Please note: The Diocese offices will be closed on Monday, Feb. 20, in observance of the Martin Luther King holiday.
Welcome Southwest Liturgical Conference! As many of you may know the 58th Annual Southwest Liturgical Conference Study Week begins here in our diocese this evening with a keynote presentation by Father Paul Turner on the topic of “Meet Yourself: Coming and Going.”
I will be welcoming participants tonight at this opening session of the Study Week, being held at the Doubletree Hotel in midtown Tucson.
Our diocese is privileged to co-host the Study Week with the SWLC Board of Directors. The theme of the week is ”Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.”
The SWLC gathering takes until Jan. 18 at the DoubleTree Hotel at Reid Park.
There will be six general session speakers and more than 30 workshop sessions over the four days. Bilingual workshops, workshops for RCIA teams, and presentations on liturgical ministry, liturgical arts, music showcases and many more will be presented.
Hundreds of Catholics including the faithful from our diocese, Phoenix, Santa Fe, Gallup and other dioceses will be here in Tucson for the event.
I am looking forward to meeting some of our guest speakers and members of the Liturgy Conference planning committee. Thanks to our own Sister Lois Paha, OP, D.Min., and most of the diocesan Pastoral Services staff who are handling many duties during the Study Week.
Another welcome! To Father Yoonsok “Paul” Kim, who is the new pastor at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Tucson. The parish serves our Korean speaking community.
Annual Catholic Appeal We begin our Appeal the weekend of Jan. 25 and 26. This year, our theme is “Living our faith through acts of charity.” The goal of the Catholic Foundation for the Appeal is to reach $4 million in contributions and pledges. Your generosity to the campaign allows the Diocese of Tucson to fund Catholic Community Services, the Office of Vocations and seminarian education, diocesan ministries, Catholic schools, education, youth and young adult ministries and parish support grants.
I will be joining the parish community of St. Andrew the Apostle in Sierra Vista this Saturday evening. Each year, the parish has a dinner and Appeal launch. This has become a very successful annual event.
Each parish will be announcing the start of the Appeal during next weekend’s Masses. If you are a registered parishioner within the Diocese, you will receive your Appeal pledge card and envelope in the mail. Envelopes also will be available at your parish.
This is the single largest fundraiser our Foundation conducts on behalf of the Diocese. The ministries and services assisted by the Appeal rely on this funding.
I pray you will be generous. Every gift helps. I thank you for your willingness to help us help others.
2020 Knights of Columbus Dinner My deepest thanks to the Msgr. Donald Hughes Knights of Columbus Assembly for a successful Annual Mass and Dinner with the Bishop on Jan. 12. Proceeds from this event benefit seminarian education.
It was nice to see photos of Marty Ronstadt, one of the dinner’s founders and a long-time leader of the event when the proceeds went to our Priest Retirement Fund. He also kept busy with event when the seminarian education was included as a beneficiar. Marty passed away in 2019.
My gratitude to the Knights, who made a check presentation of $15,000 to the education fund. More gratitude to the parish community of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish that contributed an additional $10,000!
Generosity such as that on Sunday allows our diocese to continue to educate our future priests, who, in turn, will serve Catholics here for decades.
Photos by Michael Brown
March for Life Here are some photos of the March for Life held Saturday, Jan. 11. After Mass at St. Augustine Cathedral, we had more than 800 people of all ages that joined together to call for an end to abortion. The four-mile march ended at Holy Hope Cemetery where we held a ceremony commemorating the lives lost to abortion.
Some of the 800 people in the March for Life as they entered Holy Hope Cemetery. Marchers came in all ages, as this family shows.
Upcoming
Lüthen Lecture Tuesday, February 18
7 p.m.
St. Cyril of Alexandria Church
1750 N. Swan Road, Tucson
No cost
Presentation by Father Frank DeSiano, CSP. This lecture by Father DeSiano of Paulist Evangelization Ministries will address some of the larger questions facing parishes in the United States today and demonstrate how shifting the parish vision to “a community of disciples” can help outline a future for parishes. All parish leaders will benefit from this talk.
About the Presenter:
Father DeSiano was ordained a Paulist in 1972. In addition to serving as pastor in downtown parishes in New York and Chicago, he also is a national leader in Catholic evangelization. He earned a D. Min. degree from Boston University. He has written many books; the latest one is “Catholic Discipleship: Spiritual Exercises and Reflections.” He speaks and preaches throughout the United States.
Thanks to the support of benefactors and friends, each of the lectures in the Lüthen Lecture Series is free and open to the public; no registration is required and all are welcome.