Our Lady of Perpetual Help sits at the corner of Miller and Main Street on the edge of Old Town Scottsdale, a Roman Catholic parish whose life began in an adobe chapel built by hand during the Great Depression. The parish identifies itself with the motto "Growing Disciples by Loving God and Neighbor" and describes its purpose as "To lead people to Jesus Christ and inspire His disciples by Word and Sacrament to be sent as His apostles to share our faith and transform society." Six hundred volunteers serve the parish, the school has been in continuous operation since the 1950s, and the original adobe church has been preserved as a working mission where baptisms still take place every Sunday afternoon.
Sunday Mass in English and Spanish
Mass is offered five times on weekend, with one of those Sunday liturgies celebrated entirely in Spanish. The Saturday Vigil is at 4:30 pm. On Sunday morning the parish gathers at 6:30 am, 8:30 am, and 10:30 am. The 10:30 am Mass on the last Sunday of the month is designated the Family Mass. The 12:30 pm Mass on Sunday is celebrated in Spanish.
Weekday Masses follow a quiet rhythm designed to fit around work and school. Monday through Friday the church offers Mass at 6:15 am and again at 12:00 noon. Saturday morning Mass is at 6:15 am. The parish notes that the daily 8:30 am Mass is suspended during the months of June and July. The sacrament of Reconciliation is heard Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11:00 am to 11:45 am, and on Saturday afternoon from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Additional hours during Advent and Lent are posted in the church. Confessions are heard in the confessionals inside the church.
Mass is livestreamed on the parish YouTube channel for those at home. The Saturday Vigil at 4:30 pm, the Sunday 8:30 am and 10:30 am Masses, and the 12:30 pm Spanish Mass are all broadcast live.
The Old Adobe Mission, a Living Landmark
The original Our Lady of Perpetual Help still stands at 3817 Brown Avenue in Old Town Scottsdale. Known today as the Old Adobe Mission, the little Spanish style chapel is where Mass was first celebrated on October 14, 1933, and it remains an active place of worship. Baptisms are celebrated at the Old Adobe Mission every Sunday at 2:00 pm, with the exception of Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, and may be celebrated in either English or Spanish.
The adobe walls were laid by Mexican-American families who had come north to work the cotton fields and citrus groves of the Salt River Valley. During the early years of the Depression they made adobe bricks and erected the walls of the first Catholic Church in Scottsdale. With help from the Extension Society a solid roof and a cross were placed on the building. Robert Evans donated the building plans and the construction equipment. Father James P. Davis obtained stained glass windows that Bishop Gercke had removed while renovating the Old Pueblo Church in Tucson. Barnabe Herrera, a tinsmith and catechist, fabricated the stained glass. A carved wooden statue of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was donated by Guadalupe Dominguez. Every family made and brought its own pew.
The Old Adobe Mission is now cared for by a Restoration Committee and about sixty volunteers, and a coordinator oversees ongoing preservation work. Winter visitors swell the volunteer ranks each year. A reflection on the 2019 Church Beautification Project by Fr. Greg Schlarb is available at the parish.
A Parish Built by Farmworkers and Pioneers
The history of Our Lady of Perpetual Help reaches back beyond 1949, the year the parish was canonically erected. In the late 1920s Bishop Gercke purchased three lots in the area, and Father Manuel Almuedo, C.M.F., of Immaculate Heart Church in Phoenix urged the local Mexican families to build a church. The first pastor, Father James Mulvihill, arrived in 1949 and replaced the rough blue slate floor with a cement slab, installed a Communion railing, new altars, and statues of Mary and Joseph. He invited the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill to come weekly to teach catechism to the children of the Yaqui Village on 64th Street. The St. Vincent de Paul Society was organized at the parish in 1951 with John E. Kelly as president.
Father Eugene Maguire, a native of Ireland, took over as pastor in 1952, when Scottsdale was just being incorporated as a city. At that time the parish had about 194 families, most of them the Mexican families who had come north thirty years earlier to work the land. The St. Vincent de Paul Society was already established and the new pastor found Joe Connors serving as its first president. In 1953 Catherine Van Horn was appointed prefect of the newly established Sodality of Our Lady. With his thick brogue and clipped speech, his eyes, his grin, his generosity and his compassion, Father Maguire quickly endeared himself to the small congregation. He faithfully attended to the spiritual needs of the Yaqui Catholic community, going to their little church on 64th Street to offer Mass and bring them the sacraments.
In 1953 the Mexican families obtained Father Maguire's permission to plan a pageant honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, and so began the yearly Miracle of the Roses event, which eventually included the area's businessmen and government officials. Governor Ernest W. McFarland was among those who attended. The men of the parish worked with Father Maguire in fundraising to buy land for a larger church, and by 1956 the congregation moved to the new property on Miller Road. At the same time Father Maguire welcomed the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, to staff his school, led by Sister Emily Miller. The Sisters taught school and began teaching weekly catechism classes and held yearly Vacation Bible School. In 1957 the Knights of Columbus Father Novatus Council 4426 organized with forty charter members and held their meetings in the old church.
By the 1960s the school had grown to eight hundred children arriving each morning for classes, and on Sunday mornings the Sisters taught catechism to six hundred public school children. An active Home and School Association supported the work of education, the winning sports programs, and the outreach of the students to the needs of the foreign missions. Vatican II documents were studied with fervor by the religious teachers, and new forms of liturgy replaced the familiar Latin Mass. In 1968 the first Parish Council met. Father Joseph Hennessey and Father Eamon Bardon were associate pastors to Father Maguire when OLPH became part of the new Diocese of Phoenix. The 1970s saw the expansion and the establishment of varied groups in the parish: Boy Scouts, Legion of Mary, Charismatic Prayer Group, Bingo Group, and the Parish Choir. Lectors and Eucharistic Ministers were trained and the faithful ushers renewed their pledge of weekly duty. On April 2, 1978, Father Maguire rejoiced with his committee as the present church on the corner of Miller and Main Street was blessed and dedicated. The smaller church became a much needed parish hall.
In 1982 Jim Jakubek and Ed Curtis founded the Men's Club with Rom Caroselli as president and Dick Topping as treasurer, with one hundred and forty men responding to their call for the first meeting. In 1987, as an outgrowth of a weekly "Body of Christ" prayer service, Whitney Sorrell organized the Adorers. The Men's Club vowed to keep an adorer before the Blessed Sacrament during the nights, and other parishioners agreed to take daytime hours. From that beginning there has been perpetual adoration in Our Lady's chapel ever since.
Father William Healy, the third pastor, came with a Ph.D. in Theology and years of teaching on the college level. Father Thomas F. Hever, another native of Ireland, arrived in 2000 from Resurrection Parish in Tempe. The school offices and classrooms have been renovated, as has a multipurpose building with a gym. Today about six hundred volunteers give time and service to the parish.
Permanent Eucharistic Adoration
The Adoration Chapel is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm and on Saturday from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. The parish traces the chapel's origin to 1987, when the Men's Club vowed to keep an adorer before the Blessed Sacrament during the night hours and other parishioners agreed to take the daytime hours. To this day there is perpetual adoration in Our Lady's chapel.
The parish offers practical guidance for those spending time before the Blessed Sacrament. Adorers are encouraged to pray the Psalms or the Liturgy of the Hours, to recite the Jesus Prayer ("Lord Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner"), to meditate on Scripture, to read the lives of saints who had a great devotion to the Eucharist, to pour out their hearts in their own words, to pray for forgiveness and to intercede for others, to pray the Rosary, or simply to sit quietly. The parish cites the words of St. Alphonsus Liguori: "Of all devotions, that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the greatest after the sacraments, one of the dearest to God and the one most helpful to us."
Sacraments and Sacramental Preparation
The whole liturgical life of the parish revolves around the seven sacraments: Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Marriage, and Holy Orders. Baptism is celebrated at the Old Adobe Mission every Sunday at 2:00 pm in English or Spanish. Parents are asked to complete paperwork with the parish one month in advance, take an online baptism class through FORMED.org (the parish's online Catholic study platform), and provide godparent letters signed and sealed by the godparent's own parish. Eligible godparents must be practicing Catholics who have been baptized, confirmed, have celebrated first Holy Eucharist, are at least sixteen years of age, and are married in the Catholic Church if they are married. Questions about baptism are directed to Yamina Rojas, the Baptism and Marriage Facilitator, at (480) 874-3753.
The parish teaches that baptism frees the baptized from the bondage of original and actual sin. Water is poured in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The white garment placed upon the newly baptized is a symbol of Christ's victory over death and his glorious resurrection, just as the pall placed over the coffin at the time of death recalls baptismal promises and reminds the faithful that they are destined for eternal life.
In the Diocese of Phoenix, the Sacrament of Confirmation is received along with First Eucharist at the end of the third grade in the Restored Order. The parish also provides formation for the reception of Confirmation for teens and adults who have not yet been confirmed. Through the sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, are rooted more deeply in divine filiation, are incorporated more firmly into Christ, strengthen their bond with the Church, associate more closely with her mission, and bear witness to the Christian faith in word and deed.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is celebrated in the church confessionals on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11:00 am to 11:45 am and on Saturday from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm. The sacrament has four steps: contrition for sin, confession to a priest, reception of absolution, and celebration of God's everlasting love with a commitment to live out a Christian life.
The Anointing of the Sick is given individually to parishioners facing serious physical or mental illness or who are scheduled for surgery. The sacrament is available by calling the parish office at (480) 947-4331 to schedule an anointing with one of the priests. The parish teaches that the healing that occurs in this sacrament is not necessarily physical; the grace infused through the sacrament is the reminder of the eternal presence of God in human suffering.
The Diocese of Phoenix requires a minimum of nine months of preparation for the Sacrament of Matrimony. Couples must notify the parish at least nine months before their desired wedding date. Preparation includes attending one of the monthly Marriage Preparation Dinner Meetings with Fr. Tony Okolo, obtaining new copies of baptismal records, completing a prenuptial inquiry, affidavits of free status, a premarital inventory (FOCCUS), a meeting with a priest to review the inventory, a Married Life Skills Training class, a God's Plan for a Joy-Filled Marriage class, Natural Family Planning classes, and planning the wedding liturgy. The parish teaches that marriage is a covenantal union in the image of the covenants between God and his people with Abraham and later with Moses at Mt. Sinai. Christian marriage is described as unitive, indissoluble, and calls spouses to be completely open to fertility.
Couples in which only one partner is Catholic may still marry in the church, provided both agree to raise their children in the Catholic faith. Couples in which one partner has been previously married and whose former spouse is still living will need an annulment before marrying in the Catholic Church, even if the partner seeking the annulment is not Catholic. Civil marriages can be validated, with preparation similar to standard marriage preparation.
Holy Orders is celebrated within the Diocese of Phoenix. Permanent Deacons are usually ordained in November, Transitional Deacons in May, and Priests in June. The sacrament includes three degrees of order: episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate. Men discerning a call to the Priesthood, Diaconate, or Religious or Consecrated Life are invited to call Fr. Tony Okolo.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
Religious education for children follows the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a Montessori-based approach that the parish describes as a response to the hunger of the child who wants to be close to God. The non-scholastic, hands-on program is offered weekly during the school year, for an hour and a half, in a variety of days and times. It is intended as a multi-year commitment, since each session builds on previous sessions and each year builds on the child's experiences the previous year.
The environment, known as the atrium, is a special setting, child-sized and beautiful, where the child may come to know and enjoy the presence of God in his or her life. The parish describes the experience as peaceful and prayerful. The core curriculum includes Covenant (the celebration of our relationship with God and with all people), Christology (the study of Jesus), Liturgy (the language of signs as a vital aspect of worship), and Sacraments (gestures and words that help us on our life's journey and join us together with God and other people through Jesus).
Level offerings include the Toddler atrium for children 18 to 36 months, Level I for ages 3 to 6, K-1 for kindergarten and first grade, Year 1 Sacrament Preparation for Reconciliation beginning in second grade, Year 2 Sacrament Preparation for Confirmation and First Eucharist for grades three through six who have completed Year 1, and Level 3 post-sacraments for grades four through six. The parish has a separate program for the older elementary child that draws on the image of the True Vine ("I am the vine, you are the branches"), the Prophets of the Old Testament, the Gifts of God, the Miracles of Jesus, and expanded presentations on Liturgy and Scripture.
Becoming Catholic through OCIA
The Order of Christian Initiation for Adults, or OCIA, is the communal process for the formal initiation of new members into the Catholic Church. The process proceeds in several steps. In the Pre-Catechumenate, also known as the Period of Inquiry, catechumens and candidates acknowledge that Christ is calling them into the Church through the movement of the Holy Spirit. The Rite of Initiation accepts new members into the worshipping community. The Catechumenate is the longest part of the process, a time of learning and formation in the traditions and doctrine of the Catholic Church, of sharing stories, reading Scripture, and studying Church customs. At the Rite of Election catechumens and candidates are chosen to be received by the bishop and the community. At the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, all newly elected members are welcomed formally into the community through the reception of the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation. The Mystagogy that follows is a time of reflection and celebration, a time to explore the deep mystery of the faith and go forth to help build the reign of God on earth.
The parish holds OCIA sessions a year on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 pm, beginning in September and concluding mid-April. Fr. Tony Okolo journeys with those preparing to enter the Church and receive their Sacraments of Initiation. Inquiries may be directed to Suzie Bonomo, Coordinator of Evangelization, at (480) 874-3751.
The parish also extends a particular welcome to returning Catholics. People who have stopped participating in the Church for any reason are assured that they are always welcome back. The parish directs them to the Catholics Come Home resources and to the parish office.
Liturgical Ministries and the Music Program
The parish offers a wide range of liturgical ministries. Sacristans prepare the vessels and other articles for Mass. Lectors proclaim the Word of God during Mass; they must be commissioned lay persons who are at least 16 years of age, have been fully initiated into the Church, and are able to receive Holy Communion themselves. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion distribute Holy Communion to the faithful during Mass under the same requirements. Altar Servers carry the processional cross and candles, hold the Roman Missal for the priest, assist the deacon in preparing the altar, assist the priest in receiving the gifts, and help with the hand washing of the priest during the preparation of the gifts.
The Broadcast Celtics assist with the broadcast of the livestream of the Mass. ProPresenter ministers handle the projection of song lyrics and announcements. Art and Environment Ministry assists with the flowers, ribbons, drapes, and other items of the liturgical year, and oversees the changes of liturgical colors during the different seasons of the Church. Linen Care ministers assist the priests with the cleaning of albs, purificators, and other items used during Mass.
The Music Ministry is led by Jaime Cortez, Director of Liturgy and Music. Volunteers are needed as Choir members (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass), Cantors who sing the responsorial psalm during the Liturgy of the Word, Instrumentalists (the parish regularly uses guitar, flute, oboe, and violin), Accompanists who play organ or piano, and Choir Conductors. The parish's music director also produces a Funeral Song Suggestions sheet for grieving families, with bilingual options for the responsorial psalm, the preparation of the gifts, and the Song of Farewell. The suggested songs span the gathering hymns "On Eagles' Wings" and "I Have Loved You," through communion hymns "One Bread, One Body," "I Am The Bread Of Life," and the bilingual "Bread from Heaven/Pan del Cielo," to recessional songs "Amazing Grace," "How Great Thou Art," and "Jerusalem, My Destiny."
Mission Outreach and Community Partnerships
The parish describes its outreach ministries as flowing from the Eucharist itself. Ministers of Care have the opportunity to deliver Holy Communion to the homebound, to hospitals, to nursing homes, and to group homes. The Prayer Shawl Ministry meets the first Monday of each month from 9:00 to 11:00 am in the Pope Francis Conference Room in the Parish Life Center. Babies and toddlers receive a prayer shawl on their baptism. The shawls also bring comfort and warmth to the sick and homebound.
The Prayer Line Ministry takes anonymous prayer requests by phone at (480) 874-3755. The parish Blood Drive is held three times a year in March, July, and October in partnership with Vitalant. Celtics in Mission is the school outreach program, providing opportunities for service learning at each grade level.
The parish works closely with Catholic Charities, which provides counseling, in-home services, education, programs for the homeless, refugee assistance, foster care and adoption, and domestic violence services. The parish partners with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, dedicated to feeding, clothing, housing, and healing individuals and families in the community. Walking with Moms in Need helps women and families in crisis find resources and assistance. Duet is a non-profit interfaith organization offering free-of-charge compassionate help to homebound adults, caregivers, grandparents raising grandchildren, and faith communities. The parish also provides a list of additional resources for those needing help with affordable housing, counseling services, foster care and adoption, food assistance, immigration services, support during pregnancy, and services for the homeless.
Fellowship, Men of OLPH, Knights of Columbus, and Magnify
The Fellowship Team at the parish coordinates Sunday Coffee and Donuts, plans parish fellowship events such as the Parish Picnic, the Chili Cook-off, the Ice Cream Social, the Lazy Hazy Daze of Summer, the Hot August Night Back to the 1970s Karaoke Night, the Multi-cultural Event celebrating the cultural diversity of the parish, Old World Angel Painting Workshops, the Trunk or Treat, the Epiphany Celebration, and Lenten Fellowship. The Welcome Team collaborates with the Coordinator of Fellowship in planning and implementing the new parishioner Welcome Gatherings, with roles for Table Hosts, Decorating, Serving, and Set-up and Clean-up.
The Men of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish meets monthly for Mass, social interaction, and service to the parish. The Men of OLPH maintains a Benevolent Fund for funeral Mass cards, sympathy cards, bereavement support, and spiritual guidance; a Msgr. Maguire Scholarship Fund that provides financial assistance for students to attend OLPH School and for OLPH graduates to attend an area Catholic high school; and a Parish Ministries Fund that supports the diocesan St. Vincent de Paul food drives, the Old Adobe Mission, the Sisters of Charity Retirement Fund, and other parish groups and activities. General meetings are held on the first Saturday of the month following the 8:30 am Mass at 9:00 am in Padre Kino Hall.
The Knights of Columbus Father Novatus Council 4426, organized at the parish in 1957 with forty charter members, is part of the world's largest Catholic family fraternal service organization. Members dedicate themselves to the ideals of Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism. The council provides members and their families with volunteer opportunities in service to the Catholic Church, their communities, families, and young people. Membership is coordinated through Dan Kudulis at (602) 647-3551.
Magnify Young Adult Ministry gathers young adults on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in Padre Kino Hall. After Mass or some time in Eucharistic Adoration, Magnify participants head off to a favorite hangout for brunch and fellowship. Some weeks the group goes hiking before Mass, or to a Holy Hour, or to some combination of all three. The aim of the ministry is to set the world on fire, to provide a place for people to be loved, to belong, and to create authentic friendships with other young adults.
Christ in Our Neighborhood is a weekly scripture study for small groups, especially aimed at seniors, meeting on Thursday mornings at 9:00 am in the Parish Office. Green Pastures is another Bible study opportunity at the parish. The Grandparents Association meets after the 8:30 am Mass on the fourth Saturday of each month in Padre Kino Hall, forming a community dedicated to keeping the Catholic faith alive for future generations.
Formation for the Whole Parish Family
Our Lady of Perpetual Help School serves the parish community with a K-8 program led by Principal Donna Lauro. The school was founded when Father Maguire welcomed the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, in the 1950s to staff it, led by Sister Emily Miller. Enrollment had grown to eight hundred children arriving each morning by the 1960s. Today the Men of OLPH's Msgr. Maguire Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance for students to attend the school, and OLPH graduates may receive support to attend an area Catholic high school.
Adults and families have access to a free subscription to FORMED, an online Catholic study platform with inspiring movies, video-based programs, audio presentations, and e-books from the Church's most compelling speakers and authors. FORMED is available as an iPhone and Android app. Parishioners can sign up by entering the parish zip code or name and creating an account with their email. Flocknote is the parish's communication tool: parishioners can text OLPHAZ to 84576 to receive information from ministries and groups, weekly bulletins, emergency notifications, and specific ministry communications. Unsubscribe at any time.
Faith and Belief
The parish teaches that prayer is communion with God and can be public or personal, spoken or silent. Catholics pray the Psalms, the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Glory to the Father, the Act of Contrition, and the Hail, Holy Queen. The central communal form of prayer for the Church is the Mass. Forms of prayer encouraged at the parish include the Liturgy of the Hours, the Jesus Prayer, Scripture meditation or Lectio Divina, and keeping a prayer journal.
The Catholic Church teaches four marks of the Church: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. The Pope, as Bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor and shepherd of the whole Church and the successor of Peter. The sacraments are instituted by and through the life of Jesus Christ, and it is through the experience of the sacramental ritual that the faithful are infused with God's grace. The Church lists seven sacraments: Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.
Mary is venerated as the greatest among the saints. The parish teaches the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, and the perpetual virginity of Mary. The Rosary is a Scripture-based prayer with four sets of Mysteries: Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, and Luminous. The parish's adoration chapel is named in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and the parish holds an annual novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
The parish's history is filled with the Mexican-American families who laid the first adobe bricks, with the Yaqui community who walked from 64th Street to receive the sacraments, with the Sisters of Charity who taught hundreds of children catechism on Sunday mornings, with the Knights of Columbus who have met here since 1957, and with the Adorers who have kept watch before the Blessed Sacrament since 1987. The same walls still stand at the Old Adobe Mission, the same Mass is still offered in Spanish on Sunday afternoons, and the same parish family still gathers at the corner of Miller and Main Street.