Did You Know?

that this Saturday, 15 March, we mark the 314th anniversary of the death in 1711 of the “Apostle of Arizona” Padre Eusebio Kino, S.J.? Our Parish has provided leadership in the ongoing effort to have Padre Kino declared a Saint, the “Cause for Canonization.” Our old church building bears the name “Kino Hall” and his statue adorns the south façade of our church. Our parishioners have helped to produce holy cards, promoting Padre Kino’s Cause! Our priests have written and spoken widely on the extraordinary virtues of this “Pioneer Padre”, who transformed the spiritual and agricultural landscape of our desert Southwest during his twenty-four years of dynamic ministry to the Native Peoples and those migrating north from Mexico. In July 2020 Pope Francis declared Padre Kino “Venerable” – the second step in the process of Canonization (“Servant of God”, “Venerable”, “Blessed”, “Saint”). We feel that Padre Kino’s example of building bridges of understanding between peoples and reconciling hostile groups is a vital lesson for us today! In 2010 Pope Benedict XVI wrote: “According to the Church’s principals, holiness is evaluated on the basis of two criteria: heroic virtues and miracles. These two criteria are closely interconnected. The concept of “heroic virtues” does not point to an Olympian victory but, rather, to the fact that what is visible in and through a person does not have its source in the person himself but reveals the action of God in and through him. This is a matter, not of moral competition, but of renouncing one’s own greatness. It is about a person who allows God to act within him, and, therefore, to make visible through him the action and power of God. The same is true for the miracle criterion. Here, too, it is a matter, not of something sensational, but of God’s healing goodness becoming visible in a way that surpasses human abilities. A saint is an open person, penetrated by God. A saint is someone who does not focus his attention on himself but makes us see and recognize God. The purposes of the processes of beatification and canonization is precisely that of testing this. . .”

Pray for the advance of the Cause of Padre Kino, ask for his intercession, and honor his virtues by imitating them!

Our “Seekers” group of young men discerning a Vocation, are planning a Mass in honor of Padre Kino’s meeting with Sobapuri Chief Coro at the San Pedro River in 1695 later next month! Watch for the announcement of time and location – and join the “Seekers” in honoring the “Apostle of Arizona”!

This Sunday, we will celebrate the Rite of Sending for our seven Catechumens – those preparing for full Reception into the Church at the Easter Vigil! They will be going to the Cathedral Sunday afternoon for the Rite of Reception with the Bishop! Please pray for them as they journey toward the Easter Sacraments and full Communion!