Official Website of the
Catholic Diocese of Little Rock
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The following offers the latest information about events and activities happening in the Diocese of Little Rock.
Thirteen seminarians from the Diocese of Little Rock have taken steps toward their ordinations recently. Three made their deacon promises March 5 at Saint Meinrad Seminary in Indiana. They are Dr. Joseph Chan of St. Boniface Church in Fort Smith and Mario Jacobo of Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church and Taryn Whittington of the Cathedral of St. Andrew, both of Little Rock. Chan will be ordained a deacon May 26 at his home parish and Whittington and Jacobo will be ordained deacons at the Cathedral of St. Andrew May 28. Four others received the ministry of acolyte Feb. 19 at Saint Meinrad Seminary. They are William Burmester of St. Joseph Church in Conway, Stephen Hart of Christ the King Church in Little Rock, Ramses Mendieta of Immaculate Conception Church ... More
Miroslaw “Mirek” Zukowski, a 28-year employee of the Diocese of Little Rock, died March 1 at his Little Rock home. He was 73. Zukowski joined the diocesan staff in December 1987 and took care of buildings and grounds at St. John Catholic Center. At the time of his death he was serving as a maintenance and grounds specialist. He was born Oct. 25, 1941, in Bialystok, Poland. Zukowski and his family immigrated to Arkansas in 1984 with assistance of the Catholic Refugee Resettlement Program. He is survived by his wife, Boqumila Zukowski; one daughter, Agnes Rooke; and two grandchildren. His cremated remains will be interred in the columbarium in the courtyard at Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church in Little Rock. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. ... More
Allow your friendship with the Lord to deepen in the sacred stillness and quiet of the 2015 Ignatian Silent-Directed Retreat at St. John Catholic Center in Little Rock. This faith formation program for adults will begin with registration 4:30 p.m. in Fletcher Hall on Thursday, March 19 and conclude Sunday, March 22 with lunch. Participants will learn about silent prayer and how to seek God and his plan for their lives in the silence. The retreat fee of $300 includes nine meals, accommodations for three nights and daily spiritual direction. Limited space is available. The deadline to register is March 9. This event is sponsored by the Office of Faith Formation. Learn more by downloading the retreat flyer. ... More
Applications are being accepted for Search #136 through March 30. This event will be held at St. John Catholic Center in Little Rock on April 17-19. Search is a faith formation program for high school juniors and seniors designed to help them get to know themselves better, deepen their relationship with Christ and find support in living out their faith in the world. The retreat team is made up of teens and adults who have already attended Search. Though it is a Catholic program, Search is open to teens of all faiths. The fee to attend Search is $120. Scholarships are available. To register, download and return the registration form with the fee by March 30. Search is sponsored by the diocese's Catholic Youth Ministry Office. ... More
Our Father beckons: "Return to me with your whole heart." Each Lent the Church offers us a 40-day retreat designed to help us respond to God's call. Lent is the primary penitential season of the liturgical year. We partake in Lent with prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with the Easter Triduum — Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. The Triduum is the liturgical celebration to help us embrace the ultimate act of love: Jesus' passion, death and resurrection, the foundation of the Christian faith. We offer the following resources to help you get the most from your time in desert: Pray without ceasing ... More
Deacon John Marschewski, minister to deacons for the Diocese of Little Rock and a deacon at Christ the King Church in Little Rock, died Feb. 5 after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 73. To learn more, read Arkansas Catholic. Marschewski joined the diocesan staff in 2005. As minister to deacons, Marschewski served as the bishop’s representative by implementing continuing education and spiritual formation opportunities for 110 active and retired diocesan deacons. He was born Jan. 1, 1942, to the late John Marschewski Sr. and Nan Elaine Mabry Marschewski. He retired as a major after 20 years in the 142nd Artillery Army National Guard. The Helena native moved to Little Rock in 1965, and he and his wife Mary Beth became one of the first families to join Christ the King in 1967. ... More
With the Year of Consecrated Life continuing through Feb. 2, 2016, this year's Catholic Arkansas Sharing Appeal (CASA) puts special emphasis on the importance of religious life. The annual diocesan appeal begins Feb. 7-8 statewide. A recorded homily from Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will be played at all Masses in English and Spanish. Pledge envelopes will be handed out asking parishioners to meet this year's $2 million goal. CASA supports various diocesan, parish and school ministries. This year's theme is "Open Your Hearts in Welcome." "One area where I invite you to open your hearts is to welcome vocations to vowed religious life ... More
Each winter, Catholic schools nationwide celebrate Catholic Schools Week. This year, it is being held Jan. 25-31, marking the 41th anniversary of the observance. The theme: "Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service," notes the values at the heart of a Catholic education. First, schools are small communities of faith within the larger community of home, church, city and nation. Second, faith, knowledge and service are the measures by which any Catholic school should be judged. Schools nationwide observe the week with special Masses, open houses and other activities for students, families, parishioners and the community. To learn how Catholic schools in Arkansas celebrate this week, read the Catholic Schools Herald in this week's Arkansas Catholic. ... More