Bishop Anthony Basil Taylor
Seventh Bishop of Little Rock

Bishop Anthony Basil Taylor was ordained the seventh bishop for the Catholic Diocese of Little Rock on June 5 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.

Archbishop Eusebius J. Beltran of Oklahoma City was principal consecrator. Bishops J. Peter Sartain of Joliet, Ill. and Edward Slattery of Tulsa, Okla. were co-consecrators.

More than 3,400 people attended the three-hour celebration held in the Governor's Hall.

During the ordination, Bishop Taylor told the assembly: “In all of you I have experienced what Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 12:26, ‘If one of the parts of the Body of Christ are honored, all the parts share its joy.’”

Bishop Taylor, 54, is formerly a priest from the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. He was named bishop of Little Rock by Pope Benedict XVI on April 10.

To learn more, see the following:

Episcopal Ordination and Vespers Service

• Audio excerpts from ordination, vespers
• Ordination photos
• Vespers service photos
• Bishop's luncheon photos
• First Mass at Cathedral photos
• "3,400 Catholics watch as new bishop ordained"
• "Guests at vespers pledge to work with bishop"
• "Parents, bishops, others share thoughts after ordination"
• "Witnesses get chills during Bishop Taylor's ordination"
• "Mission impossible becomes mission accomplished"
• "A humble faithful servant for Arkansas"
• "Servidor humilde y fiel para Arkansas"
• Bishop Taylor's letter to the diocese
• Order the commemorative magazine
• Episcopal coat of arms
• Episcopal insignia
• Thank you Msgr. J. Gaston Hebert

April 10 News Conference

• Audio recording in English
• Audio excerpt in Spanish
• Text of Bishop Taylor's statement
• Archbishop Eusebius J. Beltran's statement
• Bishop J. Peter Sartain's statement
• Msgr. J. Gaston Hebert's statement
• Biography of Bishop Taylor
• News release on his appointment
• Comunicado de prensa del nuevo obispo

About the Diocese

• St. John Catholic Center
• History of the diocese
• Facts about the diocese
• Our former bishops
• Obispos anteriores
• Diocesan coat of arms
• Morris Hall Chapel
• Process for appointing bishops