San Tan Valley News reports that the first Catholic Parish in the San Tan area, St. Michael theArchangel, held its ground breaking ceremony at 26035 N Apollo Dr., San Tan Valley on May 4th. The ground breaking is for the first phase of the complex– the Parish Hall, that will be used as a church until the congregation is ready to build. Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas was on-hand to conduct the ceremony.
The Parish Hall will be the first phase of the building project and will seat 1,000 people. The second phase will be the actual church, which will double the seating capacity. St. Michael the Archangel Parish has 19 acres on which to build and it is hoped that in the future the parish will also be able to build a Catholic school, community ball fields, a church office building and a Rectory
Eventually, the new church, located just offHunt Highwayand Arizona Farms Road, will be the largest church building in the Diocese of Tucson, with a planned 2,000 seating capacity. The Tucson Diocese shares a border with the Phoenix Diocese along the Pinal / Maricopa County line, just east of the Town of Queen Creek. It is in the oldest diocese in the State of Arizona and includes active parishes that are nearly 300 years old.
The San Tan Valley area supports 130,000 residents. The State has plans for development of much of the land between Hunt Hwy and US 60. That and the great distances between Catholic parishes in the area caused the Diocese to see and respond to the need for a new and large parish in San Tan Valley. Neighbouring Catholic parishes are in Coolidge, Florence, Apache Junction, Gilbert, and Queen Creek. St. Michael the Archangel Parish is the 77th parish in the Tucson Diocese.