As I was making my plans to visit Arizona, I connected with two people from the Phoenix area on LinkedIn. I knew I wanted to visit St. Mary’s Basilica in Phoenix. However, it was from my LinkedIn connections that I learned of two other beautiful churches – St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Scottsdale and Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Phoenix.

I arrived in Phoenix at 10am and headed straight to St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix. St. Mary’s Basilica is the Mother Church of Phoenix and the oldest Catholic parish in Phoenix. Its official name is The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The history of St. Mary’s begins in the late 1800s when priests from Florence, Italy would travel by horse and buggy every three months to celebrate Mass for the growing community. In 1880, construction began on a small adobe style church under the direction of the first priest ordained in Arizona – Father Edouard Gerard. As I explored the history of this beautiful basilica, I was thrilled to learn that the Sisters of Mercy came to the area in 1887. As many of you know, we have a very strong connection to the Sisters of Mercy with my husband being raised by the Sisters in a boys home on Long Island in Syosset, New York. Upon the Sisters of Mercy’s arrival to Phoenix, they established a school and a hospital which continue to serve Phoenix to this day.

In 1903, under the leadership of the Franciscan Friars, construction of the existing church began. The basement of the church, which is now the parish social hall, was built first, where Mass and other parish activities occurred while the upper church was completed.

Construction of the upper church was completed in 1914 and was dedicated on February 11, 1915.

Several renovations were made throughout the years. In 1985, St. Pope John Paul II elevated the church to the status of Minor Basilica and visited the basilica in 1987.

After spending time exploring this beautiful church, I headed to my hotel and settled in. This is not my first time exploring Arizona. The last time I visited I explored the Grand Canyon and Sedona where I saw the beautiful Holy Cross Chapel. Click here to see the blog on this beautiful structure. I really did not expect to come back to Arizona, however, one of my granddaughters is attending a college in Phoenix and so I had the perfect reason to come back to explore more of this state.

While on the plane to Phoenix, I experienced a glitch on my phone. During the flight, I played my favorite Scrabble game with one of my phone apps. I also had a solitaire game app on my phone that had been there for many months. When I clicked on that app, it led me to upload a newer version. After several rounds of solitaire, I noticed that the home screen on my phone changed drastically. There was now a panda bear in the upper right-hand corner asking me health questions. No matter what I clicked on, it would not change. Once we landed, I took the phone off airplane mode hoping things would go back to normal. However, when that did not work, I decided to restart the phone. That too did not work. After visiting St. Mary’s Basilica, settling into my hotel, and calling my granddaughter, I continued to press buttons trying to get the panda bear off my home page. Nothing worked. I decided that the next day, I would go to Mass at St. Bernadette Catholic Church and spend some time visiting the church before heading to a Verizon store. I had plans to meet up with my granddaughter, Taylor and her boyfriend, Taylor for lunch – (the same boyfriend name brings a smile to my face every time I hear it!)

Although my phone was a concern, I did not let it deter my plans. As planned, the next day I headed to St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Scottsdale. WOW! This was one of the recommendations from my LinkedIn connections and well worth the visit. The artwork throughout the church was stunning – especially what was displayed on its ceiling. I know you will enjoy the video below!

Before leaving St. Bernadette’s, I stopped at their gift shop. I made previous arrangements with the manager to bring a copy of two of my books. We talked for a while about my books and of course, I spent time shopping in the store before heading to their beautiful Adoration Chapel.

It was finally time for me to go to the Verizon store. I was anxious to get my phone fixed. Although I arrived at the store 15 minutes after opening hours, there were at least eight people already checked in. One of the Verizon reps came to me and asked if I had an appointment. I then explained what I needed and quickly showed him my phone. The rep then said with confidence that it looked like I had a malware issue. He then explained that they would have to scan the phone, which would take some time and cost $35. I then decided that since my phone was working that I could live with the change to the home screen until I got back home to Florida. However, when I got in my car, the word “malware” troubled me. A quick google search indicated that malware on a phone is “malicious software designed to spy on you and disrupt service that can lead to financial fraud, data loss, and identify theft.” My heart dropped. Now I knew I needed to get this fixed, but I did not want to be late meeting my granddaughter. Since my granddaughter lived 30 minutes away, I decided to travel to her area and find a Verizon store there. On the way, I saw a helicopter several times pass in the skies above. Seeing a helicopter is always a special moment for me. My husband spent 20 years as an Army helicopter pilot. When he retired from the military, he pursued a second career as a computer engineer. From the time he was in flight school, if my husband was not with me and I saw a helicopter in the sky, I would always blow a kiss toward the helicopter – just in case it was him flying by. Now that he is deceased, every helicopter in the sky means something special to me. This time, however, I not only blew a kiss toward the helicopter, but I also said a quick prayer – John, I could certainly use your computer mind now! Please help!

When I arrived at the new Verizon store, I had only 40 minutes before I had to meet my granddaughter. If they could not fix the issue during that time, then I would make an appointment for later in the day. There were only two people ahead of me when I signed in. One of the customers was talking with a Verizon rep and then walked from the table to the back of the store. While he was gone, the rep then asked if I was checked in. I said yes and quickly showed him the panda bear on my phone. With anxiety in my voice, I said, “I was told I have malware on my phone. Can you help with this?” With a quick glance at my phone he said, “That’s an easy fix.” He then took the phone, mumbled a few words about my settings, pressed a few buttons and then in less than two seconds handed me back my phone. When I looked at the home screen, it was perfect – exactly the way it was before the panda bear ever showed up. I was shocked. “What did you do?” I asked. He then mumbled something about a button that was pressed in my settings. I had no idea what he was saying but I was so relieved. Logan, the Verizon miracle worker, was my hero! I couldn’t thank him enough. With plenty of time to spare before meeting up with my granddaughter, I sat at a nearby Starbucks grateful beyond words for all that transpired. Without a doubt, I knew that my prayer to John’s ears was heard and answered!

My visit with my granddaughter, Taylor and her boyfriend, Taylor, was wonderful. We had lunch at a great barbecue restaurant and then went to a nearby outlet mall.

I had one other church to see in Phoenix. The next day, I visited Corpus Christi Catholic Church in time for the 8:15am Mass. After exploring the grounds, I then drove to Tucson where I visited two beautiful sites. The next blog will feature all my discoveries in Tucson.

Below is the video of the three beautiful churches visited in Phoenix. ENJOY and stay tuned for more! Book #5 – In His Hands: A study of Trust and the Book of Job – will be available January 3, 2026.

Happy New Year everyone!