Last remaining Franciscan friar at St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix dies at 49

With the recent death of Brother Scott Slattum, St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix lost the last living link the historic church had to its Franciscan friar origins.

Following a Sunday of work at the basilica, Slattum died of a heart attack on Nov. 19 after he pulled over on the road while driving to the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale. He was 49.

Remembered for his ease at community outreach, Slattum was the basilica’s last member of the Franciscans of the Order of Friars Minor, which stewarded the church from 1896 until their departure this past summer.

"He was amazing at reaching out to people of all sorts of backgrounds and religions, and he just was loved by so many," Father John Muir, pastor at St. Mary’s, said in an interview with The Arizona Republic about Slattum.

The friar was the youngest of the four Franciscans who operated the basilica before July 1 when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix took over the church, which stands at North Third Street near East Van Buren Street.

Slattum joined the basilica as a Franciscan friar in September 2016 and served as the church’s director of faith formation and youth programs. He was also director of youth ministry for the entire diocese.

"Whenever you have change, it's an opportunity for renewal. So, it'll be exciting to see what's coming forward, or what will be the legacy in another hundred years," Slattum told The Republic on the day of the handover as he welcomed parishioners to a lunch being served in the friary adjacent to the church.

Slattum stayed at St. Mary’s at the behest of Muir, who wanted the church to retain a Franciscan presence. The friars cited a lack of young members in the order who were interested in carrying out pastoral duties as the reason for stepping down from leadership at the basilica.

The Order of Friars Minor was started in the early 13th century by St. Francis of Assisi, who espoused the virtues of humility and charity. Slattum was not unlike other Franciscan friars who wore a wool robe just as their namesake did.

"He was always putting other people first," Gordon Stevenson, music and liturgy director, said about Slattum. "He really lived out his vocation, his Franciscan vocation."

For Muir, a recent church event best captured the welcoming spirit embodied by this "gentle giant," as the pastor described Slattum, who towered over most at about 6 feet 3 inches tall.

'This is my home': After 127 years, Franciscans to leave Phoenix's St. Mary's Basilica

The diocese's annual Dia de los Muertos Festival, held on Nov. 3 this year, drew scores of people outside the church, Muir recalled. The festival celebrates the Mexican holiday commemorating departed loved ones, but also honors "the Christian confidence of death" as exemplified by the Resurrection of Jesus, Muir said.

As such, the church’s clergy was on hand. Muir watched admiringly as Slattum easily drew attendees to him to offer them solace, all seemingly without ever taking a break to sit down.

People "would just come up to him and tell him their problems, and he would get to know them and pray with them," Muir said.

The friar, whose full name was Scott William Slattum, was born Aug. 1, 1974, in Salem, Oregon, to LeRoy Slattum and Arlene Macnab Slattum, the second of three sons.

Slattum was previously a youth minister in the Diocese of Baker in Redmond, Oregon. He would go on to be a youth minister and head up religious education in the rural town of Hood River, Oregon, situated off the Columbia River and bordering Washington state.

While there, Slattum oversaw Catholic rites for children, such as baptism and first communion. Slattum directed a bilingual soccer program for several hundred children and a drop-in center for migrant youth. He first served as a friar throughout Northern California through the Oakland, California-based St. Elizabeth Parish.

Some seven weeks before he died, Slattum had words of comfort for those fearing their mortality. Slattum took to the pulpit during the basilica’s Oct. 3 celebration of the Transitus of St. Francis, which observes the saint’s demise and entry into heaven.

"As Francis of Assisi embraced Sister Death as the gateway to all fulfillment, so let us have no fear of death, but place ourselves as he did in the total embrace of Christ and his transforming, all-consuming love," Slattum told congregants.

Funeral services for Slattum start with a 9 a.m. visitation on Thursday at the basilica, followed by a 10 a.m. Mass. Interment will proceed immediately after at St. Francis Catholic Cemetery, located at 2033 N. 48th St. in Phoenix.

Reach breaking news reporter Jose R. Gonzalez at jose.gonzalez@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @jrgzztx.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Last Franciscan friar at St. Mary's Basilica in Phoenix dies at 49