Three seminarians joined the Diocese of Little Rock this summer to begin their discernment as priests.
With five priesthood ordinations in May, the total number of seminarians has decreased. The diocese nowhas 23 seminarians; at the peak in 2014 the diocese had 46 seminarians.
The new seminarians are:
- Pedro Alvarez, 20, a member of Christ the King Church in Little Rock. He is the son of Juan Alvarez and Maria Gutierrez.
- Kevin Medina, 18, a member of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Glenwood. He is the son of Adolfo Medina Martinez and Leticia Salazar Ramirez.
- Joshua Osborne, 21, a member of St. Joseph Church in Conway. He is the son of Scott Paul and Ellen Marie Osborne of Dover, Tenn.
All three are living at the House of Formation in Little Rock and studying at the University of Arkansas Little Rock and taking some courses online through Newman University in Wichita, Kan.
Returning seminarians are:
- Cody Eveld and Colton Ketter of Charleston
- Duwan Booker of Conway
- Quinn Thomas of Jonesboro
- Nathan Ashburn, Christopher Elser, John Paul Hartnedy, Joseph Jones, Hong Dai Nguyen, Sam Ray and Deacon Daniel Wendel, all of Little Rock
- Tuan Do, Thomas de Prez and Minh Phong Nguyen of North Little Rock
- Samuel Stengel of Paris
- Jackson Nichols of Pocahontas
- Andrew Schaefer and Joel Brackett of Rogers
- James Freeman of Russellville
- Deacon Jaime Nieto of Springdale
Wendel and Nieto are scheduled to be ordained priests May 28, 2022, at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock. Ashburn and Hartnedy are scheduled to be ordained deacons in May 2022 in their home parishes.