Mass in the desert for a bright future in Sahuarita, AZ

Dozens of parishioners from San Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Sahuarita gathered in the middle of the desert for a feast day mass. It was in honor of their patron, San Martin de Porres on November 3rd. 

1. A stage was set up for the altar, and chairs were lined up in what's supposed to be the new land for the parish. For about four years parishioners have been pledging to be involved in the building of a new church. So far, there has been enough money to buy 15 acres. The hope is to build a church big enough for 700 parishioners along with having a hall, offices, and hopefully a school. The goal is to raise $5 million and about half of that has been pledged so far. 

The Parish currently seats about 300 people and with about two classrooms to teach religious education in. There is a patio outside of the church where the community gathers, and dirt roads leading up to the church that's hidden in a pecan grove are often times flooded by the monsoon rains. 

Pastor, Fr. Martin Martínez says that the church needs to be visible in Sahuarita and not hidden in the trees. He states the only Catholic Church in Sahuarita needs to be just as accessible as all other Protestant, Baptists, and Evangelical churches that are in the area. 

This isn't Fr. Martin's first rodeo when it comes to projects such as this. In the late 1990s, he was ivolved in the building of Yuma Catholic High School. The project was under the leadership of Howard Gwynn and Sonny Rodriguez. On August 14th, 2000, the school officially opened and has been growing ever since in Catholic Education. 

Fr. Martin recently joined San Martin de Porres Catholic Church just before the pandemic. He has now taken the task to help build a new church for the community. He hopes this parish will have the same destiny as Yuma Catholic High School and become a booming Church for believers. 

San Martin de Porres Parish was first built in 1983 as a mission. Fr. Michael Shay. S.D.S. was the administrator of the mission on July 1, 2000. He later became the first pastor of the parish when Bishop Manuel Moreno raised the mission to become a Parish Church on December 12th, 2002. Since then the parish has become a "beacon for multicultural ministry for all families." 

During the Mass in the desert, Fr. Martin touches on the importance of nourishing the faith with a new parish: 

"We are building upon a foundation of faith for a future of hope.  We have received benefit from the good work of those who came before us and who have provided for the Catholic faithful in Sahuarita.  We continue to nurture that work and progress it by providing for the future of our Catholic family in Sahuarita.  The growth, both in our community and parish, require we develop a new parish site and plant to appropriately nurture the faith and evangelize generations to come.  Once blessed, the new property will become the common place of gathering for the celebration of the Mysteries of Faith.  Here we will celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus and meditate upon the Incarnation.  In Lent, we will renew our spiritual battle against sin and evil.  At Easter we will solemnly rejoice in the greatest of all Mysteries, the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  On this new land, our spiritual lives will be established, strengthened, instructed, and nourished.  On this occasion, we have reason to be truly grateful for all the many blessings that we have received from the provident hand of God.  On the feast of our patron saint, San Martin de Porres, the Church raises our eyes to the glory of the saints in heaven.  It is her way of indicating that the material edifice dedicated to divine worship symbolizes heaven, the ultimate purpose of our lives and parish.  As we make our pilgrimage to the glory of heaven, we are blessed with a foretaste of that splendor by both an earthly temple and the Eucharistic banquet.  May the Lord bring to a speedy completion the good work we initiate today.  Amen."  - Fr. Martin Martínez

If you're interesting in donating or learning more visit:  http://www.sanmartinsahuarita.org/hopeandafuture.html