Diocese welcomes six new seminarians this summer

Total in formation for priesthood now up to 30 men

The Diocese of Little Rock had another large group of new seminarians join this summer. Six seminarians were welcomed, bringing the total to 30.

In 2019 the diocese had 26 seminarians, but at its peak in 2014 the diocese had 46 seminarians.

The new seminarians are:

• John Hoelzeman, 20, a member of Sacred Heart Church in Morrilton. He is the son of Mark and Annie Hoezleman.

• James Freeman, 19, a member of St. John Church in Russellville. He is the son of Kara Rohr and James Freeman.

• Sam Ray, 18, a member of Christ the King Church in Little Rock. He is the son of Debbie Tynes and Bill Ray.

• Andrew Capps, 18, a member of St. Paul Church in Pocahontas. He is the son of Harrison and Angela Capps.

• Jackson Nichols, 18, a member of St. Paul Church in Pocahontas. He is the son of Joshua and Jillian Neely.

• Andrew Schaefer, 20, a member of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Rogers. He is the son of Dr. George and Alesia Schaefer.

Ray is attending Assumption Seminary in San Antonio while the other five are living at the House of Formation in Little Rock and studying at UA Little Rock and taking some courses online through Newman University in Wichita, Kan.

Returning seminarians are:

• Deacon Emmanuel Torres, Deacon Ben Riley, Deacon Brian Cundall, Nathan Ashburn, John Paul Hartnedy, Joseph Jones, Daniel Wendel, Christopher Elser and Hong Dai Nguyen, all of Little Rock

• Cody Eveld and Colton Ketter of Charleston

• Duwan Booker of Conway

• Deacon Omar Galván of Fort Smith

• Jonathan Semmler of Hot Springs Village

• Deacon Alex Smith of Jacksonville

• Mark Johns and Quinn Thomas of Jonesboro

• Pablo Quintana of Magnolia

• Tuan Do, Thomas de Prez and Minh Phong Nguyen of North Little Rock

• Samuel Stengel of Paris

• Joel Brackett of Rogers

• Jaime Nieto of Springdale

Riley, Cundall, Galván, Smith and Torres are scheduled to be ordained priests May 29, 2021, at Christ the King Church in Little Rock. Ashburn, Nieto and Wendel are scheduled to be ordained deacons in May 2021 in their home parishes.

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