St. Mary’s Basilica, Phoenix’s oldest Catholic church, celebrated the 100th anniversary of its dedication Wednesday night, wrapping up a year-long centennial celebration.
Community members and members of the clergy filled the basilica for the mass, which paid homage to the church’s past and commitment to diversity. The mass, which included worship songs centered around the Blessed Virgin Mary, featured prayers and readings in a multitude of languages, from Tongan to Tagalog.
Related: St. Mary’s to honor 100th anniversary Monday
Rev. Bishop Thomas Olmsted and Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo Nevares, along with many other Franciscan priests, were also in attendance.
Mass was followed by a processional around the church, just like the one that occurred when the church was first dedicated in 1915. Attendees carried white candles and followed a cross and members of the clergy around the church, praying the litany of saints.
“She has seen an entire city be built around her,” said Camela Fishgold, the director of the church’s centennial committee when recalling the basilica’s storied past, which includes a visit from Saint Pope John Paul II.
The original church was an adobe building that was built in 1881, before the “basement church” was built in 1903. The “upper church,” or the current building in which St. Mary’s holds mass, was dedicated in 1915.
The centennial celebration began on December 8, 2013, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and continued until Wednesday, which was the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Fishgold said it was difficult to decide how to properly honor all of the church’s history, but ultimately the committee decided to celebrate blessed Virgin Mary and the eduction the church has brought to the valley.
“How do you go back 100 years and decide what we can celebrate?” Fishgold said. “How do you fit 100 years into one year?”
Still, she said the festivities that took place throughout 2014 were a good representation of the basilica’s history.
“I think we hit the mark on trying to touch on the little pieces of St. Mary’s,” she said.
Fishgold said the church will continue to reach out to its surrounding downtown community in the future.
Father Michael Weldon, the church’s pastor, recalled some of St. Mary’s history and how its members wanted it to be a church focused on serving others.
Attendee Geralyn Edwards, who has been coming to St. Mary’s on and off for more than 30 years, said the homily tied into ways the church could improve itself.
“Father’s homily was beautiful, always reminding us to take care of the poor and remind us of what kind of parish St. Mary’s wants to be,” she said.
In addition to the festivities, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton declared December 9, 2013 as St. Mary’s Basilica Centennial Celebration Day
“Phoenix is fortunate to be home to such a striking architectural attraction whose mission is rooted in compassion to all people, especially the poor and marginalized,” Stanton said in a statement displayed at the reception.
Contact the reporter at pkunthar@asu.edu
