Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted will celebrate two Most Holy Trinity Masses on Dec. 16 at the church, located at 8620 N. 7th St. The 10 a.m. liturgy will be in English, with the 11:45 a.m. in Spanish.

The MHT community hopes for a full house as they celebrate the past and looks forward to the future, and extends a special invitation to parishioners and all those who have ever been associated with Most Holy Trinity. Refreshments will be served following both Masses.

The parish roots go back to the spring of 1942, when 23 people gathered in a vacant store in Sunnyslope to celebrate the Eucharist. When the store sold, the group began to worship in a private home. During its early years, the boundaries of the Most Holy Trinity parish extended north all the way to the Maricopa County line!

As the group grew, a small chapel called “Mission of Our Lady of the Wayside” was built. That small building, now called St. Thomas Aquinas Hall, is still in use.

In 1951 Most Holy Trinity Parish was established under the leadership of Monsignor Neil McHugh, one of several Irish priests to make the journey to Arizona to serve with the Diocese of Tucson. In 1969 the Diocese of Phoenix was split off from the Diocese of Tucson.

The parish opened a school and a temporary convent in 1953. Construction of the present church building was completed in November of 1957, and was formally dedicated in December of 1957. The rectory, now the current parish office building, was competed in 1962 and a convent, now the parish rectory, was completed in 1967.

Most Holy Trinity Parish, now with a parish youth center and a preschool-through-eighth grade school, looks forward to the future. Fr. Robert Skagen, Pastor, and Fr. Ernesto Reynoso, Associate Pastor, joined the parish this summer.

For more information on the Most Holy Trinity community, contact the parish at 602-944-3375, the school at 602-943-9058, or visit the parish Web site at www.mht.org.