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August 19, 2025By Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas
My brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus,
The Diocesan Finance Council (DFC) met last week and approved the 2025-2026 Diocesan Budget. DFC’s are mandated by Canon Law to consult with the bishop about all matters pertaining to the financial stability of the Diocese. Mr. Conan Bardwell, our chief financial officer, presented the budget that is predicted to result in a small positive bottom line.
The budget reflects an increase of seminarians, the addition of a director of religious education, hiring a controller, and chancellor for the Diocese as well as a small cost of living increase for Diocesan staff.
With the onset of Covid many pastoral programs had to be curtailed that may now need to be reinstated as we move forward. That will be the decision of our new bishop.
I am grateful to the DFC: Nancy Stephens, Chair of the DFC, Kevin Schick, Don Romano, Omar Mireles, Jim Tress, Diana Ezzre-Robles, Mark Mistler, Alex Miramontes, Joe Schifano, and Fr. Ed Lucero as well as Conan and all our finance office staff.
For a few years, the Diocese has taken over managing the finances of a number of parishes which helps them with their financial matters, since many of our smaller communities lack the personnel to monitor their finances on their own. It is difficult to find qualified business managers. The work of our Diocesan Fiscal Department has been of great benefit to many of our pastors for which I am grateful.
Our Mother of Sorrows is organizing a series of evenings reflecting on the major documents of Vatican II. The series is being instituted in conjunction with the Jubilee Year, “Pilgrims of Hope.” The first presentation on August 23, 2025, will be given by Sr. Lois Paha, OP on the Dogmatic Constitution “Gaudium et Spes”. It will take place after the 8:30 am Mass at Our Mother of Sorrows. The seminar will begin at 9:30 and conclude at 12:00. Three other presentations will follow at later dates including: Rev. Steven Rehrauer, C.Ss.R on Lumen Gentium on September 13, 2025 to be conducted at the same time. The third Rev. Jim Garcia C.SS.R. November 8th on Sacrosanctum Concilium and the final by Rev. Thomas Picton, C.Ss.R on Dei Verbum. Each presentation is from 9:30 am until 11:00 am. Don’t miss it! Attendance at these seminars helps toward Level 1 Certification. Contact the parish for a registration form.
The four Dogmatic Constitutions contain the heart of Vatican II teachings.
We welcome Mr. Richard Tracy as our Safe Environment manager under the leadership of Alicia Corti. Richard is a member of the Knights of Columbus Arizona State Officers. Previously he worked for the United States Marshall Service and the Arizona Department of Economic Security and the Arizona Superior Court. He is now joining us after retirement. He will be responsible for handling the requirements for people working or volunteering in our Diocese, including fingerprinting and background checks processes. He will do the safe environment training for all in the Diocese.
I met with Fr. John Paul Forte OP and Fr. Emmanuel Taylor OP serving at the Thomas More Newman Center along with Fr. Ed Lucero, Moderator of the Curia, Mike Marum, Chair of our Building Committee, John Shaheen, former Director of Properties, Jose Gastelum, present Director of Properties, Elizabeth Bollinger, Director of Catholic Foundation, and Ernie Nedder, Interim Chancellor to discuss a revised plan for the renovation of our Newman Center, so important a place for our young adults to encounter Christ and His Church.
The Newman Center next year is celebrating its 100th anniversary in April of 2026 and the 75th anniversary of the current buildings. As you can imagine 75 years is a long time and it is time to freshen up the Center buildings as well as to add to the space of the student center. The architectural firm Swaim Associates and the contractor Concord presented a revised design for enhancing the current facility and adding needed expansion to the chapel, a new student center with classrooms, lounges, new bathrooms, a new elevator, and entry hall. The plan is ambitious, but our hope is that many of the alumni who have been a part of the Newman Center will step up and help refresh and expand the facilities of the Center that meant so much to them and is so important for getting our young adults more involved.
The Newman Center is working at adding to its alumni list. If you attended the Newman Center at the University of Arizona during the history of the Center, contact Fr. John Paul at [email protected] so you can be included in the anniversary festivities.
Annie Lopez who worked for the diocese over many years in a variety of roles celebrated her 95th birthday on August 14. She like so many laity have served the Church in many ministries throughout our history. Annie was especially involved in youth ministry, campus ministry, and prison ministry, assisting the incarcerated to grow their faith. She spent some time as a missionary in Guatemala. She witnesses for all of us what it means to serve. Happy Birthday!
Last week I had an opportunity to visit our parish and school on the Apache Reservation in San Carlos. It was a very moving and invigorating experience to see what Fr. Madhu George, pastor and Mrs. Lorraine Reves, the principal have done to strengthen and enhance the parish and school community. I celebrated Mass for the school and parish on the feast of the Assumption and was delighted with the enthusiastic singing and participation of the students. We are blest to have four Religious Women, (Sr. Christy, Sr. Nikitha, Sr. Manju, Sr. Bincy), members of the Congregation of St. Thomas the Apostle from India, now serving in the school. Three of the sisters are teaching in the school and one is helpi
ng as a nurse in the local hospital. We are blest to have them among us, truly a gift. Fr. Madhu has done amazing work renovating and restoring the facility. The sisters have planted a vegetable garden at their convent, and a great deal of renovation has taken place in all the buildings. I had a chance to visit each of the classrooms. They now have kindergarten to eighth grade. Formerly the school only went to 6th grade. Under Fr. Madhu and Mrs. Lorraine Reves the number of students attending has increased which was great to see. We can all be proud of what they are accomplishing.
Our Building Committee met last week to review parish projects being contemplated. This past week they listened to Our Lady of La Vang Parish’s desire to add to their facility which also is the St. Francis Cabrini Parish Church as well. I am grateful to Mike Marum, Chair and the members of the Committee: Jay Alexander, Ernie Duarte, Allan Ortega, Sr. Lois Paha OP, Jim Ronstadt, John Shaheen, Kegan Tom, Pat Welchert as well as Rev. Edward Lucero, Jose Gastelum and Conan Bardwell who serve as staff to the Committee. Our Lady of La Vang is our only Vietnamese Parish in the Diocese. It is staffed by Vietnamese Redemptorist Fathers now with Fr. Dominic as pastor.
This week the City of Tucson is celebrating its 250th anniversary (“Todo lo que es Tucson: All Things Tucson”) from our city’s founding at the Presidio de San Agustin in 1775. While it is the 250th anniversary of the city’s founding, people have lived in this area for thousands of years. We stand on the shoulders of the native people whose land this is. As part of the festivities on August 20th (The very day of the anniversary) we are hosting an interfaith prayer service to mark this historic event. We are expecting religious leaders from all of our faith traditions in our community. We expect members of Las Doñas de Tucson, Los Descendientes del Presidio, el Presidio Museum Trust as well as members of the Tohono O’ odham and Pascua Yaqui tribes. The service will begin at 6:30 pm at St. Augustine Cathedral and be preceded by light refreshments and fellowship before the service beginning at 4:30 pm in the Bishop Kicanas Pastoral Center adjacent to the Cathedral. I hope many of our parishioners from around the Diocese will make a point to attend as we celebrate and recognize this important anniversary.
I will be meeting with our department directors and others this week to begin plans for the appointment of our next bishop. While we do not have any clarity of when that will happen, it is important to prepare. Our next bishop could be a bishop already and so we would celebrate his Installation as our eighth bishop, or he could be a priest in which case we would be preparing for an ordination to serve as a bishop.
There are many things that need planning. Each department will write up a report indicating their goals and objectives, what they see as priorities and pressing needs for their department.
There will be small committees working on sending invitations, preparing for the liturgy, and reception following, hosting the next bishop’s family and friends who will be joining us, introducing him to the diocese and onboarding him to who we are and what he can expect, as well as planning area Masses for the bishop to meet communities outside of Tucson.
On Saturday, August 23, I will celebrate Mass with the priests, deacons, religious and laity who are volunteering to serve our sisters and brothers in Federal, State, County prisons as well as detention centers or jails throughout our vast geographic diocese. Mass will be celebrated at St. Augustine Cathedral at 10:00 followed by a social.
Prison ministry is among the most difficult and most needed. Our volunteers help with Communion Services, preparation for sacraments, religious education, bible study and providing support and encouragement. We have many prisons in the Tucson diocese including Federal, State, County, and private prisons.
I am so grateful to those helping out. We need more priests, deacons, religious, and laity to help in this ministry. We are barely providing the services needed.
Deacon Mike Gutierrez is the Director of Prison Ministry. If you are interested in applying and participating in the training necessary to volunteer contact Deacon Mike Gutierrez at [email protected].
As always, I thank you for your support and prayers.
Yours in Christ,
Most Rev. Gerald Kicanas
Apostolic Administrator, Diocese of Tucson