Phoenix priest to be honored for transforming the lives of thousands of abandoned and orphaned children

The Diocese of Phoenix is holding a special Mass this month to commemorate the anniversary of the passing of Fr. William Wasson, whose single act of compassion toward a young thief more than a half century ago led to an organization that has lifted thousands of orphaned and abandoned children across Central America out of poverty and into accomplished lives as parents, professionals and people of faith. The diocese will celebrate the Mass on Sunday, Aug. 16, exactly 20 years after Fr. Wasson's death in 2006. He was 82.