Around the Diocese
Posted on by AdminRosary celebration
In recognition of October as the Month of the Rosary, Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas will preside at “The Arizona Rosary Celebration” on Oct. 15 at 10 a.m. at St. Augustine Cathedral in Tucson.
The event, sponsored by the Arizona Knights of Columbus, will also include activities in the Diocese of Phoenix with many organizations, including the Legion of Mary and Catholic Daughters of the Americas, participating.
In Tucson the celebration will include a Blessing procession of families and various parish groups honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, the recitation of the rosary and exposition and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
A special ceremony of the passing of the Silver Rose, a symbol honoring the unborn, will take place in the cathedral’s placita at the conclusion of the service. A reception will follow.
Prison film to be shown
On Oct. 3 at 7 p.m., Most Holy Trinity Parish will host a special screening of a new documentary that gives witness to the transformative power of college education in the lives of men who are incarcerated in New York’s well known prison, Sing Sing.
Directed by Tim Skousen of Moxie Films, the documentary takes the audience inside Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison—a privately funded not-for-profit organization established to provide opportunity for college education for persons who are incarcerated. From the outset of the film, we learn that Hudson Link students are men who have come to appreciate the full impact of their life-altering crimes, on others and themselves. And while for some it may be years before they see life outside the prison walls, the film shows first-hand their insight that their only hope for a redemptive, productive life is through their dedication to higher education.
The film’s title, “Zero Percent,” refers to the fact that not one of the Hudson Link graduates has been re-incarcerated for a new crime once released. Currently more than 60 men who earned degrees while in prison under Hudson Link’s sponsorship have returned to society. Given the national recidivism rate of over 60%, “Zero Percent” provides real-life evidence of the far-reaching, transformative power of higher education in prison.
“Zero Percent” is currently appearing at film festivals around the country and has received several awards including the Silver Heart Award at the Dallas International Film Festival given to a film for “dedication to fighting injustices and creating social change for the improvement of humanity.”
Two parishioners of Most Holy Trinity founded Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison. For more information about Hudson Link, visit: www.hudsonlink.org
The special screening at Most Holy Trinity Parish, 1300 N. Greasewood, is free and open to the public.
Marrow drive
Salpointe Catholic High School is hosting its eighth annual marrow registry drive, a tradition that began to find a marrow match for one student battling leukemia, and has now become a standing community event that registers more than 200 people each year as possible marrow donors.
The event, hosted at the school at 1545 E. Copper Street, will take place alongside the school’s SPA-ghetti dinner fundraiser event on Sunday, Nov. 6, from 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
“It is so important to get people registered. I always thought the word cancer translated to death sentence, but when my son was diagnosed with lymphoma in May, I saw firsthand how many survivors there are thanks to all the treatment options available,” said Monica Sutton, mother of Salpointe sophomore Tyler Sutton, who is battling Burkitt’s Lymphoma.
‘The Spirit of Assisi’
San Xavier Mission in Tucson will mark the 25th anniversary celebration of “The Spirit of Assisi,” the inter-religious prayer for world peace event convened by Pope John Paul II in Assisi, Italy, on Oct. 27, 1986.
While Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate this day in Assisi, a prayer service for world peace will be held at San Xavier at 7 p.m. on Oct. 27. Join Father Stephen Barnufsky, O.F.M., pastor, local members of the Order of Friars Minor and representatives of other faith traditions in this ecumenical service, which will be followed by refreshments in the Mission courtyard.
For young adults
Young adults – ages 18 to 20 – are invited to get away and reflect on their lives as a young Catholics by joining a weekend “Search for Christian Maturity Retreat” at St. Odilia Parish on Nov. 11-13.
Meet other young people from throughout the Diocese and take the opportunity to strengthen your faith, learn more about yourself and deepen your relationship with Jesus.
Cost is $40 but scholarships are available. Contact Bridgette Gomez-Muñoz at 520-795-2977 or mbmunoz4@cox.net, or Julie Machen at 520-250-1299, or machenja@cox.net.
Novena planned
If you have problems that seem unsolvable, or you’re facing a dilemma that seems to have no end in sight, bring your intentions to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless cases, at a novena Oct. 20-28 at Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in South Tucson.
There will be two services daily – novena only from 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. and Mass and novena from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. – with confessions a half hour before each service while the rosary is being said.
The novena will be celebrated by Father Abram Dono, S.T.
Corpus Christi fete
A Fall Arts, Crafts and Gift Boutique will be held at Corpus Christi Parish, 300 N. Tanque Verde Loop Rd., Tucson, on Oct. 22 and 23, featuring a variety of art and finely handcrafted items.
A raffle for a quilt, gifts and jewelry will be held.
The show runs from 9:30 a.m. till 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and from 8:30 a.m. till 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Ordained in Italy
A Yuma native was ordained to the priesthood on Sept. 24 at the Basilica of San Benedetto in Norcia, Italy.
Michael Nixen, who has taken the name Brother Basil, O.S.B., is the son of Deacon Mark and Maria Nixen of Yuma.
He will say Masses at Immaculate Conception Parish in Yuma on Oct. 30, in English at 8:30 a.m. and in Spanish at 10 a.m.