Who We Are

We are a new kind of Catholic church, unaffiliated with Rome yet rooted in 2,000 years of Christian faith.

Our basic doctrines are limited to those found in the Nicene and Apostle Creeds. Our church is ecumenical and non-judgmental; a faith that is committed to living the life taught and lived by Jesus Christ. We welcome the wounded and the disenfranchised who have been alienated from the Catholic Church and other Christian communions. Members of our church are taught not only to respect one another but to be devoted to one another.

We are an inclusive Christian community i.e., we welcome people from every Christian communion to participate in our church and in the Eucharist. We exclude no person from our Eucharistic table unless there would be gross public scandal attached to the unquestionable and egregious immorality of the person. We receive men and women into holy orders and embrace a married clergy, as is the Church's most ancient tradition, and we do not discriminate against people based upon race or sexual orientation.

We continuously strive to be faithful to the Sacred Scripture's description of the Apostolic Church. We have no legal or spiritual status with the Roman Catholic Church. Consequently, we are not within the jurisdiction of Roman Catholicism and it exercises no control over our worship, beliefs, or practices.

We have a commitment to our own spiritual growth and to service both near and far. Our community works with the homeless in Phoenix, is involved in training others for pastoral care ministry in hospitals and elsewhere, and we are very involved in helping children in Latin America.

Our clergy are worker-clergy. This means that we do not require the parish to pay salaries. We support ourselves and our families by the work of our own hands.

We are led by Peter Orlando, our pastor and bishop, who has been a Catholic priest since 1966. Arthur Parker is our deacon, parish treasurer and the chairperson for our Bible Study Group, which is open to all.

Our Ministers

Bishop Peter C. Orlando, Ph.D

Bishop Peter Orlando is the pastor of the Eucharistic Community of Francis of Assisi. He was ordained a priest in 1966 and consecrated a Catholic bishop on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi in 2008. He left the Roman Catholic priesthood in Dec.1971 and returned to ministry as part of the independent, post-Roman Catholic movement in 2002. Peter holds three master’s degrees–in theology, divinity and educational psychology–and a PhD in human behavior. Since 1971, he has been a licensed psychotherapist in private practice and within agencies, specializing in family and marriage counseling, individual and group psychotherapy, and school psychology. Fluent in Spanish, twenty-seven years ago he founded Assisi House to work with abandoned children in Latin America. With projects in four countries, its recent focus has been its orphanage and community development in Peru. “Father Peter” is married to Bobbie Orlando and has four children, four step-children and nine grandchildren. He is also the author of numerous scholarly and popular articles and books.

Father Jack Redman

Born and raised in Butte Montana, Jack Redman received a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Carroll College, Helena Montana, a Masters in Divinity from St. Thomas the Apostle Seminary in Kenmore Washington, and a Masters of Science in Mathematics from Montana State University. Ordained in May of 1959, Jack served as a priest of the Diocese of Helena for over 21 years including 16 years as a priest-teacher at Carroll College and 5+ years as a parish co-pastor.

Jack married Peggy Trower Kenna January 3rd, 1981 at which time Jack and Peggy moved to the Valley of the Sun. where both worked, Peggy as a Speech Pathologist and Audiologist and Jack as an aerospace Reliability and Safety Engineer. As a couple Peggy and Jack developed, and for 25 years facilitated, Journey to Recover, a recovery program for recently divorced and/or separated individuals. Based on what they learned from over a thousand participants in this ministry they co-authored a booklet entitled Four Pillars of a Lasting Love Relationship. From 2006 to 2012 Peggy’s life was limited by a set debilitating illnesses and Jack’s calling was a loving caregiver for Peggy until her death in December of 2012.

Father David Roth

Father David Roth is a priest of the Eucharistic Community of Francis of Assisi. He was ordained to the diaconate in 2012 and to the priesthood on the Feast of the Epiphany 2013 after 30 years of ministry as a layman.

He received his theological training from the Dominicans, including a master's degree at Providence College, Rhode Island, and then at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas ("The Angelicum") in Rome where he earned a graduate diploma in spirituality, and licentiate and doctorate degrees in theology. His post-graduate studies include a fellowship in psychoanalysis, medical school training in sex and relationship therapy and a residency in clinical pastoral care.

David presently supervises and trains clinical chaplaincy interns and is director of spiritual care at Kaiser Permanente in the Napa-Solano area of Northern California. He also maintains a therapy practice here in Central Phoenix where he is active in the parish community.

With his wife Asha who is a fluent Spanish speaker, David is in the initial stages of planning to undertake mission work in Chiapas, Mexico. Though they have seven children who reside in five states from coast to coast, Phoenix is the place they call home.

Rev. Arthur Parker, Deacon

Deacon Art was born in Whiting, Indiana into a strict fundamentalist religious family. He has a high school education and two years of private tutorial studies with Dr. Orlando. He was married in 1964 to Donna and they had three children: they have two married daughters and one son who is deceased.

Arthur was drafted into the Army during the Korean War and served one year and a half in Korea. He worked seventeen years in the wholesome plumbing/heating/industrial business, five years as a supervisor for the Public Indiana Energy Co., and twenty-three years working for a transportation company. He retired in 1999. He then returned to work for three more years for the Indiana State Highway Department; he retired again in 2002. When he and his wife relocated to Arizona, he worked for seven years as a school bus driver for the Gilbert Public Schools. Once again, he retired in June 2010. He was ordained to the diaconate on Holy Thursday of this year of our Lord, 2010.