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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.
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
Good Friday puts us face to face with cross
On Good Friday we relive Jesus' suffering and death so we never forget God's unconditional love and desire for us to be saved. "He was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all." (Isaiah 53:5-6) We do not celebrate Mass on this day because it is a solemn day of prayer and mourning, which includes fasting and abstinence from meat. The Good Friday service includes ... More
Holy Thursday: Come, stay awake for Jesus
During the Mass of the Lord's Supper, we mark the institution of the Eucharist and priesthood and re-enact the washing of feet. This Holy Thursday evening liturgy brings Lent to a close and begins the celebration of the Easter Triduum. Holy Thursday is traditionally known as Maundy Thursday. The word, “maundy,” comes from the Latin, “mandatum” and means “commandment” or “mandate." During the Last Supper, Jesus commanded the disciples to: "Do this in remembrance of me," (1 Corinthians 11:24) referring to the celebration of the Eucharist and "love ... More
Diocese addresses office manager's arrest
The Diocese of Little Rock issued the following statement, April 10, 2025, to parishioners of St. Joseph Church in Tontitown regarding a staff member’s arrest. A similar letter was distributed to the parents of Ozark Catholic Academy, which is housed on the church campus. “We at the diocese have some serious and disturbing information to share with you about Paul Scouten, the office manager for your parish since August of 2016. He was arrested earlier today at home on suspicion of distributing, possessing or viewing of matter depicting sexually explicit ... More
