Catholic Foundation visits rural parishes to listen and support

By The New Outlook

This summer, as the sun rose bright and hot over the Sonoran Desert, a small team from the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson embarked on a quiet but powerful mission to visit rural parishes spread across southern Arizona. 

Their goal wasn’t grand announcements or photo ops; it was to listen.

What will become an annual pilgrimage, brings Foundation staff face-to-face with pastors and parishioners in some of the most remote and underserved areas of the diocese—from dusty border towns and high desert communities to tiny mountain churches nestled in the pine forests.

“It’s one thing to read about a parish’s needs on paper,” says Elizabeth Bollinger, Executive Director at the Catholic Foundation. “But it’s a completely different thing to sit in their pews, walk their church grounds, hear their stories. We go to be present and to understand firsthand what they need and how we can serve them better.”

The team has met with faith communities whose church buildings are aging and whose ministries are powered by just a handful of volunteers. In many cases, the pastors serve multiple parishes, driving long distances between Masses on Sunday. The Foundation’s visits are often a rare opportunity for these communities to voice both their hopes and their hardships.