Arena will accommodate thousands for ordination

No invitation necessary to attend Mass to see 5 men ordained priests

Published: May 12, 2021

Aprille Hanson Spivey

Five men who will be ordained priests May 29 gather after the 2021 Chrism Mass at Christ the King Church in Little Rock. They are Emmanuel Torres (left), Omar Galván, Alex Smith, Ben Riley and Brian Cundall.

Aprille Hanson Spivey

Priests will celebrate first Masses May 30

Parishioners are invited to attend the new priests’ first Masses on Sunday, May 30.

Alex Smith will celebrate his first Mass at 10 a.m. at St. Jude Church in Jacksonville.
Ben Riley will celebrate his first Mass at 9:30 a.m. at Christ the King Church in Little Rock.
Brian Cundall will celebrate his first Mass at 8 a.m. at Christ the King Church in Little Rock.
Emmanuel Torres will celebrate his first Mass in English at 9 a.m. and in Spanish at 11 a.m. at St. Edward Church in Little Rock.
Omar Galván will celebrate his first Mass in English at 10 a.m. and in Spanish at noon at Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith.

The Diocese of Little Rock will host the ordination of five new priests at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock to allow for more family members and parishioners to attend while offering spacing between family groups.

It is the first time the diocese will hold ordinations in the arena. The Eucharistic Congress Mass was held there in 2005 for 5,000 people, and 2,000 people attended the Diocesan Encuentro Mass there in 2017.

The ordination Mass will begin at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 29 on the Arkansas State Fairgrounds. In a video played at weekend Masses May 8-9 Bishop Anthony B. Taylor said the arena seats 10,000 people so there is plenty of room for everyone to attend. Bishop Taylor will be the celebrant, and Bishop Francis I. Malone of Shreveport and Archbishop J. Peter Sartain will concelebrate.

Doors will be open from 8:30-9:15 a.m. for parishioners with invitations, to guarantee their seating. Anyone without an invitation should arrive after 9:15 a.m. Reserved seating is available for immediate family members, close friends and Catholic groups. Ushers will assist attendees with seating.

For general parking on the west side, guests should enter from West Roosevelt Road onto Howard Street. Accessible parking is on the east side. People who need accessible parking should come in via South Schiller Street and enter through Gate 7.

As announced by Bishop Taylor May 8-9, masks will be optional but encouraged. Cathedral music director Beau Baldwin will lead the Cathedral of St. Andrew choir. The Hispanic choir from St. Edward Church in Little Rock will also provide music.

After Mass, attendees will be able to greet the new priests and get a blessing. No reception will be held.

For people who are unable to attend in person, the Mass will be live-streamed on the diocesan YouTube channel, youtube.com/cdolr.

Priests will celebrate first Masses May 30

Parishioners are invited to attend the new priests’ first Masses on Sunday, May 30.

Alex Smith will celebrate his first Mass at 10 a.m. at St. Jude Church in Jacksonville.
Ben Riley will celebrate his first Mass at 9:30 a.m. at Christ the King Church in Little Rock.
Brian Cundall will celebrate his first Mass at 8 a.m. at Christ the King Church in Little Rock.
Emmanuel Torres will celebrate his first Mass in English at 9 a.m. and in Spanish at 11 a.m. at St. Edward Church in Little Rock.
Omar Galván will celebrate his first Mass in English at 10 a.m. and in Spanish at noon at Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith.

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