Oklahoma City Archbishop Eusebius J. Beltran will be the consecrator for Bishop Anthony B. Taylor’s ordination and installation Mass at 2 p.m., Thursday, June 5 at the Statehouse Convention Center in downtown Little Rock.
Msgr. Francis I. Malone, who is coordinating the Mass, said Bishop-elect Taylor has chosen Bishop J. Peter Sartain of Joliet, Ill., formerly of Little Rock, and Bishop Edward J. Slattery of Tulsa, Okla., as the co-consecrators.
He reiterated that open seating will be available for every Catholic parish and organization in Arkansas and Oklahoma to bring a busload to the event. No tickets are required.
“There are approximately 6,000 seats,” he said. “Come one, come all.”
In an interview with Arkansas Catholic, Bishop-elect Taylor said he chose a public venue as opposed to a smaller church for an important reason.
“I want everyone who can come to come,” he said. “I didn’t want to have limited seating. If a parish were allotted a certain number of tickets, it would probably be the people who were more active in the parish who would be getting the tickets. And yet, if there were other people in the parish who were interested, they wouldn’t be able to come. Those tend to be the people whose voice we don’t hear. I want anyone to come.”
Msgr. Malone said the ordination Mass will be preceded by a vespers service at 7 p.m., Wednesday, June 4 at the 1,300-seat Christ the King Church in Little Rock. No tickets will be required to attend this service either. The “liturgy of welcome” will include civic and religious leaders from around the state as well as priests, deacons, religious and representatives of diocesan groups. Also, Archbishop Beltran will bless the miter, ring and staff used by Bishop-elect Taylor.
