Fr. Edward Sarrazin, OFM, 65, passes away

Fr. Edward Sarrazin, OFM, died on July 25, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona, after a brief period in hospice care. He is remembered for his gentleness, kindness, simplicity and subtle sense of humor. Devoting his life to the example of St. Francis, he accompanied the marginalized and spent more than 10 years ministering to the Native peoples of south-central Arizona. 

A Funeral Mass for Fr. Ed will be held on Wednesday, August 5 at 3 p.m. at San Xavier Mission Church, 1950 W. San Xavier Road in Tucson followed by visitation in the church and a reception in the school cafeteria. The Rite of Committal will take place on Thursday, August 6 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Francis Cemetery at 2033 N 48th Street, Phoenix, Arizona, 85008. 

Born in Montebello, California on July 29, 1960, to Joseph and Irene (née Poty) Sarrazin, he graduated from Montebello High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from California State University, Los Angeles in 1986. 

His path to a religious vocation was slow and purposeful. He first considered joining the Benedictines and then the Vincentians. However, after spending time at Old Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, California and reading the Rule of the Friars Minor, he knew he had found his calling. He made simple vows as a Franciscan friar on July 14, 2001; professed solemn vows on Aug. 20, 2005; and was ordained a priest on June 16, 2007, by Bishop Gerald Kicanas of the Diocese of Tucson. 

Leading up to and after ordination, he served at San Xavier del Bac Parish, a historic mission church built by friars in the late 18th-century in the Sonoran Desert on the Tohono O'odham Nation reservation.  

In 2016, he started new responsibilities as parochial vicar of St. Mary’s Basilica, the oldest Catholic parish in Phoenix, Arizona, and a historic downtown landmark. After care of the Basilica was returned to the Diocese of Phoenix in July 2023, he returned to San Xavier del Bac as parochial vicar. 

Fr. Ed is survived by his brother Victor of Middletown, New York, other family and friends, and the friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe.