St. Mary’s Basilica - Phoenix, Arizona

(CNS photos/Nancy Wiechec)

Destination: St. Mary’s Basilica, a Phoenix landmark since 1914, is marking its 100th year. The basilica built in the Mission Revival style is the city’s first Catholic Church and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its parish community dates back to 1872.
Masses are offered 5 p.m. Saturday; 9 and 11 a.m. Sunday (11 a.m. Mass is interpreted for the deaf); and 12:05 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Why to go:  This parish in Arizona actually has links to Illinois. According to its history (at its website), St. Mary’s traces its history to the Sacred Heart Province, “which provided early leadership to the church. The Franciscans of the Province of the Sacred Heart trace their roots from the Province of the Holy Cross, Padersborn, Westphalia, Germany (Saxony Province.) In 1858, at the invitation of Bishop Henry Damian Juncker of the Diocese of Alton, Illinois, nine friars were sent to minister to the German-speaking immigrants settling in the Midwest region. The German Friars assumed charge of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Teutopolis, Illinois on Oct. 3, 1858, and thus established the basis for the Sacred Heart Province. ... By 1879, there were 202 friars that made up the Province of the Sacred Heart. The year 1896 saw the friaries of Sacred Heart Province located in the Far West organized into a dependent commissariat. In 1915, the friaries of Sacred Heart Province on the west coast and in Arizona were canonically established in the Province of Saint Barbara.”
From this heritage, the parish in Phoenix developed.
The parish, still in the care of Franciscan friars, has an active  Secular Franciscan Order.
Extras: The gift shop is closed Monday-Wednesday, but open 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday.
(Grand) Kid friendly: Children are welcome, as they would be to any church.
Info: Address: St. Mary’s Basilica, 231 N. Third St, Phoenix, AZ 85004. Phone: 602/354-2100. Web: www.saintmarysbasilica.org

- Compiled by Sharon Boehlefeld; CNS contributed to this story
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