Photos and text by Tahreem Ashraf
Balloons waved in the breeze and colorful plastic eggs dotted the artificial turf lawn at the park adjacent to St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix, as parishioners gathered for the first in-person Easter celebration since the pandemic started two years ago. Volunteers handed out cold water and parents clicked pictures of their kids who posed in front of the camera with bunny-ear headbands and Easter egg baskets.
“Our congregation has been very faithful,” said Brother Scott Slattum, who oversees the St. Mary’s congregation. “One of the wonderful things and what’s really beautiful is that they stepped up during Covid to work with the homeless and those who were struggling.”
The congregation helped individuals and families overcome the economic hardship and emotional stress of the health crisis by providing medical help and food to the homeless, as well as rental assistance for people who feared eviction.
St. Mary’s Basilica is a parish of the Franciscan friars of the Province of Saint Barbarais and the oldest Catholic parish in Phoenix. With the largest collection of stained glass and windows in Arizona, the church has cultural, emotional and architectural significance. St. Mary’s food bank distributes about 40,000 emergency food boxes each month. Slattum said that during the pandemic, the church’s ministry also included arranging funerals and helping families deal with trauma and fear.
“We as friars had to be a little more cautious with people, because we didn’t want to give it to people as well,” he said.
Jessica Gloria, 40, a nurse, mother of two daughters and a Phoenix native, was delighted to celebrate Easter with the congregation after two years of isolation.
“Everybody is just so generous and giving,” said Gloria. “It’s a good feeling to come these get-togethers and now it’s just something that was much needed.”
Rachel Travis, 40, attends Sunday mass with her two daughters and son each week. She says she appreciates how the congregation stepped up to help the community when the coronavirus hit Phoenix.
“They are very family oriented; the priests are really nice and friendly,” said Travis.
As a devoted Catholic, it was hard for her to not visit church due to Covid restrictions.
“It was depressing with the pandemic. I always had got it in my heart. Like always, I missed coming to church so I watched videos on YouTube and Facebook. But now as they continued doing these rituals as they have done, it feels nice and normal,” said Travis.