About Our Parish

In 1964, 25 Catholic families began gathering for Sunday Mass at the popular Carefree Inn. A visiting priest or a priest otherwise known as a   "circuit rider" would say mass for the Catholics living in the far Northwest section of the "desert foothills" area of Maricopa County.   Then, a part of the Diocese of Tucson, and a mission of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Scottsdale, after gaining another 45 families, Our Lady of Joy was established as a parish on November 14, 1972. Pope Paul VI had established the Diocese of Phoenix on December 2, 1969 .

Parishioners pooled resources to purchase 10 Acres of land toward building of a parish church and campus.   In hindsight, we could make a connection with Sacred Scripture, Psalm 118:22, "The stone rejected by the builders." The psalmist's prophecy about the glory of the Lord brought about through His suffering.   Ironically, the land purchased to build our parish in Carefree had been used for some years as an official "dump."
 


1974 was an historical year as the first building was constructed, an all-purpose type building which is now our Preschool.   This particular building has sheltered many events in the life of the parish.   The initial usage made possible a new space for worship of God, community meetings as well as space for offices and a small priest's residence.  By 1980, the number of children in the parish had grown to about 50.  In order to offer religious education classes, a construction trailer was added to the parish grounds, providing room for classes and additional office space.  The parish registration numbered 165 families in 1980. 
 


Carefree and Cave Creek grew slowly but steadily in those years, and by 1985, 320 families were registered at Our Lady of Joy Catholic Church.   It was then that plans were drawn up and funds were saved to build a Church in the center of the campus.  


The Catholic Church of Carefree under the continued patronage of the Mother of our Lord, Our Lady of Joy, was dedicated on November 8 th 1987.  The original Church was able to seat about 450 people for each mass. Initially, it was projected that somewhere around 2015, there would be a need to expand.   The expansion occurred eight years later, when the church was built out to its present size and configuration by 1995. After the expansion of the Church, the parish center/hall was constructed and permanent parish offices were built.

A rectory (residence for priests) was built in 1991.   A short time later, under the watchful eye of Monsignor Moyer (3 rd Pastor of Our Lady of Joy) the Parish Council urged him to renovate the old parish hall, the original building of the campus, to create a Preschool. The growing numbers of people determined to move into the Foothills area made a significant difference, beginning in the mid - 1990's.  New communities sprang up throughout the parish boundaries of Our Lady of Joy.   An early 1990's study by the Parish Council predicted the parish would reach the 2,000 family mark by the year 2000.  The actual number at the close of the last century was nearly 2900 families.

Growth in the area and within the parish steadily increased from some 500 families to near 3000 families at the end of the millennium.   In 2001, a new neighboring parish was carved from the large parish boundaries of Our Lady of Joy.   St. Gabriel the Archangel put down roots on about 7.25 miles to the Southwest of the parish of Our Lady of Joy. Our Lady of Joy Catholic Church is a beautiful blend of young families, empty-nesters, and retirees, with mostly year-round residents.   In the past decade, Our Lady of Joy has grown from a staff of one priest and one combination secretary/R.E. Director, a teen minister, and a plumber.   Today, we have 2 priests, a staff of 24 people with 7 buildings and some approximately 1800 registered families.