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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.
400 families helped in COVID-19 pandemic
The coronavirus lockdown has restricted the person-to-person activities of Catholic Charities of Arkansas. We have treated the coronavirus impact on our parishes as we would a disaster. It is a disaster. In this context, each parish has addressed the particular circumstances in its own community. As usual, each parish has been a Catholic charity. Our main response has been to solicit applications from parishes for grants to respond to the immediate needs of the communities each parish serves. We have also been able to focus special assistance to groups and individuals brought ... More
Bishop releases pastoral changes June 18
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor announced the following pastoral appointments June 18, 2020, for the Diocese of Little Rock. Effective June 22, 2020: Rev. Jerome Earley, OCD, assigned as superior of Marylake Monastery in Little Rock; Rev. Stephen Sanchez, OCD, Rev. Bonaventure Sauer, OCD, and Rev. Henry Bordeaux, OCD, assigned as conventuals of Marylake Monastery in Little Rock; Rev. Gregory Ross, OCD, and Rev. Sam Anthony Morello, OCD, to continue their ministry with the Discalced Carmelite Fathers outside of Arkansas. ... More
Bishop releases pastoral change June 5
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor announced the following pastoral appointments June 5, 2020, for the Diocese of Little Rock. Effective July 1, 2020: Rev. Joshua Passo, FSSP, a priest of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, appointed associate pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Cabot. He will also be offering Latin Mass at St. Joseph Church in Tontitown. ... More
Welcoming new Catholics during COVID-19
When the Rite of Election was celebrated in the Diocese of Little Rock Feb. 27 - March 2, there were nearly 600 catechumens and candidates in Arkansas parishes preparing to enter the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) process. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and all public Masses and celebrations were suspended, including RCIA. When public Masses resumed in May, on a restricted basis, there was not a specific plan for parishes to initiate new Catholics into the Church. Father Erik Pohlmeier, diocesan director ... More
Bishop Taylor issues statement on racism
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor issued the following statement to the people of the Diocese of Little Rock, June 2, 2020, about racism. It was accompanied by the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" written by Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. in 1963. "Last Sunday we celebrated the great feast of Pentecost, the day when Jesus’ earliest followers were empowered by the Holy Spirit to go forth and proclaim to all the nations the Good News that in Jesus’ victory over the power of sin and death, the walls that separate people must now come down. The diversity of languages that day gives witness to the fact that the ... More
Five to be ordained deacons in August
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will ordain five Diocese of Little Rock seminarians to the diaconate in August. They are Alex Smith, Omar Galvan, Emmanuel Torres, Ben Riley and Brian Cundall. Through this process they will become transitional deacons, which is a major step toward priestly ordination. These seminarians were scheduled to be ordained this month, but their ordinations were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The diaconate ordination Mass for Alex Smith will be celebrated at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11 at St. Jude the Apostle Church in Jacksonville. ... More
Dcs. Friend, Velasco to be ordained Aug. 15
Deacon Joseph Friend of Christ the King Church in Little Rock and Deacon Daniel Velasco of St. James Church in Searcy earned master of divinity degrees from St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in Indiana after the spring 2020 semester. They were scheduled to be ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Little Rock this month, but their ordinations were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will celebrate their ordination Mass for Friend and Velasco at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15 at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock. ... More
Bishop releases pastoral changes May 20
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor announced the following pastoral appointments May 20, 2020, for the Diocese of Little Rock. Effective May 20, 2020: Rev. Phillip Reaves, appointed temporary administrator of St. Boniface Church in New Dixie (Bigelow), St. Francis of Assisi Church in Roland (Little Italy) and St. Elizabeth Church in Oppelo to Aug. 31, 2020. This is in addition to his current responsibilities as director of prison ministry in the Diocese of Little Rock; Msgr. Jack D. Harris, appointed pastor of Catholic Campus Ministry in Conway. This is in addition to his current responsibilities as pastor ... More
