Official Website of the
Catholic Diocese of Little Rock
Five men to be ordained priests in May
Published: April 27, 2026
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will ordain five men to the priesthood for the Diocese of Little Rock at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 30 at Christ the King Church in Little Rock. They are Deacons Quinton Thomas, Duwan Booker, Joseph Nguyen, Tuan Do and Christopher Elser. This is the second time the bishop ordained five new priests at once since 2021. In all, Bishop Taylor has ordained 50 diocesan priests since he became bishop in 2008. These new priests make up 71 percent of all diocesan priests in active ministry.
The night before the ordination Mass, on Friday, May 29, a holy hour to pray for these men and for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Christ the King Church. All are invited to attend these events. For people who are unable to attend in person, the Mass will be livestreamed on the diocese's YouTube channel. Subscribe to the channel to get notifications when new videos are posted. Learn more about the men to be ordained below.
Deacon Quinton Thomas
Thomas, 26, is the son of Dr. Delbert Thomas and Dr. Suzanne Throesch of Jonesboro. He will celebrate his first Mass at 10 a.m. in English and noon in Spanish May 31 at Blessed Sacrament Church in Jonesboro. Thomas recently completed his vocational synthesis assignment at Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church in Little Rock.
During this final stage of priestly formation, seminarians move out of the seminary and begin to adapt to daily parish life as an ordained cleric. He begins his first priestly assignment as associate pastor of St. Raphael Church in Springdale July 1. To learn more about him, read his vocation story.
Deacon Duwan Booker
Booker, 29, is the son of LaDarius and NaKeisha Chambers of Fort Worth, Texas. He will celebrate his first Mass at 9:30 a.m., May 31 at St. Bartholomew Church in Little Rock. Booker recently completed his vocational synthesis assignment at St. Joseph Church in Conway.
During this final stage of priestly formation, seminarians move out of the seminary and begin to adapt to daily parish life as an ordained cleric. He begins his first priestly assignment as associate pastor of St. Joseph in Conway and associate minister of Catholic Campus Ministry in Conway on July 1. To learn more about him, read his vocation story.
Deacon Joseph Nguyen
Nguyen, 30, is the son of Phong Van and Lan Thi Nguyen of McKinney, Texas. He will concelebrate his first Masses with fellow newly ordained Father Tuan Do at 4 p.m. May 30 and 8:30 a.m. May 31, both in English, and 10 a.m. May 31 in Vietnamese at St Patrick Church in North Little Rock.
Nguyen recently completed his vocational synthesis assignment at St. Edward Church in Texarkana, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Ashdown and Sacred Heart Church in Foreman.
During this final stage of priestly formation, seminarians move out of the seminary and begin to adapt to daily parish life as an ordained cleric. He begins his first priestly assignment as associate pastor of St. Edward in Texarkana, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Ashdown and Sacred Heart in Foreman on July 1. To learn more, read his vocation story.
Deacon Tuan Do
Do, 30, is the son of Thu Khac Do and Suong Thi Nguyen of Vietnam. He will concelebrate his first Masses with fellow newly ordained Father Joseph Nguyen at 4 p.m. May 30 and 8:30 a.m. May 31, both in English, and 10 a.m. May 31 in Vietnamese at St Patrick Church in North Little Rock. Do recently completed his vocational synthesis assignment at Blessed Sacrament Church in Jonesboro.
During this final stage of priestly formation, seminarians move out of the seminary and begin to adapt to daily parish life as an ordained cleric. He begins his first priestly assignment as associate pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church and St. John Newman University Parish in Jonesboro, St. Anthony Church in Weiner and St. Norbert Church in Marked Tree on July 1. To learn more, read his vocation story.
Deacon Christopher Elser
Elser, 26, is the son of Angie Elser and Dr. Joseph Elser, both of Little Rock. He will celebrate his first Mass at 10 a.m. May 31 at Christ the King Church in Little Rock. Elser recently completed his vocational synthesis assignment at Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith.
During this final stage of priestly formation, seminarians move out of the seminary and begin to adapt to daily parish life as an ordained cleric. He begins his first priestly assignment as associate pastor of Immaculate Conception in Fort Smith and Our Lady of the Ozarks Shrine in Winslow on July 1. To learn more about him, read his vocation story.
There will also be an ordination to the transitional diaconate in May. To learn more, see the complete schedule of events, or email Georgina Peña in the Vocations and Seminarians Office, or call her at (501) 664-0340, ext 353. To learn more about our seminarians, visit the seminarian directory. Read a vocation story for a seminarian by clicking on their photo. If you or someone you know thinks he might be called to priesthood, email Father Jeff Hebert, vocations director, or call him at (501) 664-0340, ext. 331.
