2022 MLK Memorial Mass to be Jan. 15

Published: January 13, 2022

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will celebrate the 35th annual Diocese of Little Rock Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Mass at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 15 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.

Daniel Rudd was a former slave who lived in Marion, Arkansas, and started the first National Black Catholic Congress. He published the first black Catholic weekly, the American Catholic Tribune, in 1886. He died in 1933.

This award was last presented in 2020 because the diocesan-wide Mass was canceled in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead three smaller gatherings at the predominantly black parishes in central Arkansas were held to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose national holiday is celebrated Monday, Jan. 17 this year.

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.