About Our Lady of Guadalupe · Guadalupe, Arizona
Our Lady of Guadalupe (also formally designated the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe) is a Roman Catholic parish and diocesan shrine in the tiny, one-square-mile Town of Guadalupe, Arizona, a predominantly Yaqui and Hispanic community nestled between Interstate 10 and Tempe. Founded by Franciscan friars in the early 20th century to serve the Yaqui people who had fled persecution in Sonora, Mexico, the parish has been in continuous Franciscan care for more than a century. It belongs to the Diocese of Phoenix (designated a shrine on May 7, 1972) and today counts around 2,175 registered families in a town of roughly 5,500 residents. Mass is celebrated in both Spanish and English, and the parish is the spiritual heart of the Yaqui community's annual Fiesta de la Virgen de Guadalupe.
- Established
- circa 1914-1916 (Yaqui community established 1904; townsite declared 1914; parish celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016)
- Patron
- Our Lady of Guadalupe (la Virgen de Guadalupe); patroness also of the Diocese of Phoenix since 1971
- Rector
- Franciscan Father Alberto Villafan, OFM (assigned as pastor in summer 2016; reassigned by his provincial in 2023 — current 2025 pastorate to be verified on dphx.org)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix
Why belong here
Our Lady of Guadalupe is the spiritual heart of the Town of Guadalupe, a uniquely Yaqui and Mexican-American Catholic community where centuries-old indigenous traditions and Catholic devotion are woven together. With more than 2,175 registered families packed into roughly one square mile, the parish offers three Sunday Masses in Spanish and English, daily Spanish Mass with Eucharistic Adoration, and a robust sacramental life that includes baptisms, weddings, quinceañeras, and frequent confessions. Belonging here means joining a community whose annual Fiesta de la Virgen de Guadalupe — with its Matachines, Danza del Venado, all-night vigil, and procession to La Lomita — has been celebrated continuously for more than a century.
Mass times at Our Lady of Guadalupe
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Tuesday 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM
- Friday 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Adoration times
- Tuesday 4:30 PM (before 6:30 PM Mass)
- Wednesday 7:00 AM (before 8:00 AM Mass)
- Thursday 7:00 AM (before 8:00 AM Mass)
- Friday 7:00 AM (before 8:00 AM Mass)
History & Founding
Our Lady of Guadalupe was founded in the early 20th century by Franciscan friars to serve the Yaqui people who had fled persecution in Sonora, Mexico. A local Franciscan preacher and political liaison, Father Lucius Zittier, accompanied the Yaquis from Sonora and championed their cause in Arizona. On February 1, 1898, Tempe homesteader Sylvester Roche gave five acres to the Catholic Church for one dollar; under the friars' direction, the Yaquis built a small adobe church, dwellings, and a cemetery modeled on their 19th-century Sonoran towns. Residents named both the village and the church after Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of their homeland. After the Salt River reclamation project excluded Guadalupe's land as 'un-irrigable,' Zittier secured the path to title: President Woodrow Wilson signed the townsite declaration on November 14, 1914, and the paperwork was filed at the Maricopa County Recorder's Office on July 20, 1915. The Franciscan presence at the parish has continued uninterrupted for more than a century.
- Founded by Friar Lucius Zittier, OFM, alongside the Yaqui community
- Land donated by Sylvester Roche on February 1, 1898 (5 acres)
- President Woodrow Wilson declared the townsite November 14, 1914
- Townsite filed at Maricopa County Recorder's Office July 20, 1915
- Parish celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016
Clergy & Pastoral Leadership
The parish has been under Franciscan (OFM) pastoral care since its founding. Long-serving Friar Joseph (Joe) Baur, OFM, retired in 2016 after roughly 30 years of ministry; he was succeeded by Father Alberto Villafan, OFM, a native of Chavinda, Michoacán, who was ordained in 2005 and had previously served at St. Francis Parish in Los Angeles and St. Elizabeth Parish in Oakland. Father Louis Khoury, a native of Amman, Jordan, was ordained to the priesthood at the parish on October 22, 2016 — the first ordination ever held in the parish's history. Fr. Alberto was reassigned by his provincial in fall 2023.
- Fr. Alberto Villafan, OFM — pastor (2016–2023)
- Fr. Louis Khoury, OFM — ordained at the parish October 22, 2016 (first ordination in parish history)
- Deacon Santino Berasconi (2016)
- Friar Joseph (Joe) Baur, OFM — retired 2016 after ~30 years
- Friar Lucius Zittier, OFM — founder
Fiesta de la Virgen de Guadalupe
The annual Fiesta de la Virgen de Guadalupe, celebrated on or near December 12, is the spiritual and cultural high point of the parish year and a centuries-old Yaqui tradition. Festivities begin on December 9 with a Yaqui ritual at the tribal temple, where the maestro (Yaqui equivalent of a Catholic priest) blesses roses donated by tribe members (along with cooking oil and salt) for use throughout the celebration. On the feast day itself, an image of Our Lady is venerated through an all-night vigil at La Lomita, where choirs serenade her and parishioners keep watch until about 3:00 PM. The following Saturday, hundreds gather at La Lomita for a procession along Avenida del Yaqui back to the Yaqui temple, with many carrying their own virgencitas. The fiesta features the Matachines (dance groups that celebrate indigenous roots) and the Danza del Venado (Deer Dance), which has become an emblem of the Yaqui community. Photography of Yaqui performers during the rituals is strictly prohibited for cultural and religious reasons.
- Begins December 9 with Yaqui ritual blessing of roses, oil, and salt
- All-night vigil of the Virgin at La Lomita on December 12
- Saturday procession along Avenida del Yaqui to the Yaqui temple
- Matachines dance groups
- Danza del Venado (Deer Dance)
- Organized by the Guadalupanos lay group
La Lomita
La Lomita is a small hilltop in Guadalupe that serves as the focal point of the annual Guadalupe fiesta. An altar with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe overlooks the town, and it is the gathering place for the all-night vigil and the start of the procession.
- Hilltop altar overlooking the Town of Guadalupe
- Site of the all-night vigil on the feast day
- Starting point for the Saturday procession along Avenida del Yaqui
Parish Ministries & Faith Life
Our Lady of Guadalupe is a busy sacramental and community parish. In addition to its three Sunday Masses, the parish regularly celebrates baptisms, weddings, and quinceañeras, and the choir numbered about 40 members when last profiled. Under Fr. Villafan, the parish prioritized catechism classes, Confirmation preparation, and youth ministry, citing challenges with gangs, drugs, and alcohol in the community. The Guadalupanos — a lay group of parishioners — organize the annual fiesta in conjunction with the parish. Matachines and Danza del Venado groups preserve the community's indigenous-rooted Marian devotion.
- Parish choir
- Religious education / catechesis
- Confirmation preparation
- Youth and young adult outreach
- Guadalupanos (fiesta organizers)
- Matachines
- Liturgical and sacramental ministry teams
Sacraments
The parish offers the full range of Catholic sacraments. Baptisms, weddings, and quinceañera blessings are celebrated regularly in addition to the Sunday and weekday Mass schedule. First Communion and Confirmation preparation are offered through the parish's catechetical programs. Confessions are heard on Tuesdays and Fridays from 4:30 to 5:30 PM.
- Baptism
- First Communion / catechesis
- Confirmation
- Marriage preparation and weddings
- Quinceañera blessings
- Confession (Tue & Fri 4:30–5:30 PM)
- Anointing of the Sick on request
Building, Architecture & Setting
The parish church is described by KJZZ as a 'smallish white adobe building' and by The Arizona Republic as having 'three-story, mission-style bell towers.' Its three-story mission-style bell tower stands several yards from the more modest Yaqui temple, and the two together form the visual and spiritual center of the Town of Guadalupe. The parish grounds sit just off I-10 between Phoenix and Tempe, in the same square-mile municipality where the original Yaqui settlement was laid out.
- Small white adobe church with three-story mission-style bell towers
- Sits near the Yaqui temple on La Lomita
- Located in the Town of Guadalupe, wedged between I-10 and Tempe
The Yaqui Community of Guadalupe
The Town of Guadalupe is a one-square-mile municipality of roughly 5,500 residents, where the Yaqui, Mexican-American, and Anglo communities have lived side-by-side since the early 20th century. The Yaquis arrived in the Salt River Valley starting in the 1880s under Franciscan escort, fleeing persecution in Sonora. They built their settlement on the model of 19th-century Sonoran Yaqui towns, with a small adobe church, dwellings, and a cemetery. Catholicism has been central to Yaqui life since the Jesuits first encountered the people in the 16th century, and devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe — adopted during the Mexican colonial period — has continued unbroken into the present. The town was incorporated in 1975.
- One square mile, ~5,500 residents
- Yaqui community in the Salt River Valley since the 1880s
- Townsite declared 1914, filed 1915, incorporated 1975
- Three cultural groups (Yaqui, Mexican, Anglo) flourish together
Diocese & Shrine Status
Our Lady of Guadalupe belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix and is formally designated a diocesan shrine, a status conferred on May 7, 1972. Our Lady of Guadalupe is also the patroness of the Diocese of Phoenix, having been dedicated to her patronage by then-Bishop Edward A. McCarthy in an open-air Mass in 1971 attended by 7,000 people. Every December the diocese hosts the Honor Your Mother Mass and procession on Monroe Street in Phoenix as an expression of that patronage.
- Diocese of Phoenix
- Designated a diocesan shrine on May 7, 1972
- Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of the Diocese of Phoenix since 1971
Visit & Contact
Parishioners and visitors are welcome at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish. The parish office can be reached by phone at (480) 839-2860 or by email at [email protected]. The parish's official page on the Diocese of Phoenix website (dphx.org) carries the most current schedule and announcements.
- Address: 5445 E Calle San Angelo, Guadalupe, AZ 85283
- Phone: (480) 839-2860
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://dphx.org/parish/our-lady-of-guadalupe-parish-guadalupe/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Friar Lucius (Father Lucius Zittier, OFM)circa 1898–1915+
Franciscan friar who accompanied the Yaqui people from Sonora, secured them land, championed the townsite, and is regarded as the parish's founder.
- Friar Joseph (Joe) Baur, OFMapproximately 1986–2016 (roughly 30 years)
Long-serving pastor who retired in 2016; named President/Director of the parish's Arizona nonprofit corporation.
- Fr. Alberto Villafan, OFM2016–2023 (assigned as associate pastor of Mission San Luis Rey in fall 2023)
Native of Chavinda, Michoacán; ordained 2005; previously served at St. Francis Parish in Los Angeles and St. Elizabeth Parish in Oakland for six years.