Tucson diocese to celebrate completion of new conference, pastoral center Sunday

Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger and Bishop Emeritus Gerald F. Kicanas will concelebrate the Mass, followed by a ribbon cutting and blessing of the building that sits in a complex known as Cathedral Square. The square surrounds the cathedral at 192 S. Stone Ave.

Speakers at the event will include Mayor Jonathan Rothschild; Fletcher McCusker, chairman of the board for the Rio Nuevo downtown redevelopment district; and Weisenburger and Kicanas.

The four-story energy-efficient building cost about $20 million, most coming from private donors. The remainder, under $2 million, was financed by the diocese, said Steff Koeneman, diocesan spokeswoman.

She said the 55,000-square- foot building stands in the place of a former parish hall and is the last of several buildings that comprise a block of historic and new construction.

The first floor of the building houses the cathedral’s parish offices and also has meeting rooms with big-screen technology to host educational workshops and meetings for parishes, ministries and other groups.

The second floor has a dividable conference center that can host up to 500 people and is equipped with a warming kitchen to use for banquets.

The third and fourth floors are home to the Pastoral Center offices that serve the parishes and ministries of the diocese.

Koeneman said the Cathedral Square project began in 2007 with the creation of a placita in honor of Msgr. Arsenio Carrillo to the north of the cathedral. The project included extensive redesign of the cathedral’s interior and painting of its exterior.