On behalf of the Most Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix, welcome to the website for the Cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix!  It’s our hope and prayer that you’ll find this internet outreach helpful in bringing you closer to the Lord Jesus and the life of His Church.

Ss. Simon & Jude is one of the “post-war” parishes, established in 1953 as the Valley of the Sun began an extended period of explosive population growth.  When the Diocese of Phoenix was established in December 1969, Ss. Simon & Jude was designated as the Cathedral church… housing the cathedra or chair of the Bishop.  It is from here that he guides the diocese in his role as teacher and shepherd.

Ss. Simon & Jude is also rather unique, in that it’s the only Cathedral church in the Catholic world dedicated to the honor of the Apostles, Simon and Jude.  Both made the Gospel known in various parts of the world, establishing the life of the Church, and shared a martyr’s death in their service to the Lord.

Pope John Paul II initiated the phenomenal website for the Vatican (see our links) in the early 1990s, and in doing so, set a tone for the Church to make use of the great gift of technology in service to the Gospel.  That’s precisely what we desire and is our dream in our website.

Welcome again!