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Tucson—May 8, 2025—It is a joy for all of us in the Diocese of Tucson that the Cardinals gathered in conclave, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, have selected Pope Leo XIV. I do know our new Holy Father and have met him. I have every confidence that he will be what the Cardinals sought as qualities needed in our next Pope, that he would be a builder of bridges, a true shepherd, a master of humanity, and the face of a Samaritan Church, a serving Church toward all. The Diocese will be celebrating with gratitude the election of our new Pope on Sunday, May 18 at the 10:00 Mass at St. Augustine Cathedral.

As we have returned from our pilgrimage for the Jubilee of teenagers, I keep reflecting on the great privilege I had to witness the hope, resilience, and joy of our pilgrims. Originally, we were planning to attend the canonization of the blessed Carlo Acutis, and we ended up attending the funeral of Pope Francis. I am sure this unexpected twist impacted and touched the life of our pilgrims in a very unique way, and that eventually they will respond to God’s voice generously . During our days together, I was able to share with most of them about my calling to the priesthood and how I was also impacted by the witness, service, and love of a young priest just like our beloved Pope Francis impacted, touched, and changed the life of so many people. They felt free to ask me questions about faith, discernment, and priestly life. I shared that God also speaks through the circumstances and life events such as the passing of the Pope and the universality of the Church we witnessed at St. Peter’s. I hope and pray that this remarkable experience will continue to shape the faith and commitment of our pilgrims to themselves and their communities. So, in due time, they will take the risk of following God in a radical way knowing that He is our only Hope -the Hope that never disappoints. Fr. Luis Pablo Ochoa-Escárrega

The entire Church mourns the death of our Holy Father, Pope Francis. In cathedrals, basilicas, parish churches, shrines, and chapels, the Holy Eucharist will be offered for the repose of his soul. Communities and individuals will ask God to bestow his infinite mercy on the man who served the Church as Bishop of Rome. This novena has been prepared to help pray for the Pope during this time. The daily novena—lasting for the novendiales period from April 26 to May 4, 2025—consists of a short reading from Scripture or some other ecclesiastical text and some brief prayers, including orations drawn from the Roman Missal and the Order of Christian Funerals.

Tucson-February 11, 2025—Pope Francis has named Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger as the next Archbishop of Detroit. The priests, deacons, religious women and men of the Diocese of Tucson as well as the Pastoral Center staff and all the lay faithful of the diocese enthusiastically congratulate Archbishop-elect Weisenburger on his appointment by Pope Francis. Archbishop-elect Weisenburger will be greatly missed as he has served our diocese generously and with the care of a good shepherd since his arrival in 2017. His prayerful leadership over these past seven years has benefitted our Catholic community in many ways. He will be remembered for his zeal for vocations, for deepening the faith of the young, and his concern for our struggling parishes. The archbishop-elect will have a press conference at 10:00 a.m. today in Detroit (8:00 a.m. Tucson time). The press conference can be accessed from the Archdiocese of Detroit website https://www.aod.org Archbishop-elect Weisenburger’s installation will take place on March 18, 2025, and his farewell Mass in Tucson will be celebrated at St. Augustine Cathedral on March 2, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. Until Archbishop-elect Weisenburger leaves our diocese for his installation as Archbishop of Detroit, he will serve as the Apostolic Administrator for the Diocese of Tucson. At the time Archbishop-elect Weisenburger leaves our diocese, either an Apostolic Administrator will be appointed, or the College of Consultors will elect a Diocesan Administrator to lead the diocese until a new bishop is named. The amount of time it will take for the diocese to be given a new bishop is not known.