Welcome

Dear Friends,

Thank you for visiting our website and I hope that you will get a sense of the identity and mission of our parish community. St. Francis Xavier Parish, administered by the Jesuit Fathers of the California Province, has been in existence for more than 80 years and now sits in the center of metropolitan Phoenix. At its founding, the parish was outside the city limits.

Our beautiful church building was opened in 1959 and seats 1,300 people. More than 4,400 households are registered in the parish and our elementary school has 540 young boys and girls being educated in the Jesuit tradition. The parish is vibrant with 58 ministries supported by paid staff and numerous, generous volunteers.

Evangelization, education and the celebration of the sacraments are of primary concern for us as we strive to live and spread the Gospel. The principles of Ignatian spirituality guide our efforts to bring people closer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As we live in the present we also have our eyes on the future. In the Fall of 2007, parish leadership launched a (multi-million dollar) capital campaign to fulfill our Master Plan. There is a link on this website that shows some design concepts for the Plan. The last major campaign was held in the mid-1950’s when funds were raised to build the new church which is the anchor of the parish. After 50 years, it is apparent that the elementary school needs to be rebuilt so that a 21st century education can be provided to the students. The vision of a new school and faith education center, all in one building, will be the center of our evangelization and education of youth.

On March 27, 2010, a ground breaking ceremony was held to begin Phase One A. This building will provide 34,000 square feet of new classroom and activity space. It will include parking, hard and soft surface play areas, classrooms for Pre-K and K on the first floor and rooms for grades 6,7,8 on the second floor and a dedicated science room. This Phase also includes a gymnasium/cafeteria and stage area.

The parish is blessed with parishioners who bring many gifts to our Capital Campaign Committee and our Building Committee. Our parishioners and friends have also been very generous in supporting this campaign. We have raised $7.5 million in cash and pledges. We have sufficient funds to cover the cost of Phase One A. We are anxious to complete the whole school facility so we are continuing our fund raising efforts to raise a further $6 million that will guarantee this goal. Please pray for our success.

You are always welcome at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Faith Community.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Dan Sullivan, S.J.

Pastor