Name of Church St. Catherine of Siena
Address 6200 S. Central Avenue, Phoenix AZ 85042
Phone number 602-276-5581
Website www.stcatherinephoenix.org
Mass times Saturday vigil, 5:30 p.m. Sundays, 6:30 a.m., 8 a.m. (Latin Tridentine, with Spanish sermon) 10 a.m. (English and a Latin Tridentine in the St. John Bosco Chapel, with English sermon), noon (Spanish), 2 p.m. (Spanish). Monday – Thursday, 7 a.m. Friday, 8:15 a.m.
Confessions Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 4-5 p.m.
Names of priests Father Alonso Saenz, pastor. Father Peter Carota and Father Raul Lopez, in residence. Father Saenz is friendly to tradition. Father Carota formerly served as pastor of St. Patrick’s in Ripon, and has become a champion of the Tridentine rite, which he only began celebrating in the past decade (see his blog, www.traditionalcatholicpriest.com).
School Yes. The school has become more traditional in recent years; teachers use the Baltimore Catechism. Latin is now an elective in the school.
Special Groups English Men’s Group, Monday Catholic Addicts Meetings (to overcome addictions), Legion of Mary, Schola Cantorum, St. Vincent de Paul Society
Special Activities Thursday Holy Hour for vocations, Saturday rosary
Liturgy/Music Reverent, traditional. The congregation tends to follow the lead of the priests and is respectful during Mass. The largest group of parishioners attending the Tridentine Mass are Latinos, with about 650 attending the 10 a.m. Mass with Spanish sermon.
Fellow parishioners St. Catherine’s is a predominantly Latino parish, with much traditional piety.
Parking Ample parking on both sides of the church.
Additional observations St. Catherine’s is a tradition-friendly Catholic parish in Phoenix, south of downtown. Its parishioners are predominantly Latino. It is located less than two miles away from a Society of St. Pius X parish, and offers Catholics a Tridentine Mass approved by the local bishop, Thomas Olmsted. The English and Spanish Masses are said ad orientem, and most parishioners receive Holy Communion kneeling at the altar rail and on the tongue. Also, the priests stress modesty in dress to the parishioners when they come to church.
Fr. Saenz is a wonderful priest, very well-read, a native Spanish speaker and very dedicated to his calling. He was handing out Latin Mass magazines to parishioners in the early 2000’s when that was definitely frowned-upon by the previous bishop. (Frankly, the previous bishop was an outright enemy of the Latin Mass.)
Hispanic Catholics in Phoenix were largely ignored or even abused under the previous bishop’s leadership. Many left the church for evangelical groups or sects. If anyone is up to the task that lies ahead to reclaim lost Catholics in Phoenix, it could be Fr. S. We need to pray for him.
650 attending a Tridentine Mass is a huge number. Seems that Latin-Spanish is the way to go.
Happy Easter, everyone.
This looks like a terrific parish. What a surprise, given the outright animosity against Tradition by the prior bishop O’Brien (what a driver!). Bishop Olmsted appropriately provides Tradition where it is embraced, and seems to see that Tradition is also taught. This Church looks like a gem in the making. Also important to note that the SSPX is busy doing the Lord’s work in Phoenix, too, building a most impressive “Our Lady of Sorrows” cathedral-like structure. Cannot wait for completion of the new Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Virginia. The presence of the SSPX never fails to “inspire” the mainline Catholic Church into “rediscovering” its Traditional roots (e.g., such as Bl. JPII approving the FSSP, which has grown nicely). God’s ways are not Man’s ways, most certainly.