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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.
668 become Catholic at Easter Vigil 2025
Catholic parishes across Arkansas welcomed 668 new Catholics into the Church during Easter Vigil Masses Saturday, April 19, 2025. During their initiation they were baptized, confirmed and receive their first Communion. These neophytes (new Catholics) prepared for entry into the Catholic Church through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults process in their parishes. Formerly known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults is the new translation for Christian initiation that was issued by the U.S. Conference of ... More
Come to meeting in June about diaconate
A new class for permanent diaconate formation will begin in the fall of 2027. Men and their wives interested in learning more are invited to attend an inquiry meeting, which will be held in seven different locations across the Diocese of Little Rock in June. Meetings will be held in English at 6 p.m. and in Spanish at 7:30 p.m. Reservations are not required. Discernment applications will be handed out during the inquiry meetings, with discernment groups forming in the fall of 2026. The five-year program will equip the men spiritually, academically and pastorally ... More
Pray for pope at Mass in Little Rock April 27
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will celebrate a memorial Mass for Pope Francis at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock on Sunday, April 27 at 5:30 p.m. All are welcome to come and pray for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis. The Mass for Hope and Healing originally scheduled at that time, has been canceled. Pope Francis, 88, died April 21, one day after Easter. He served as spiritual leader for the Catholic Church worldwide for 12 years. His funeral Mass will be Saturday, April 26, in St. Peter’s Square at 10 a.m. (3 a.m. central time). The funeral begins "novemdiales," ... More
Partake in Divine Mercy Sunday holy hour
The celebration of Christ's resurrection continues with Divine Mercy Sunday, which recognizes that God's love and mercy endure forever and overcome any sin that separates us from him. This year, we celebrate this feast on April 27. St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun, wrote in her diary that she witnessed a vision of Jesus on Feb. 22, 1931, while she was living at a convent in Plock, Poland. She wrote that Jesus had one hand raised in benediction and the other resting over his heart, from which emanated two rays of light. The apparitions to St. Faustina ... More
Pope Francis, 88, dies day after Easter
U.S. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, announced the death of Pope Francis from the Casa Santa Marta in Rome at 9:45 a.m. (2:45 a.m. central time), on Monday, April 21. "Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor ... More
Bishop: Pope Francis a messenger of hope
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor issued the following statement, April 21, 2025, following the death of Pope Francis. “The passing of Pope Francis calls us to pray for him and to reflect on our relationship with the Lord. As the spiritual leader for Catholics throughout the world, he led by word and example, always challenging himself along with us to be more Christ-like in the way we live our faith. "He sought to be a messenger of hope and mercy for Catholics and others, calling all to a deeper relationship with the Lord through prayer and good works that reflected the compassion ... More
Easter: All faith flows from the Resurrection
St. Athanasius called Easter "the Great Sunday." The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls it the "Feast of feasts" and the "Solemnity of solemnities." Easter is the celebration of the Jesus' resurrection from the dead. This moveable feast falls on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. By taking on our sin, Jesus, through his passion, death and resurrection destroyed the power of sin and death and made it possible for us to have eternal life. That is the Good News. All faith flows from faith in the resurrection. "If Christ has not been raised, then empty ... More
New life in Christ celebrated at Easter Vigil
While Christ is in the tomb on Holy Saturday, he did something very important that often gets lost in the celebration of the Easter Vigil that evening. In the Apostles Creed we pray: "He descended into hell." Hell in this sense has a very different meaning than how we understand the term today. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: "Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, 'hell' — 'Sheol' in Hebrew or 'Hades' in Greek — because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God." At this point in time, all those who had died ... More
