In his role as pastoral administrator of St. Patrick Church in Bisbee, Arizona, Deacon Tony Underwood says he often experiences the miracle of God at work in unexpected places.
He knows that miracles are not possible unless we are willing to open ourselves to the unique ways in which we will encounter Christ. Therefore, it is a no-brainer to him that the Church’s physical doors must always be open.
Bisbee is a former mining town, with a population of 5,000. “It’s a real challenge for this community. We’re an impoverished community,” he said.
The Church must be open so that the Church can go out to the people that are hurting, and so the people that are hurting can more easily find their way to the Church.
“Most are facing serious challenges on the outside, but once they come in [the church], they’re encountering respect and welcome, and consideration, compassion and love,” he said.

St. Patrick’s outreach ministry, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, operates out of the church. The ministry provides anyone in need with consistent and loving works of mercy. It offers ready-to-eat meals each week, as well as food supplies, hygiene products, clothing and utility bill or other financial assistance.

Deacon Tony Underwood is a finalist for our Lumen Christi Award, our highest honor given to people who radiate and reveal the light of Christ present in the communities where they serve. Click here to read the stories of our eight finalists this year.
On many occasions, Deacon Underwood watches as the ministry’s account balance runs dangerously close to zero. Then, he opens the mail to find a donation covering exactly what they need. He knows that God has an uncanny ability to take what little we have to give and multiply it many times over. “Our St. Vincent DePaul Society is the most real-life example of an ongoing miracle of the Lord that I’ve ever encountered,” Deacon Underwood said.
He describes the experience in the video below:
Sacrificing career for full-time ministry
Deacon Underwood moved to Bisbee with his wife and children in 2000 after a 23-year career in the aerospace industry developing defense systems. He felt a calling to the diaconate and was ordained in 2003.
He always keeps in mind that deacons are called to be icons of Christ the Servant. It’s a perspective that he carries into his many responsibilities managing St. Patrick’s and its mission, St. Michael, located 10 miles away in the tiny village of Naco.
Catholic Extension Society originally helped build this charming desert church in 1939.

St. Michael Mission desperately needed repairs. Deacon Underwood was approached by Jesse, a local firefighter and parishioner who led the community effort to rebuild it—after much urging from his now-wife, who told him she would not marry him until he rebuilt the church!

In 2013, Deacon Underwood and Jesse led the efforts to complete the $180,000 restoration, made possible through fundraising and the physical labor of the parishioners. Jesse continues to maintain the church today.

The people business
Deacon Underwood says his most rewarding work is with the people. Before Mass, he walks through the pews connecting with everyone, checking in and sharing in their sorrow or celebrations.
“People’s issues are so serious now, and they need some affirmation that they’re not alone, that they’re not forgotten, that they’re loved,” he said. “We’re in the people business and the name of the person is Jesus Christ.”

In Bisbee, Deacon Underwood is constantly welcoming the stranger into St. Patrick’s Church. It is located across the street from the county courthouse.

The quiet of St. Patrick’s is the perfect place for distressed families to come and pray for their intercessions. Deacon Underwood is known to visit the church armed with stuffed animals and toy dolls for the anxious children who kneel next to their moms.
He keeps the doors unlocked from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day, because in his way of thinking, if God’s heart is always open to us, shouldn’t God’s church be open too?
Deacon Underwood said,
To me that’s extremely important, to make God accessible to them.”
He continued, “To know that they’ve been able to engage God in prayer, to place the needs of their loved one before the Lord, and to walk away a bit more encouraged, I hope, to face whatever justice might be rendered in the courtroom.”
Deacon Underwood has also ensured parishioners and strangers alike could benefit from the church’s stained glass windows, which had clouded over since their installation in 1917. He led a restoration project that returned them to their original glory.

He says this artwork helps parishioners and strangers alike recall the presence of the sacred in their life. “Because those glass windows tell a story. God’s story,” he said.
Furthermore, once a month, Deacon Underwood and Father Amal Sebastiar, MSFS, the parish’s sacramental minister, leave church grounds to celebrate Mass at Cochise County Jail.
He said the inmates’ intercessions at the Prayers of the Faithful are some of the purest prayers he has ever heard. He always “floats out of there,” deeply touched by the faith of these men whose tears move him to tears.
Archbishop Edward Weisenburger, the former shepherd of the Diocese of Tucson, described Deacon Underwood’s boundless spirit and compassion:
“[Deacon Underwood] looks at every small detail as an opportunity to encounter Christ. He cares deeply for each member of his parish community by embodying the selflessness and love that lies at the core of the Catholic faith.”
Click here to read the stories behind all eight of our Lumen Christi Award finalists.
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