Parish and Diocesan News

Appointments: Bishop Anthony B. Taylor announced the following pastoral appointment:
Effective immediately:
Rev. Gregory T. Luyet has been appointed dean of the West River Valley Deanery, for a term of five years.
Effective March 1:
Rev. Ravi Rayanna Gudipalli has been appointed as associate pastor of St. Raphael Church in Springdale.

Prayers: The Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock will have exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every Wednesday during Lent to pray for Bishop Anthony B. Taylor, priests in Arkansas, the Diocese of Little Rock and the Catholic Church. Catholics are invited to sign up for at least one hour each Wednesday. Mass will be celebrated at 5:30 p.m. For more information, call the Cathedral office at (501) 374-2794.

Webcast quiz: Middle school students at St. Joseph School in Fayetteville, with the help of their teachers Erin Lowrie, Mark Wilburn and Lee Anderson, participated in a Quiz Bowl via a Webcast. The students and teachers formulated questions based upon their grade-level curriculum in the areas of math, history, religion and English. They competed against seventh graders from St. Joseph School in Westphalia, Mo., in the Diocese of Jefferson City. The event also allowed students from both Catholic schools to learn about each other's schools and communities.

Subiaco Academy invites prospective students: Subiaco Academy is hosting a Discovery Day for prospective students and their parents March 11-12. The day, which runs from 4:30 p.m. March 11 to 4 p.m. March 12, is open to sixth to 10th graders and all activities including overnight stays and meals are free. Students visiting will have an opportunity to experience dorm life and class orientation with teachers, mingle with current students and take the placement exam. Activities for parents include classroom visits and information sessions with administration and faculty members. For more information about the Discovery Day or to reserve a place, contact the admission office at (800) 364-7824 or e-mail admissions@ subi.org.

Seminarians installed as acolytes, lectors Feb. 9: Five diocesan seminarians at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in Indiana took steps toward ordination during a ceremony Feb. 9 led by Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein, OSB, of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Mauricio Carrasco of Springdale and Alejandro Puello of Paragould were installed as acolytes. An acolyte is appointed to assist a deacon or priest, primarily in the celebration of Mass. He attends to the needs of the altar and may distribute Communion as an auxiliary minister. Enrique Castro, Willbrod Frank and Martin Olvera were installed as lectors. The ministry of lector is conferred upon those who prepare and proclaim readings from Scripture at Mass and other liturgical celebrations.

10TH ANNIVERSARY: Our Lady of Fatima Church in Benton will host its 10th anniversary of perpetual Eucharistic adoration and a celebration for the Year for Priests March 7-11. On Monday, March 8 at 6:30 p.m. Father Matt Garrison, rector of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock, will give a witness talk on Eucharistic adoration and his priesthood. On Tuesday, March 9 at 6:30 p.m. a "priest rosary" will be prayed and every priest in the diocese will be mentioned and prayed for. On Wednesday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m. a Mass followed by witness talks, holy hour and Benediction will be held. On March 11 at 6 p.m. Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will celebrate Mass. A reception and light meal will follow in the parish hall. Childcare will be available each night. Contact the church office at (501) 315-5186 for more information.

Celebrity game to raise money for Drake family: "Miracles for Mary," a benefit for the family of Mary Drake, will begin at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, March 11 in the Jack Stephens Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The evening will feature a celebrity basketball game at 7:30 p.m. and silent auction. The Mount St. Mary Academy Dad's Club will be selling hamburgers and hot dogs. All proceeds will benefit the Drake family. Mary Drake, a junior at Mount St. Mary Academy and member of Christ the King Church in Little Rock, was involved in a head-on collision Nov. 22 and is currently being treated at Arkansas Children's Hospital. For more of Drake's story, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/marydrake. Celebrity players will include Joe Kleine, Corliss Williamson, Scotty Thurman, Clint Stoerner and Anthony Lucas, as well as local television and radio personalities. Tickets for the auction/game are $10 a person. To buy tickets, call (501) 247-6831 or e-mail Ann Morris at amorris901@yahoo.com.

Fish fry: The Men's Club at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in North Little Rock (Marche) will host a fish fry from 5-8 p.m., Friday, March 12. The meal will include drinks and dessert. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 11 and younger. Carry-outs are available.

St. Patrick's Day: The annual St. Patrick's Day Dinner and Bingo will be held Saturday, March 13 at St. Patrick Church in North Little Rock. The dinner will also coincide with the parish's 130th anniversary of its founding. The dinner is $10 for adults, $5 for children 5 to 12 years old and free for young children. For ticket information, call Renee Mann at (501) 758-5148 or Shannon Stormes at (501) 791-0361.

Religious educators to gather March 13: The 32nd annual Catechetical Study Day will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, March 13 at Catholic High School in Little Rock. The event is sponsored by the Diocese of Little Rock and is open to clergy and parish and school religious educators. The keynote speeches at 10 a.m. will be delivered in English by Rich Curran and in Spanish by Victor Valenzuela. The cost is $25 a person, which includes lunch. For more information, call the Religious Education and Christian Initiation Office at (501) 664-0340.

Day of recollection: The Catholic Women's Union will host a day of recollection Wednesday, March 17 at Subiaco Abbey in Subiaco. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. The cost for the day is $20 a person. To make a reservation, call the Coury House at (479) 934-4411 by March 15. All women are welcome.

Mission: A Lenten mission will be held at St. John Church in Russellville at 7 p.m., Sunday, March 14 through Wednesday, March 17. The speaker will be Father Joseph Butz, CSsR, a Redemptorist priest with the Liguori Mission House. Services will last approximately 75 minutes. A reception and fellowship in the parish hall will follow. For more information, call (479) 967-3699.

Appointments: Bishop Anthony B. Taylor announced the following pastoral appointments.
Effective March 12:
Rev. Erik Pohlmeier has been relieved as pastor of St. John the Baptist Church and St. Mary Church in Hot Springs and has been appointed pastor of Our Lady of the Holy Souls Parish in Little Rock.
Effective March 15:
Father Udo Ogbuji has been appointed chaplain to the Olivetan Benedictine sisters at Holy Angels Convent in Jonesboro. Father Richard Cleary, OSB, will be returning to his monastery at Conception, Mo.

Spelling bee: Two students from St. Joseph School in Fayetteville participated in the Washington County Spelling Bee at Woodland Junior High Jan. 19 against 38 other students. Jacob Elser, a seventh grader, placed second and Shiloh Bemis, a fifth grader, placed third. The two students were the winners of the school spelling bee Jan. 6.

Sister Macrina to lead contemplative retreat: Sister Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB, will present a contemplative retreat March 19-21 at St. Scholastica Retreat Center in Fort Smith called "Heart of the Hunter." Sister Macrina is a well-known writer and retreat director who lives at St. Scholastica. The cost is $150 with a $35 deposit. For more information or to register, call (479) 783-1135 or visit www.stscho.org.

Rice bowl donations to support CRS, diocese: Parishioners can support the work of Catholic Relief Services by using the cardboard "bowl" distributed through Operation Rice Bowl this Lent. Last year millions of dollars was raised by 14,000 parishes and schools across the United States. Over the past 35 years, $191 million has been collected through Operation Rice Bowl to support CRS' development in 100 countries and in the United States. Participants put money they would have spent on a large meal into their "rice bowls" in exchange for eating an inexpensive meatless meal each week. At the end of Lent, the rice bowls are collected and the money raised goes to help people suffering from poverty and hunger around the world. Seventy-five percent of the money is used to fund CRS projects in 40 countries around the world. The remaining 25 percent stays in U.S. dioceses to support their programs. In 2009, parishes and schools in the Diocese of Little Rock raised a total of $37,530.30. This was nearly $8,000 more than in the previous year. The 25 percent that stayed in the diocese, which equaled $9,382.58, went to support the Parish Emergency Assistance program. For more information about ORB, visit http://orb.crs.org or http://orb.crs.org/espanol. In the Diocese of Little Rock, call Rebecca Spencer with Catholic Charities of Arkansas at (501) 664-0340, ext. 355.

What's happening in your parish?: Short articles and photographs about parish and school events and accomplishments are published weekly in Arkansas Catholic. Click here to send information about your events and accomplishments through our "Contact Us" page.

Protecting children and young people: The Diocese of Little Rock is committed to protecting children and young people. If you are aware of abuse or have been abused by clerics, Church volunteers or Church workers, please contact the Diocese of Little Rock at (501) 664-0340, ext. 366, and the State of Arkansas Hotline for Crimes against Children at (800) 482-5964. For pastoral assistance, please contact the victim assistance coordinator for the Diocese of Little Rock, Drs. George and Sherry Simon, at (501) 766-6001.
Diocesan Offices
2500 N. Tyler St.
Little Rock, AR 72207

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