St. Joseph. For well over a century, St. Joseph’s Hospital in downtown Phoenix has put into practice Christ’s mandate to welcome the poor and sick as Himself. The first St. Joseph’s sanitarium was founded in 1895 but the story of the hospital’s beginnings started three years prior. In 1892, Bishop Peter Bourgade invited the Sisters of Mercy to open Sacred Heart Academy, which would eventually become St. Mary’s High School.

Falik Omar Gomez grew up Catholic, but his family hardly went to church.  When he met Maria Navarro that changed.  A Catholic since childhood, Navarro began dating Gomez four years ago, and early in their relationship, she let him know church and faith were a big part of her life. But she never forced Gomez to join her at Mass.