St. Francis Xavier Cathedral is on Central Avenue in Phoenix, AZ.  http://www.sfxphx.org  My brother Mark and I met there at noon today for a 20 minute mass and a tour of the cathedral and the school grounds.  He has been a member of the congregation there in the past and he made an excellent tour guide.  Besides the gorgeous cathedral, this compound has a Jesuit elementary school, two Jesuit high schools (one girls’ and one boys’), a library, (not open to the public, I asked), a gym, and several sport fields and playgrounds.

It is a lovely example of the traditional Roman Catholic cathedral, with the vaulted ceilings, statuary, ornate altar, and gorgeous stained glass windows.

Mary has her own niche to the left of the altar.

 Below are views of the courtyard and colonnade outside the Jesuit boys’ high school in the compound.  The girls’ high school is across the soccer field and beyond the gym, of course.

I found another horse sculpture, in a fountain!!

This poor guy has his heart in his hand and a big heart-shaped hole through his body.

This is another chapel on the campus.

St. Ignatius of Loyola.  I think he’s important to the Jesuits.

The colonnade is beautifully tiled and breezy, with small niches for  many statues of saints and benches to sit on.

The ceiling of the colonnade.

This is a lovely walkway between buildings.  I love the vines on the wall after a rain shower.

The cathedral from the back.

Then, when I arrived back to our AirBnb, our host, her son, Steve and I, and a former client all went out to In and Out Burger for grub.  It was a magical day and evening.

The burger was better than I expected. 😜

Tomorrow, we go to Mom and Dad’s for dinner.  So, you may not hear from me until the day after.  The adventure continues.