A Shrine for the Latin Mass in El Mirage
Our Lady of the Sun Catholic Church stands on West Peoria Avenue in El Mirage, a small city west of Phoenix in the desert of Maricopa County. The parish is one of the few places in Arizona where the Tridentine Latin Mass, the form of the Roman liturgy codified by Pope St. Pius V and used universally before the Second Vatican Council, is offered every day of the week. Faithful travel here from Phoenix, Glendale, Buckeye, and outlying rural communities for a Mass the parish presents as unchanged across the centuries, along with the traditional breviary, calendar, fasting laws, and sacramentals of the old Roman rite.
The Faith of the Parish
Our Lady of the Sun holds a traditionalist, or sedevacantist, position. The priests and parishioners reject the changes of Vatican II and maintain the Roman Catholic Faith as it was taught and practiced prior to the Council. In order to receive the sacraments at the parish, members are asked to attend exclusively the traditional Latin Mass and to avoid the reformed Mass and sacraments offered in union with the Vatican II hierarchy. The chapel is served by clergy of the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI), with Father Christopher Gronenthal as parish priest, and the catechetical work of Bishop Mark Pivarunas, CMRI, is featured on the parish site. The parish motto is drawn from St. Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians: "Stand fast: and hold the traditions, which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle."
Mass Schedule and the Old Calendar
Mass is offered every day. Sunday Mass is at 9:00 a.m.; weekday Masses are at 8:00 a.m. Monday through Friday; and Saturday Mass is at 9:00 a.m. The calendar follows the traditional liturgical year, with feasts such as the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Ember Days marked just as in the old rubrics. A Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament invites the faithful to keep watch with Christ in response to the plea, "Could you not watch one hour with me?" On Sundays at 5:00 p.m. the parish gathers for a Rosary for vocations. Relics of the saints are exposed for public veneration before the side altars, and on Ember Days the traditional fast is kept: one full meal with two smaller meatless meals on days of fast, partial abstinence from meat on Ember Wednesday and Saturday, and complete abstinence on Friday for those seven and older.
What the Tridentine Mass Looks Like Here
The Mass is celebrated entirely in Latin, the ancient language of the Roman Church. The priest faces the tabernacle and the high altar throughout, recites the same fixed prayers priests have used for centuries, and makes the prescribed gestures with numerous genuflections in reverence for the Blessed Sacrament. Only the priest touches the Sacred Host. The laity follow the prayers silently in their own missals, which translate the Latin for them. Holy Communion is received kneeling and on the tongue alone. There is no Sign of Peace with handshaking during the liturgy, no lay ministers distributing Communion, and no variation from priest to priest: the rite is the same in every chapel where the Tridentine Mass is offered. The Newcomers page sets the difference in plain terms, contrasting the parish's Mass with the post-Vatican II rite, where the priest faces the people, the liturgy takes place at a free-standing table, and many variations have entered from parish to parish.
Standards of Dress
The parish is particular about reverence for the Blessed Sacrament in matters of dress. Women and girls are asked to keep their heads covered; veils are available to borrow in the vestibule for those who do not have one. Slacks, shorts, sleeveless, tight, or low-cut clothing are not permitted, and dresses and skirts must cover the knee completely whether standing or seated. Men and boys are asked to wear a suit coat and tie, and jeans or other casual attire are described as inappropriate for church services. First-time visitors and those curious about the traditional Mass are invited to come to a Mass and to contact the office for a meeting.
The Academy and the Religious Life
Adjacent to the church is Our Lady of the Sun Academy, a Catholic school that teaches only the pre-Vatican II Roman Catholic Faith. The school day begins with daily Mass, and the students are given frequent opportunities for Confession and Communion. The religious faculty aim to give children a deep understanding and love of the Catholic Faith along with solid academic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics, and an appreciation of the fine arts. The curriculum runs from elementary through high school. The principal is Sister Maria Antonia, CMD, assisted by Sisters Noel Marie, Evangeline Marie, Maria Giovanna, and Paulina Marie of the Congregation of the Mother of God (CMD), the sister congregation affiliated with CMRI. The academy choir, the parish's main choir, sings at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; all age groups are welcome. Rehearsal is at 8:15 a.m. on Sundays and Holy Days in the main social hall.
Parish Societies and Guilds
Parish life is built around a number of lay societies and volunteer guilds. The Holy Name Society, the oldest lay society in the Catholic Church, traces its origin to Pope Gregory X in 1274. Open to men eighteen and older, the society at Our Lady of the Sun focuses on honoring the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and being witnesses of the Faith; Frank Martinez is the parish contact. The SOL group gathers in the classrooms once a month. St. Joseph's Guild brings together parishioners handy at construction, renovation, and grounds-keeping; St. Anne's Guild gathers volunteers for rosary making, sewing, and scapular making; and Our Lady's Garden is a humble community plot tended by anyone who wants to lend a hand. Sister Maria Jacinta, CMD, oversees much of this volunteer activity. The parish also runs a bookstore behind the church, where Rafael and Maria keep a selection of traditional Catholic books, statues, and devotional articles and repair broken rosaries, and Fr. O'Connor's Library, where Anne, the librarian, helps visitors find Catholic reading.
Father LeBlanc's Mission
Our Lady of the Sun was built in 1987 by Father Francis LeBlanc. Born in Canada and a chaplain during the Second World War, Father LeBlanc retired to Phoenix and gathered a small group of like-minded faithful to build a church in El Mirage that would be used exclusively for the Latin Mass. His larger vision was a self-contained campus for traditional Catholics: a church, a convent for the religious Sisters, a school for children, a retirement home for the aged, and a retirement center for older priests who wished to continue offering the traditional Mass. The present church, convent, and academy are the realization of that dream.
Visiting and Supporting the Parish
The church is open for visits from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday, and from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Sunday. The parish livestream is carried through miqparish.org. The parish office can be reached by phone at 623-213-5478 or by email at olschurch1917@gmail.com, with separate addresses for the academy and for traditional Latin Mass correspondence. Current goals listed by the parish include a new sound system in the school for programs and recitals, a new roof on the church and school, sports equipment for the academy, new books for the library and academy, and ongoing support of the religious Sisters. Benefactors and their intentions are remembered in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and in the prayers of the Sisters.