The Official Newspaper of the Diocese of Little Rock
On May 26 and June 2, eight men will make their final step to become a priest forever. This is the largest ordination class for the Diocese of Little Rock in more than 60 years. The ordinations will take place at Christ the King Church in Little Rock at 10 a.m. In this section, you'll learn about what the to-be priests have learned in seminary, where they will serve and what kind of priest they hope to be for the faithful in Arkansas.
On May 26 and June 2, eight men will make their final step to become a priest forever. This is the largest ordination class for the Diocese of Little Rock in more than 60 years. The ordinations will take place at Christ the King Church in Little Rock at 10 a.m.
Learn more about your future priests by clicking the below links:
• Seminary helps de Orbegozo connect to his Peruvian roots
• Tuyen Do led to Arkansas More... 
For most of his life Deacon Joseph de Orbegozo didn’t nurture his Hispanic heritage but through his seminary training he has connected more to his father’s Peruvian roots.
“My mother is from the Delta, from Helena, Ark.,” he said. “She is as Arkansan as you can get. … My dad came from Lima, Peru, in the 70s. He came here to go to school and get away from the social upheaval … He received some push-back More...
While Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, an example for all the faithful of true service to others, Tuyen Do found himself doing the same — but in a nail salon. In his time out of seminary, he worked various jobs in Canada, from a manicurist to a waiter, while God prepared his heart to be a priest for the people.
“Maybe I would become not really a good priest because I could not feel More...
It’s not often that a new priest can say he has walked a path to priesthood with another seminarian for the past 20 years.
But Deacons Stephen Elser and Joseph de Orbegozo can. They were first paired up in kindergarten at Christ the King School in Little Rock. They moved on to Catholic High School in ninth grade where they both played in the band. They were the first two students to participate in the diocese’s More...
Should he be the third generation of dentists in the Friend family or follow his uncle Msgr. Scott Friend and become a priest? Instead, Patrick Friend decided to become a teacher.
“I had a sense that God might be calling me to be a priest,” he said, “but when I was in high school I was caught up in everything everyone else was. I was in the mode of following my own will. I was too More...
Deacon Jeff Hebert has the perfect neighbor while studying for the priesthood — Pope Francis. The former Little Rock resident has been studying at the Pontifical North American College in Rome for the past four years.
“Every Sunday he does the Angelus Prayer, so he comes out at the window … to a square full of people and he prays and does a little reflection on the Sunday Gospel and so we get to go there More...
During his first diaconate assignment at Immaculate Conception Church in North Little Rock last summer, Deacon Keith Higginbotham said a seemingly insignificant encounter became important toward his priestly journey. After just preaching at Mass, he spotted a woman who “just seemed sad.”
“She really just kind of needed to talk and so we did,” he said. “Weeks later she came back and thanked me and said I had really been a good ear for her and More...
Like most ordinands, Deacon Mike Johns really doesn’t know what to expect out of the Mass that will usher out his old life and christen him anew as a priest of the Church. But having dreamed of becoming a priest since the age of 8, he’s formed a dualistic view of what’s about happen.
“Ordination involves a death, powerfully symbolized by lying prostrate,” he said. “You’re dying to your old self in the sense that you’re More...
While Deacon Saulo Daniel Ramos Hernandez has spent most of his time pursuing his vocation apart from his biological family, thanks to the constant intercession of his patron and the love of the Catholic communities in Arkansas he’s never been alone.
“Being far away from my family, it has been difficult sometimes,” he said. “It was especially in the beginning, but during all of this process I found the support, especially in the community of Little More...
2018 Vocations Calendar
June 29: Taste of Faith Fundraising Dinner, Mountain Home
July 27: Seminarian Fundraising Dinner, Hot Springs Village
July 28: Taste of Faith Fundraising Dinner, Bentonville
Aug. 11: Taste of Faith, Fundraising Dinner, Little Rock
Sept. 27: Diaconate ordination for Martin Amaro at North American College, Rome
Nov. 2: Faith in the Springs Fundraiser, Hot Springs
Dec. 15: Installation of Lector, Acolyte and Candidacy, Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Little Rock
Dec. 28-29: Come and See Retreat, St. John Center, More...
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