A Five-Culture Parish on the Navajo Nation
St. Jude Catholic Church sits at 100 Aspen Drive in Tuba City, Arizona, on the western edge of the Navajo Nation. It is a multicultural parish of the Diocese of Gallup, and its members describe themselves as Navajo, Hopi, Filipino, Anglo and Hispanic Catholics praying, learning and serving side by side. The parish takes its name from St. Jude Thaddeus the Apostle and joins in the prayer, "St. Jude, pray for us! St. Kateri, walk with us!" The mission is supported by friends of St. Jude across the country whose donations keep the parish going.
Mass Times and the Holy Hour
The weekly Mass schedule in Mountain Daylight Time begins with Sunday Mass at 11:00 AM. Monday has no Mass. Tuesday and Wednesday Masses are celebrated at 6:00 PM, Thursday and Friday Masses at 8:00 AM, and Saturday Mass at 8:00 AM. On Thursday evenings the parish gathers from 6:00 to 7:00 PM for a Holy Hour of Adoration of the Blessed Eucharist with Benediction.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered Saturday morning from 8:30 to 9:30 AM, or by appointment with Father Faustinus. Baptisms, marriages, anointing of the sick and the Sacraments of Initiation for children in the third grade and older are arranged directly with the pastor.
From an Acre of Land to a Parish (1924 to 1961)
The history of St. Jude begins well before its church was constructed. In 1924 the Diocese of Tucson received about an acre of land in Tuba City set aside solely for Catholic mission purposes. For almost three decades no priest was available to serve that remote section of the Reservation. In 1951 a delegation of Catholic people from Tuba City, both Native and non-Native, traveled to St. Joseph's Mission in Keams Canyon to ask that Mass be offered at regular intervals. Five years later, in 1956, the first resident priest was assigned: Father Flann O'Neil, OFM, who lived in a small house trailer while planning a church and rectory.
The present St. Jude Church was built and dedicated in 1961 under the patronage of St. Jude Thaddeus the Apostle. The rectory followed in 1965, and the parish hall and gymnasium were added in 1971, both built by a Franciscan Brothers work crew. Directly to the east of the church stands a memorial to the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition of 1776, the Spanish attempt to find an overland path from New Mexico to the California missions.
Franciscans, Vincentians and the Daughters of Charity
The Franciscan Friars shepherded the parish until 1994, when the Vincentian Fathers, members of the Congregation of the Mission founded by St. Vincent de Paul, agreed to enter the Diocese of Gallup and serve in Tuba City, Page and Keams Canyon. Father Godden Menard, C.M., began pastoring St. Jude in November 1995, followed by Father Jay Jung, C.M., who served from August 2012 until September 2022. Father Jay was welcomed to Tuba City in 2012 and later moved to St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Perryville, Missouri, after ten years of service.
The parish was also blessed for nearly twenty-seven years by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, who arrived in August 1996 and served as parish administrators, pastoral associates, religious education directors and organizers of the St. Jude Food Bank. In June 2023 the Daughters of Charity withdrew from Tuba City after years of discernment, leaving behind a parish shaped by their work. The current pastor, Father Faustinus Akodire Ibebuike, took up the pastoral care of both St. Jude Parish and Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Mission in Kayenta in September 2022.
A Mission Rooted in Christ
The parish mission statement names the work plainly. Rooted in Christ and the Catholic tradition, the community commits to strengthening one another through the Word and Eucharist, shared prayer and the ongoing education of children and families. It also commits to share ourselves and our gifts by welcoming others and offering witness to the Gospel through service to the larger Tuba City community. The mission closes with the intercession of St. Jude and the prayer that St. Kateri walk with the community.
Faith Formation for Every Age
Religious education at St. Jude begins with classes for children in first grade through high school, taught through a Family Faith Formation Program that helps parents serve as the primary religious educators of their children. One Sunday each month, enrolled families move from the Eucharistic liturgy to a shared meal in the parish gym. Children then gather for class while parents discuss the monthly theme and receive home lessons for the remaining three weeks of the month. Parents and children end the day with a shared activity.
Adults who want to become Catholic, and parishioners who want a refresher in their faith, can join the RCIA program, the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. RCIA gathers monthly on the same Sunday as the Religious Education Program, beginning with the shared meal in the gym. Baptism and full reception into the Catholic Church are celebrated on Holy Saturday. Children in third grade and older begin preparation for the Sacraments of Initiation in the fall and are celebrated the following spring, following the Diocese of Gallup's policy on Confirmation and First Eucharist.
Liturgical Ministries and Music
Parishioners serve the Sunday liturgy in several ways. Lectors are trained to prepare and proclaim the Scripture readings at Mass. The Music Ministry brings together a Sunday Choir and instrumentalists who enrich the communal prayer of the parish. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion assist in distributing Holy Communion to the faithful. Altar Servers, younger parishioners of both girls and boys who have made their First Communion, assist at each Sunday Mass after being trained in their responsibilities. The parish also hosts a Catholic Book Club, where parishioners gather several evenings each quarter to discuss a book or faith topic in a sharing format rather than a structured study group.
Parish Organizations
The Pastoral Council serves as a consultative body to the pastor, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas necessary for the well-functioning of the parish. It meets quarterly on the first Tuesday of August, November, February and May and is open to all parishioners. The Finance Council is a consultative body to the pastor in accord with Church Canon Law #532, guiding authentic Christian stewardship of the goods entrusted to the parish.
The St. Vincent de Paul Society Conference at St. Jude is affiliated with both the National and International Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Its members are dedicated to the sanctification of themselves through service to those in need. The Kateri Circle exists under the Tekakwitha Conference, the international Catholic organization that promotes lay ministry within the Native American Catholic community. Membership is open to Native Americans and parishioners of other cultures, encouraging lay leadership at the parish and diocesan level.
The Vincentian Way
The spirituality that shapes St. Jude is the Vincentian Charism, named for St. Vincent de Paul, the 17th-century French priest whose life was marked by service to those in poverty. The Vincentian Family stretches across continents. It includes the Congregation of the Mission, the religious priests of the world; the Daughters of Charity, religious women; and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a lay society founded in 1833 by Frederic Ozanam. Ten members of St. Jude belong to the Society. The parish also offers a Prayer to St. Vincent de Paul in time of pandemic, asking his intercession for victims, caregivers, researchers and those approaching death.
The Food Bank and Community Outreach
The Life Sharing Center, also known as the St. Jude Food Bank, has been a ministry of the parish since the time of the Daughters of Charity. It continues under Executive Director Syro Whiterock, with support from St. Mary's Food Bank in Phoenix. The food bank is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and serves the wider Tuba City community. The parish also coordinates service projects that have welcomed youth groups and adult groups serving both St. Jude and the surrounding Native American communities.
Parish Staff and the Parish Office
The pastor is Father Faustinus Akodire Ibebuike. Teresa Tsosie is the Director of Religious Education and Parish Communications Manager. Leonard Begay serves as parish secretary and Levi Delongon as maintenance staff. The parish office at 100 Aspen Drive is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM and can be contacted at (928) 283-5391 or stjudetubacity.org@gmail.com.
The Gymnasium
The parish hall and gymnasium, built in 1971 by the Franciscan Brothers, hosts the monthly Family Faith meals and serves as space for parish activities. The gym is not rented for personal use, but recognized community organizations may use it for activities that benefit the local Tuba City community, provided the sponsoring organization assumes responsibility for maintenance and liability insurance during their use. Inquiries go through Leonard Begay at the parish office.
Joining the Parish
Visitors are welcome to attend Mass, learn about the parish's ministries and organizations, and contribute to the work of the parish online or by mail. Donations and gifts can be made at stjudetubacity.org/donate or sent to St. Jude Catholic Church, PO Box 248, Tuba City, AZ 86045. The parish calendar is published at stjudetubacity.org/calendar and updated bulletins are posted every week. Bishop James S. Wall is the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Gallup, which covers more than 55,000 square miles across New Mexico and Arizona and includes the entire Navajo Reservation.