The Church of the Holy Spirit is a Roman Catholic faith community in Tempe, Arizona dedicated to following Christ. The parish is committed to serving the children of God through social outreach, spiritual growth, and religious education.
The parish was originally founded on April 17, 1973, when the Diocese of Phoenix purchased the land on which the parish now stands. The very first pastor of the church was Reverend Bernard Colton. The parish’s initial mass was held on Palm Sunday that same year, tending to 50 parishioners, and the parish quickly grew to 300 families within a year.
The Beginning of Development
A building committee was appointed as plans to develop the new parish began in 1973. Permanent buildings for classrooms, worship, and social activities were needed and in 1975, Bishop Edward A. McCarthy gave permission for the building project to proceed. Reverend Michael O’Grady became pastor in November 1974 and, by May the next year, a groundbreaking ceremony took place to celebrate the construction of the new church.
The first mass in the new church building was held on July 4, 1976, and the dedication of the church by Bishop James S. Rausch took place on May 29, 1977 for 1,100 parishioners registered with the church.
A Growing Parish
Membership for the Church of the Holy Spirit began to grow much larger, and by 1984 there was a need for more room for worship. Plans for the church’s redesign began. A new backdrop was built to display the cross and the altar was moved out on a platform. New sanctuary furniture was built and installed alongside new lighting.
Reverend John Hanley was assigned the church’s new pastor on July 1, 1991, and the Church of the Holy Spirit as it is today finished construction in 2001. The parish administration building was completed in 2003 and the community center’s renovation was completed in 2004. Reverence Hanley remained pastor with the Church of the Holy Spirit for 15 years before retiring in June 2006. Today, the parish is lead by Father Thomas J. Hallsten and the Holy Spirit Parish has up to 1,624 families registered with the church.
Partnership with Catholic Education Arizona
As of 2019, there are 5.8 million students attending private schools across the country, including private Catholic schools. To make Catholic educations available to all students, Catholic Education Arizona helps to support the Catholic educations of students in the Holy Spirit Parish through the Arizona tax credit program.
You can help to support children in the Holy Spirit Parish obtain their Catholic educations by directing your tuition tax credits to Catholic Education Arizona. Learn more about how CEA is Changing Lives One Scholarship at a Time at www.ceaz.org or call 602-218-6542.
