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Catholic Diocese of Little Rock
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Happening Now
The following offers the latest information about events and activities happening in the Diocese of Little Rock.
Candlemas symbolizes the light of Christ
The Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Lord 40 days after the birth of Jesus. Before 1969, the feast was known as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or Candlemas. It was celebrated in the earliest times in the Church in Jerusalem and from there the observance spread throughout the Christian world. According to the law of Moses, a woman was ritually unclean for 40 days after childbirth. Therefore, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple to present him to the Lord and offer sacrifice for purification. "... just as it is written in the law of the Lord, 'Every male that ... More
Celebrate life, mourn those lost Jan. 19-27
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will lead the Diocese of Little Rock in its annual Eucharistic Procession for Life and Mass for Life Sunday, Jan. 22 in Little Rock to celebrate the gift of life, the human dignity of every person and remember the millions of babies lost to abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized it throughout the United States in 1973. Last year, the Supreme Court overturned its Roe v. Wade decision, sending the issue of abortion back to the states. In 2019, Arkansas legislators passed a “trigger law,” which would put forth a total ban on abortion if Roe v. Wade ... More
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI remembered
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor concelebrated a special liturgy Jan. 4 to remember Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio. Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, MSpS, of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, was the presider at the memorial Mass, with concelebrants comprised of the bishops of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, who were meeting in San Antonio for their annual retreat, according to Arkansas Catholic. The prelates are members of Region X, one of 14 geographic regions in which the archdioceses and dioceses are divided for purposes ... More
2023 MLK Memorial Mass to be Jan. 14
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will celebrate the 36th annual Diocese of Little Rock Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Mass at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14 at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock. During the Mass he will present the Daniel Rudd Award to a Black Catholic who is active in his or her parish and community during the Mass. All are invited to attend. This Mass is sponsored by the Diocesan Council for Black Catholics. For more information, contact Rosalyn Pruitt at (501) 375-9617. The bishop presented the Daniel Rudd Award to Claudette Votor, a member ... More
Encounter, learn and act to fight poverty
“Let us not despise the poor, the little ones, the workers; not only are they our brothers and sisters in God, they are also those who most perfectly imitate Jesus in his outward life. They perfectly represent Jesus, the worker of Nazareth. They are the firstborn among the elect, the first to be called to the Savior’s crib." (St. Charles de Foucauld) Did you know more than 38 million people live in poverty in the United States? In Arkansas, nearly 500,000 are poor. Of these, about 24 percent are children. January is Poverty Awareness Month and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development ... More
Bishop responds to Arkansas synod report
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor prepared the following response, Dec. 3, 2022, about the Diocese of Little Rock synod report to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for the Synod on Synodality. "Here in Arkansas, we have spent the last year participating on the local level in the Synod on Synodality called for by Pope Francis, which will culminate in a meeting of bishops and other delegates from around the world to take place in Rome in October of 2023 and 2024. We have had meetings on the parish level throughout our state — all parishes were invited and 43% of our ... More
Eucharist is the true food of thanksgiving
As we prepare to celebrate the day set aside to grateful for our blessings, Bishop Anthony B. Taylor cautions us not to let Thanksgiving be the only day we give thanks. "When Thanksgiving is celebrated as an isolated event that does not flow from an everyday attitude of humble gratitude, it can easily degenerate into a celebration of the superiority of our nation and indeed the pride of place of certain groups of people in our national self-understanding," he said in his 2021 Thanksgiving homily. "The Puritans interpreted God's goodness to them to be a sign of God's favor for them, ... More
Father Joseph Pallo, 92, dies Oct. 27
Father Gregory Luyet, judicial vicar, released the following letter regarding the death of Father Joseph L. Pallo on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. "Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ: With faith in eternal life that comes through our Lord Jesus Christ, it is my sad duty to announce the death of Father Joseph Pallo. His 61 years of faithful priestly ministry touched many lives through the years as a pastor, youth director and vocations director. Even after transitioning to senior priest status, Father Pallo continued to assist at his adopted parish in California. Rev. Joseph Lawrence ... More
