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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.
The School of Spiritual Direction, a three-year bilingual program, offered by the diocesan Office of Faith Formation, will begin a new class in the fall of 2016. Adults interested in applying must be at least 35 years old, have 10 credit hours in theology and have been in spiritual direction for at least one year. Applications will be accepted beginning this fall. The current class has 31 students who will graduate next spring. Classes are held in English and Spanish once a month from September to June on a Friday night and all day Saturday at St. John Catholic Center in Little Rock. The first two years focus on academic classes on spirituality. The final year is a practicum where the students are supervised while they meet regularly with their own spiritual directees. Students who have attended the first year of ... More
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will ordain four diocesan seminarians to the transitional diaconate in May. They include Norman McFall May 20; Dr. Joseph Chan May 26; and Taryn Whittington and Mario Jacobo May 28. These will bring the total to five diaconate ordinations so far in 2015. Deacon Stephen Gadberry was ordained to the diaconate March 27. McFall will be ordained at St. Joseph Church in Pine Bluff, on Wednesday, May 20. Guests are invited to come early for eucharistic adoration and vespers to pray for him and an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life at 4 p.m. The ordination Mass will be celebrated at 6 p.m. with a reception to follow. McFall will serve his first Masses in the role of deacon Saturday, May 23 at 5 p.m. and Sunday, May 24 at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph Church. ... More
Encounter "The Jesus of the Gospels" with Father Donald Senior, CP, at the 2015 Bible Institute June 19-21 at St. John Catholic Center in Little Rock. Father Senior is president emeritus and professor of New Testament studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He will speak five times throughout the weekend on the following themes: Jesus and the Word of God: The Gospels in the Light of Faith; Jesus as Healer; Jesus as Teacher; Jesus as Crucified and Risen; and Jesus as Incarnate Word and Revealer of God: The Compelling "Logic" of John's Gospel. In addition to Father Senior's talks, this event includes prayer, small group discussion and Mass. Check-in begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday, June 19 with the opening session at 7 p.m. The weekend concludes after the ... More
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor recently announced the following pastoral appointments: Effective April 15 — Father John Antony, appointed administrator and chaplain of Trinity Junior High in Fort Smith. He remains pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith; Father Andrew Hart, relieved of his responsibilities as administrator and chaplain of Trinity Junior High in Fort Smith. He remains associate pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith; Father Joseph Archibong, appointed to celebrate African Mass at St. Augustine Church in North Little Rock. He remains associate pastor of Christ the King Church in Little Rock; Msgr. Richard Oswald, relieved of his responsibilities as associate pastor ... More
The diocesan Hispanic Ministry Office will sponsor an Encuentros de Promoción Juvenil (Encounters of Youth Promotion) weekend for young men ages 18-25 at St. John Catholic Center in Little Rock on July 23-26. The cost is $110 per person. The deadline to register is July 2. To attend, download and return the registration form. To apply for the retreat team, download and return the team application by April 17. For more information, contact Rocio Montes in the Hispanic Ministry Office at (501) 664-0340, ext. 364. Modeled after Cursillo and presented in Spanish, this Catholic movement was developed to teach young adults to evangelize their peers to accept the Gospel, live their vocation and take on leadership roles in Christian groups in their communities. ... More
The Holy Thursday Collection for seminarian education will be held April 2. The money from this diocesan collection will support the educational and housing expenses for the diocese's 41 seminarians. It costs the diocese $1.3 million to educate these men annually. Msgr. James E. O’Connell started an endowment fund for diocesan seminarians more than 50 years ago. This fund has been invested through the years and was able to cover the costs of educating the seminarians until recently when the number of young men studying for the priesthood increased dramatically. Today the cost of educating one seminarian is $32,000 per year, which includes tuition, room and board, health insurance, and other needs. ... More
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will celebrate Palm Sunday Masses at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 28 and 12:05 p.m. Sunday, March 29. On Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday, Catholics reenact the events of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem to mark the beginning of Holy Week, which commemorates the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, who triumphed over death and made our salvation possible. The bishop will celebrate the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral on Monday, March 30 at 5:30 p.m. Priests serving across the diocese concelebrate this Mass, during which they also renew their commitment to priestly service. Oils to be used statewide in the coming year are presented for the bishop's blessing. These include the oil ... More
Catholic parishes across Arkansas will welcome an estimated 579 new Catholics into the Church during their Easter Vigil Masses on Holy Saturday, April 4. These people have participated in their parish's Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process and fall into two groups: the elect and candidates. The elect have not been baptized and have been formed in the Christian faith and life. At the Easter Vigil, they will be baptized, confirmed and receive their first Communion. Candidates are baptized members of other Christian churches who wish to become Catholic. During the Easter Vigil, they will make a profession of faith, be confirmed and receive their first Communion. If there are any elect and/or candidates ... More