Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix in Arizona is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It was established on December 2, 1969 when it was split off from the Diocese of Tucson. Its ecclesiastic territory includes Maricopa, Mohave, Yavapai, and Coconino counties , and also includes the Gila River Indian Reservation in Pinal County. The bishop is Thomas Olmsted.

Jesuit priests began to work in northern Mexico in the 1610s in the lowlands near the coast. Originally, these missionaries worked out a peaceful compromise with the people of the Yaqui River valley allowing for the establishment of more than fifty mission settlements. This broke down when the Jesuits opposed the native shamanic religious tradition. The Opata people were more receptive to the missionaries and allied with them. After this, the Jesuits began to move into Pima and Tohono O'odham territories in present-day Arizona. Spanish exploration and missionary work was sufficient to consider the territory part of New Spain. An agreement between General Pedro de Perea and the viceroy of New Spain resulted in the general shaping of the province, initially called Nueva Navarra in 1637, but renamed Sonora in 1648.

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