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AVONDALE, Ariz. --- St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, whose growth has vaulted it into one of the largest in the Diocese of Phoenix, celebrated 100 years as a Catholic community Sunday. Bishop John P. Dolan presided as the guest celebrant at 12:30 Mass, followed by a large outdoor party capping a day of festivities that began with a pancake breakfast hosted by Boy Scout Troop 64.
PHOENIX ---The celebrant’s greeting at the 9 a.m. Mass came with a light departure in advance of the Penitential Act. Bishop John P. Dolan joked that as he arrived, “Stepping out of my car, I found this gaggle of Jesuits. ”Laughter rippled across the congregation of 700 plus worshippers inside Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. Oxford’s Learner Dictionary, defines “gaggle” informally as “a disorderly or noisy group of people.” But the noise here reflected joyfulness, one of the traits associated with Jesuits.