Father Mariadass Vallapaneni, a former associate pastor and pastor in Arkansas originally from the Diocese of Nellore, India, died Dec. 23. He was 58.

He arrived in Arkansas in 2015, serving as associate pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church and Blessed John Newman University Parish in Jonesboro. In 2016 he was named associate pastor of St. Joseph Church in Conway. By early 2017 he was transferred to Pocahontas, serving as pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Pocahontas, St. Joseph the Worker Church in Corning and St. John the Baptist Church in Engelberg. After two years, he was named pastor of St. Mary Church in Paragould and Immaculate Heart of Mary in Walnut Ridge. He moved again in 2020, this time to be the associate pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in North Little Rock. On Sept. 18, 2020, he was relieved of his duties in the diocese to move back to India for health reasons.

A memorial Mass was held at St. John Church in Engelberg Jan 16.  The Engelberg church also took up a collection at the Mass to help support the priest’s family in India.

CORRECTION: The original publication of this article stated his name was Father Vallapaneni Mariadass. This online version has been corrected.

Catholic teens began the Jubilee Year by attending the diocese’s Weekend for Life Jan. 18-19.

More than 300 high school students from across the state gathered at the DoubleTree Hotel in Little Rock to engage in pro-life work.

Liz Tingquist, director of Catholic Youth Ministry, said the Jubilee Year was particularly special for the Weekend of Life event. 

“We’re celebrating the Jubilee Year, as pilgrims of hope. The kids, on Sunday morning, are going to be going to the Cathedral,” Tingquist said. “They go there with that intention of making a pilgrimage — that’s a work of mercy, praying for other young people … It’s an opportunity to catechize kids who may not know what the Jubilee Year is.” 

Attendees participated in songs, ice breakers, skits and unique forms of prayer and worship, created and led by students. 

As attendees completed praying portions of the rosary, several youth leaders provided testimonies about one of the right-to-life issues, such as suicide, substance abuse, immigration, pornography, the death penalty and euthanasia. With each testimony, students tied a long cloth bearing the name of the right to life issue along a rope next to a portrait of Mary, Undoer of the Knots. After reflecting on what they could do to combat a culture of death, students would then untie the knots. 

Students also heard from a series of speakers. Each year, a featured speaker is selected to talk about a certain pro-life issue. This year’s two-day Weekend for Life focused on a holistic pro-life message, and one of the abortion exceptions that people often hear about — conception through sexual assault. 

Featured speaker Amber Dubois, a Louisiana native, was conceived through rape and shared her personal story as a child born from sexual assault to highlight the unborn child’s perspective. 

She converted to Catholicism in 2009.

Dubois told attendees that when she asked her mother why she didn’t go through with her original plans to get an abortion, she replied that the pain from the abortion would not heal the pain of being sexually assaulted. 

“This argument of ‘what about the case of rape?’ is difficult to talk about, mostly because it’s very hypothetical,” Dubois said. “It’s this lady that you don’t know, you’ve never met, which makes it easier to talk about, but in reality, it’s really hard to talk about, because no one asks us. No one asks me what I think about being alive.”

“I hear all the time, ‘I’m pro-life, except in the case of rape.’ And when I hear that, I hear, ‘I’m pro-life, except in the case of Amber,’” Dubois said. “… Fear is a liar. To be pro-life, to be Catholic, can be scary. It’s not easy.”

Students also heard from Catherine Phillips, director of the Respect Life Office, who spoke about the intergenerational trauma caused by abortion.

“The youth that attend the Weekend for Life are statistically not likely to have abortions, but abortion does impact their lives,” she told Arkansas Catholic. “Abortion has been so much a part of our world, so prevalent for so long, that honestly, they know someone who has had an abortion. In my generation, three in every 10 women had abortions. … You know someone who has had an abortion. 

“That trauma stays with us throughout our lives. That loss moves down to the younger generations. All of us have family members who aren’t healed, and that’s huge. … As we move forward to change the world, we need to understand what abortion is, and what abortion isn’t. We need to be able to know and speak the truth with love.”

Annaliese Cartaya, 18, a member of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Benton, said she attended Weekend for Life to learn more about right-to-life issues to help her navigate conversations with friends.

“It’s not something that we sit down at our lunch table and talk about with our friends, so it’s nice to take a minute to focus on the issues that are important to our society and that we need to know about as we’re becoming adults,” she said.

“It’s amazing to be with a group of people my age who are Catholic and who want to learn more about the value of life, which is just a beautiful gift from God,” said Isaac Meisner, 16, a member of Sacred Heart Church in Charleston. 

Ashley Reyna, 17, a member of St. James in Searcy, is a new member of the Youth Advisory Council, the diocesan organization responsible for organizing Weekend for Life.

“Each time I would come to youth events, I would see (YAC) being very open about their faith, and I want people my age to be open with their faith too,” she said. “I want them to feel like they can show it and not be afraid. … It’s amazing seeing everyone all in this room and feeling the same feeling that I’m feeling.”

CORRECTION: Arkansas Catholic incorrectly stated the number of attendees at the Weekend for Life convention at the DoubleTree Hotel in Little Rock Jan. 18-19. There were 300 attendees.

Father Keith Higginbotham, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Huntsville and associate pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Rogers, has always been a fan of icons. 

“The spiritual understanding of an icon is that it is a window, or a door, and we look through it at the saint who is in heaven,” he said. “And so, to pray with an icon is to sit as if you’re looking through a window to the saint who has gone before us.”

It was one day, while Father Higginbotham was praying near an image of St. John the Evangelist at the Huntsville church, that he had an idea. 

“I was originally inspired by the image of St. John that we have in here. And I wanted something that was a little more enduring, a little more artistic for us,” he said. “It is still a beautiful image that we have there. But I wanted something a little grander.”

That’s where American realist painter Timothy Jones comes in. Deacon Tom Parks recommended Jones, whom he has known for a long time and is familiar with his artwork

Jones converted to Catholicism in 1993, thanks to the mentorship of friend and renowned Catholic writer and speaker Jimmy Akin. Until he moved in 2012, Jones attended St. Vincent de Paul in Rogers, where he volunteered to teach youth faith formation classes. 

Jones said he’s been an artist his entire life and “picked up two degrees along the way” from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro in 1984 and from the University of Arkansas in 1987.

“I worked in illustration and product design for about 20 years before seriously returning to fine art — my first love — as a career,” Jones said. “I hesitate to call my sacred images ‘icons,’ like the historic style we’re familiar with, yet this one of St. John seems to fit that category, in a more modern way.”

Jones said this icon took over a year to complete, which is longer than his usual process, due to his dedication to teaching art at Chesterton Academy of the Twin Cities in Minnesota and meticulously planning out the daunting iconography project.

“A lot of it was working out the approach I felt it needed, how much from imagination, and how much from real life (a model), as well as the painting technique,” Jones said. “And there were some revisions along the way.

“I started with a very basic composition sketch, then to a more finished charcoal drawing, then after revisions, transferred the drawing to a panel I’d prepared. After working out the underpainting in black and white, I applied color in thin glazes.”

Jones said the past 12 years as an artist have been spent teaching art and art history at Chesterton Academy and “developing that part of the curriculum for the Chesterton Schools Network, which has now grown to something like 70 schools around the country and a few in other countries.”

“Most artists I know, even many ‘successful’ ones, have some kind of steady work to help pay the bills,” he said. “Teaching at Chesterton Academy has been the most meaningful and fulfilling job of my life. 

“Because of the limited time I have had for artwork, I have mostly focused on smaller paintings and drawings, mainly landscapes and nature studies, but I have always hoped to concentrate more on sacred images and have thought a great deal about the best way to depict the truths of the faith in a way that builds on the strengths of the great Catholic artistic tradition,” Jones said. “That helps move it forward a little to make it feel relevant to contemporary viewers. I have hopes that this will be the start of many more sacred images, beginning with the Mysteries of the Rosary). This is another great part of why conceptualizing this painting took such an unusually long time, the idea that it might be the first of — prayerfully — many more.”

The icon was unveiled to the congregation of St. John the Evangelist Church in Huntsville Dec. 29. Around the border is painted St. John’s name and the phrase, “In the beginning was the Word” in Latin. The icon is now hanging above the doorway between the vestibule and the sanctuary. 

“I was deeply humbled at this response to my art and so grateful for the hospitality of the parish,” Jones said. “They were so gracious. It’s a joy when my artwork connects and is meaningful to others. That’s what I work and hope for.”

Parks said icons play a pivotal role in our faith by serving as visual reminders of it.

“The beauty of art can remind us of the depth and beauty of our faith,” he said. “Some of the symbols can remind us of Bible passages, while others prompt us to ask, ‘What’s that about?’ I believe that continual questions are essential to living the faith. We cannot know it all, but we can grow as we learn more.” 

The Mass and unveiling were followed by a discussion panel with Jones and Father Higginbotham.

“I think everyone responds to beauty and recognizes beauty, even if we don’t understand exactly why it’s beautiful,” Jones said during the discussion panel. “(Beauty) does us good in ways that we can’t understand always, but it’s an important thing spiritually. It helps us to be stronger spiritually, I think. And we recognize God in the beautiful things of creation. … 

“(Icons) are not concerned very much with what the people were supposed to look like exactly. They’re not portraits. We don’t know what St. John would look like, don’t really know what Christ looked like. But I love icons and their reverence, and the beauty and holiness of icons — and that they inspire us to pray.”

Father Emmanuel “Manny” Torres, associate pastor at Christ the King Church in Little Rock and St. Francis of Assisi Church in Little Italy, has been fascinated by art for as long as he can remember.

“It started with art,” he said. “I started painting and drawing. I remember as a kid, I laid down in my bed and just started drawing the images on the blanket. … I’ve been drawing since I was a kid. My notes in school were always full of drawings.”

Father Torres, 38, always wanted to learn to paint but didn’t think he would be able to do it, so he never took a class for it — until he came to the United States.

“I got here in eighth grade (in 1999), and I took classes in Mexico, but the classes over there were not the same. … So I always took classes, but I never took a painting class until I got to my senior year.”

It was then that Father Torres realized what a gift from God painting was.

“I’m not a great artist, but God gave me this talent where I just start painting,” he said.

Senior year of high school brought challenges to Father Torres, but art gave him hope.

“I would hide in my art,” he said. “I would say, ‘OK, God gave me this, and I’m special to him because he gave me this talent.’”

When Father Torres entered the seminary, then vocations director Msgr. Scott Friend encouraged him to continue painting. 

“He actually asked me to do a painting for the silent auction for Taste of Faith (in 2017),” he said. 

Father Torres overcame his nerves and created what ended up being one of his favorite pieces with supplies that Msgr. Friend got for him.

When Father Torres arrived at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana in 2016, he heard about an elective course on iconography taught by a Benedictine nun. Information about the different techniques and materials piqued his interest.

But he soon learned that iconography was different from many of the other art forms he had experimented with over the years.

“I signed up for that course, and I was so excited about it. I was looking for images of what I wanted to paint, and I was thinking about the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” Father Torres said. “… I went to the first class, and I told my professor, ‘I want to draw this.’ And she said no. I was a little upset in that moment, because I was like, I know how to paint. … And she said, ‘You are not ready to paint Jesus.’ … Later, when I went to my friend, I realized, OK, I’m not ready. I need to let her teach me — I need to do whatever she says. … (Iconography) has a process … and it’s a long process.”

Father Torres said you have to prepare the wood, then the base layer of gesso, which is a mixture of chalk, glue made from rabbit skin and water. The gesso is applied in several layers, each layer being allowed to dry and lightly sanded before the next is added. The artist then sketches the image on the gessoed surface using a pencil or light charcoal. 

Traditional icons are painted with egg tempera, a method where pigments are mixed with egg yolk and water. The egg yolk acts as a binder, holding the pigments in place. The artist will then begin layering colors, which are typically natural earth pigments mixed with egg yolk. Sometimes, gold leaf is applied to details such as halos, backgrounds or words in the icon. 

For Father Torres, the most important step in the process is praying. 

“All of the process of iconography is praying,” he said. “My professor said that I wasn’t spiritually ready to paint Jesus, because in iconography, we believe that in an icon of a saint, the presence of the saint is there. So, while she hurt my ego, I realized she was right. I’m not ready for that.”

Father Torres’ professor gave him several potential references to choose from, and he selected the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus.

“When I went to classes, usually people said, ‘Oh, that’s good, you did it well.’ And they liked what I do,” he said. “… But my professor said, ‘Oh, this is decent.’ … She was not being mean or rude, because in iconography, we are striving for perfection.”

Father Torres said he looks for the mistakes in his work now — they are more visible to him after following his former professor’s advice. 

“Even though I don’t have contact with her… when I see her icons, they are more beautiful. I told her one time that I love her icons; they’re way different from mine. She said that hers were not perfect. When I saw her teacher’s work, I was able to see what she meant. It takes a lot of time. … One teacher said he still has a long way to go, and he had been making icons for 20, 30 years.”

Since then, Father Torres, who was ordained in 2021, has donated his icons to auctions and raffles for the churches and schools that he has been assigned. He said iconography is a way for him to pray.

“When I do art, I forget about everything,” Father Torres said. “… It’s so calm, so relaxed. I use it as a way of prayer, where I ignore what surrounds me when I focus on something like painting. … I put prayer in the moment of painting.”

Father Torres’ art has been especially helpful to him as he navigates his health diagnosis, which was the reason for his recent move to Christ the King.

“I knew I was sick — I’ve had kidney problems since I was young … but the doctor had said everything was fine,” he said. “When I became a seminarian, they did a physical exam, and they noticed that my kidneys have a lot of protein. So they checked my kidneys, and they were in stage three kidney failure in 2010. Two years ago, they told me that my kidneys had been declining and that in three or five years, I would need a transplant.”

Father Torres will likely undergo dialysis until he can find a kidney transplant. 

“Sometimes I feel anxious because I feel too tired, and I cannot do my ministry as I think I should. Two symptoms I have are exhaustion and a lack of concentration. Sometimes, when I talk to people, I feel I cannot connect with them, which is very frustrating.”

Father Torres’ diagnosis was made public in September, and parishioners from his former parishes eagerly supported him, checking on him and praying for him. 

When he has the time and energy, Father Torres paints icons, finding comfort in the hobby.

“I have my art room in a big closet. Father (Juan) Guido (pastor) had helped me to put in an art studio. I love it. I was in there the other day, and it just relaxes me,” he said. “And it’s more than relaxing; it puts me at peace, which I love. I love that I’m working. I’ve been working on two icons for a long time for Father Ben Riley, and now I can finish them.”

Arkansas Catholic is seeking a website administrator to provide technical assistance for its website. This freelancer must be highly proficient in WordPress and have technical skills to help us when features stop working or new features are added. The staff will be adding posts and images each week; the website administrator will make sure the site runs smoothly and looks professional.
We would need someone for only a few hours a month.

• Highly proficient in Elementor/WordPress and troubleshooting
• Must have knowledge and understanding of the Catholic Church
• Proficient in written and spoken English
• Must be able to follow directions and have strong attention to detail
• Can provide timely responses to staff questions or tasks (within two business days)
• Can make requested updates within five business days

Send your hourly rate, a short summary of why you are a good fit and your portfolio to editor Malea Hargett at mhargett@dolr.org. No phone calls, please.

The deadline for submissions is January 31.

Softspoken and introspective, Bryzinn Smith may make a quiet first impression. But spend some time getting to know this young woman and she also makes quite the impression. 

A sophomore at Ozark Catholic Academy, Smith made the difficult choice after graduating from Trinity Catholic High School in Fort Smith in 2023, to attend a Catholic high school more than an hour away from her home in Van Buren. 

She admits that it isn’t always easy, since she wakes up as early as 4:20 a.m. to get ready and meet the shuttle that she, her younger sister Brylee and five other students ride from Immaculate Conception to Tontitown where OCA is located.

Smith, daughter of Dan and Mia Smith, longtime parishioners of Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith, said this year she has learned to be more independent and is now serving in a leadership role as a prefect for the House of the Mountain.

This kind of determination has helped in equal measure in her other endeavors. Smith started a drumline club this year so she and other musical students could pave the way for the school to introduce more music programs.

“Drumming is such a big part of my life,” Smith said. “I wanted to make it available for other students.”

That enterprising spirit prompted Smith and her dad to drive to Indiana this summer and buy an old drumline set from a high school that was upgrading their drums. They returned with five snares, two quads and four bass drums and donated them to the school. 

Smith’s drum instructor, Don Martin, a former drummer for pop country star Carrie Underwood, helped the Smiths refurbish the drums: tuning them, replacing the heads and getting them in working order for the school year.

“I have been her instructor for four years since she started percussion at Trinity, but she has progressed because once she decides to do something, she is going to be committed,” he said. “Finding that complete drumline set couldn’t have been any better for her or the school.”

“I was surprised to see how many people signed up for the club,” Smith admitted. “It was hard trying to figure out how to teach it, but everyone has been willing to learn, and I am grateful to be able to get it started.”

Smith said her goal for the drumline is to debut at the school’s basketball Colors Day Game Jan. 24. She also hopes to play at pep rallies and home games in the future. 

Beyond the school day, Smith, who turns 16 Jan. 23, is also pushing her boundaries by training to become a volunteer firefighter for Crawford County District 5 Fire Department. She said she started thinking about it because her dad is a volunteer firefighter and her grandfather is a forest ranger.

“My dad would go on calls, and I wanted to know how I could help,” Smith said. 

With that inspiration, she attended a board meeting in October, spoke with the fire chief, and is now taking the necessary classes each month.

While it could have been unnerving for some, being the youngest trainee and one of only three women in the department has not derailed her enthusiasm. Smith said she has learned so much already, but she is training until she is 18 years old and then she will be able to go on calls. 

“Already I have learned to cut open a car, pull hoses and learned to draft and pull water from a source,” she said.

Smith, a 4.0 GPA student, also has an unexpected penchant for Latin, currently a favorite class of hers.

“I really enjoy that I can attend a Latin Mass and understand it now,” she said. 

Beyond this, Smith said she also writes music and is trying to teach herself guitar. This year she is also adding archery to her list. 

“It will be my first time to try a school sport,” she said excitedly. 

Sitting in his office at the St. John Center, faith formation director Jeff Hines asked a simple question.  

“Now that the Eucharistic Revival is over, what should I do next?” 

The answer can launch faithful Catholics to the start of something new.

“Share the good news of Jesus with others!”

Hines had a “eureka” moment that proved to be the conception of a new podcast to help evangelize others. 

“Many of us want to share the good news of Jesus, but we do not know how to do it,” he said. “We are launching a small-group study called ‘Apostolic Zeal, the Passion for Evangelization.’ Pope Francis has written 30 lessons on the passion for evangelization. In these lessons, he tells us how to evangelize. The word ‘evangelize’ means to proclaim good news. 

“The good news is that Jesus loves you, that he gave his life for you and that he walks beside you every day to guide, strengthen and free you. Do you know how to share this good news with those around you without scaring them off? Pope Francis tells us how to do it in these lessons.”

Hines said the lessons were originally presented by Pope Francis in 2023 in Italian, but thanks to the hard work of the Faith Formation Office, those lessons have been recorded in English and Spanish and made available for small study groups to hear and discuss. 

The study and recordings can be accessed in English at learn.dolr.org/courses/AZ/ and in Spanish at learn.dolr.org/courses/CA/. The podcast can also be listened to on YouTube at https://bit.ly/apostoliczeal-english in English and https://bit.ly/apostoliczeal-Spanish in Spanish.

“We offer this for all parishes in the Diocese of Little Rock to use in small group studies, as training on how to evangelize those around you,” Hines said. 

Each recording is approximately 10 minutes.  

“You can listen to the lesson, then discuss it with your small group, a group of friends or your spouse,” Hines said. “Use these lessons to spark a conversation on how to share the good news of Jesus with others.”

To facilitate small group discussion, listeners can also download the text of the lessons and discussion questions on the site in English and Spanish.

“The target audience is everyone who wants to learn from Pope Francis how to share Jesus with others,” Hines said. “All of us who attend Mass every week are encountering Christ. The next step is to go and encounter others to bring them the hope of knowing Jesus.”

The Vatican Dicastery for Communication approved the recording of Pope Francis’ Wednesday audience lessons on Apostolic Zeal. 

To gauge the success of the podcast as a study tool, Hines enlisted several Catholics to take part in a trial study group. 

Alma Fuentes, director of faith formation at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Benton, said Apostolic Zeal “significantly impacted my faith life.”

“I found it fascinating to know how brave the saints who proclaimed the gospel to the most remote of places have been, facing challenges that have only been achieved with the strength of the Holy Spirit and their decision to persevere,” she said. “In the Apostolic Zeal podcast project, I have contributed with questions to some of the lessons as part of the team. I also collaborated by translating some questions from English to Spanish. This project has helped me to grow as a co-worker in the vineyard of the Lord. I thank Mr. Hines for involving me in this project, which will undoubtedly resonate throughout the Diocese of Little Rock when small groups meet and study this podcast.”

Surennah Werley, director of religious education at Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith, was also part of the study group. 

“As baptized followers of Jesus, what greater work can we be doing than leading others towards a relationship with Jesus,” she said. “The challenge can be daunting, and we certainly can find ourselves pushed out of our comfort zones. But the joy of witnessing a conversion can be so powerful and such a gift. Hearing the challenge to follow Jesus more closely was actually a great reminder for me to not waste any opportunity to ‘be Christian’ in my daily life. 

“To welcome strangers and to love those who are in front of me simply because the are created by God. There is also a desire to invite others into the service of Christ. I experience so much joy when I just love people that I am compelled to do it more. If my love for them inspires them to seek that relationship with Jesus then all I can say is ‘Praise God!’”

Graydon Carter, maintenance and grounds specialist at the St. John Center, reads Pope Francis’ messages in the English podcast recordings. Carter is a parishioner of St. Joseph Church in Conway, where he also lends his voice as a lector and cantor. 

To record each lesson, Carter converted his office in the maintenance building into a makeshift recording studio, annotating each script for tone, emphasis and any grammatical corrections before recording. 

What initially started as a task that needed to be completed turned into a prayer and meditation opportunity.

“It ended up being a very spirit-filled process,” he said. “When I was first doing it, I would get so frustrated trying to do it all at once. So I changed my approach to it about 10 lessons in, and started doing a lot of prayer beforehand. I’d pray, ‘Come, Holy Spirit,’ knowing that what I’m doing will only be successful as the result of the Holy Spirit’s intercession.”

Soon, Carter was annotating scripts in the chapels across St. John Center’s campus in front of the Blessed Sacrament. When Carter finished the recordings for Apostolic Zeal, he began to record himself reading other things too, such as the Psalms. He has been reading and diving into papal encyclicals as well.

Elizabeth Schaeuffler, an immigration specialist for Catholic Immigration Services in Springdale, is the voice for the Spanish podcast recordings. Schaeuffler is a speaker and Scripture teacher, specializing in bringing the work of prominent Catholic authors in English to Spanish-speaking audiences. 

“Listening to the different homilies, they just enforced something I already knew,” she said. “We all need to collaborate in the expansion of the Kingdom of God here on earth and how Jesus constantly calls us to do it. I feel a passion for sharing with others the history of Salvation. The homilies I recorded all had something in common. The witnesses had a deep desire to share the gospel with the people that did not know about Jesus. Those witnesses were faithful to Jesus and try to evangelize no matter the obstacles they found when doing it. They were determined to do it.”

Schaeuffler said in her own life, she works to evangelize and share the Good News. But evangelizing doesn’t come without its challenges.

“I have a group that meets on Sundays, and I also have a What’s App group that receives weekly messages from me. I have to tell you that sometimes I feel disillusioned when I see the lack of interest in the participants, especially after I have taken the time to translate from English to Spanish, record messages on What’s App to send to the group and I notice that said messages have not been listened to but after days of having being received.  

“I am committed to doing this and I have to accept the fact that many of them do not feel the passion for the Gospels or the history of Salvation the way I do. I should not blame them and not let it make me want to give up. Listening to the homilies encouraged me to continue doing what I do, because as Jesus said, it will not be easy and I need to keep in mind that what I am doing is for him and his glory, and not mine.”

An Arkansas deacon crafted the Jubilee Cross that will be a symbol of the Holy Year for the Diocese of Little Rock.

Deacon Mark Verkamp, assistant to the director of diaconate formation and deacon at Sacred Heart Church in Charleston, said creating the cross that can be carried or displayed on a table was “awe-inspiring” since it includes a relic from the cross believed to be carried by Jesus before his death and resurrection.

Verkamp, whose middle name is Joseph, has been a carpenter for 40 years. He made custom woodwork for homes for decades but now has pivoted to creating liturgical furnishings for churches, including his home parish, St. Leo the Great University Parish in Russellville and St. Louis Church in Camden.

“Having a piece of the True Cross was quite surreal, you might say, having it here in my shop and it’s in my possession,” he said. “It’s quite awe-inspiring just thinking Jesus carried this piece of wood. He hung on this piece of wood. He died on it. I was thinking all these things when I was building this Jubilee Cross.”

The three-foot wooden cross was unveiled at St. Edward Church in Little Rock Dec. 29 when the cross was carried down the streets of downtown Little Rock in a procession to the Cathedral of St. Andrew. While the universal Church opened the Holy Year on Dec. 24, local dioceses had their own celebrations Dec. 29. The Jubilee Year continues through Jan. 6, 2026.

Seminarians and a deacon held a canopy over the cross, carried by different diocesan priests. Other priests led about 200 people in praying a bilingual rosary as they walked about a half mile for an afternoon Mass with Bishop Anthony B. Taylor.

Five churches were named Jubilee Churches by Bishop Taylor. In addition to St. Edward and Cathedral of St. Andrew, Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith, St. Mary Church in Helena and St. Joseph Church in Pine Bluff will be places of seeking “mercy and hope” during the Holy Year.

Father Juan Guido, the diocese’s Jubilee Year coordinator and pastor of Christ the King Church in Little Rock, said the Vatican’s rite for the opening of the Jubilee Churches specified the requirement of “a cross of great significance for the diocese.”

Pope Francis, in his 2022 apostolic letter Desiderio Desideravi (“I have earnestly desired”), wrote, “For this reason, it is required that the cross which opens the pilgrimage be one of significance for the diocesan Church in the historical-artistic sense, or because of the devotion of the people. It should be duly decorated and, if of dimensions that require several people to carry it, it should be suitably arranged. It is placed near the altar in the sanctuary where it remains for the entire Jubilee Year for the veneration of the faithful.”

In consultation with Bishop Taylor, Father Guido commissioned Verkamp to handcraft the cross. The deacon chose walnut for the cross and base, adding engraved gold lettering on the base saying, “Jubilee 2025,” and on the cross in Latin Ave crux, spes unica (“Hail to the cross, our only hope”).

“I wanted it to be a wood that was respectful and reverent,” Verkamp said. “Walnut has a natural beauty.”

A relic of the True Cross in a reliquary stored in the archives of the Diocese of Little Rock, was incorporated into the center of the cross. Verkamp said the cross was designed so that the gold reliquary could be removed if needed.

“It is Bishop Taylor’s desire for the Jubilee Cross to travel to the designated Jubilee Churches and other parishes that wish to host it,” Father Guido said.

When the cross isn’t traveling to other locations, it will be displayed by the altar at the Cathedral of St. Andrew.

Father Guido said he will release a schedule of dates and locations where the cross will travel in 2025 so the “faithful can venerate it.”

“The cross will, without question, be present at the major jubilee celebrations in June at St. Raphael Church in Springdale and Christ the King Church in Little Rock,” Father Guido said. “Our hope is that this Jubilee Cross will remain a lasting symbol of hope for our diocese even after the Jubilee Year concludes, finding use in various diocesan events.”

At the end of Dec. 29 Mass, Father Guido announced that the Jubilee Cross was created for the year, incorporating wood from the cross carried by Jesus. After Mass, dozens of people stood in line to kneel and pray before the cross and have a chance to touch it.

While many people celebrated 2025 when the ball dropped in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, Catholics celebrated a few days earlier when Pope Francis began the jubilee year with a special rite to open the holy door of St. Peter Basilica in Rome Dec. 24. The jubilee year will continue through Jan. 6, 2026.

Jeff Hines, director of the diocese’s Faith Formation Office, said the Jubilee Year theme of hope gives Catholics a specific motivation in living out their faith lives. 

“The theme of this Jubilee Year is ‘Pilgrims of Hope.’ There are two points of focus in this theme. First, pilgrims — that is all Catholics who are following Jesus in their life every day,” he said.  “During this year, we remember that Jesus called us to ‘go’ and make disciples. We may not be able to go to Rome, but we can go somewhere, even if it is to our local parish. When we go on a pilgrimage, we are making the trip with the purpose of growing closer to Jesus and bringing others closer to him.  

“Second, hope. People today need hope. There are many reasons to be without hope in our world today. However, Jesus is the reason for our hope.”

Father Juan Guido, pastor of Christ the King Church in Little Rock and diocesan director of divine worship, is helping guide Jubilee Year celebrations in the Diocese of Little Rock. 

“Every 25 years, the pope calls for a jubilee in which we ask God for his mercy,” he said. “It is a time for the Church to once again refocus on the mercy of God, and especially this coming year, on hope.”

The Diocese of Little Rock began its Jubilee Year 2025 celebrations with a special procession and Mass Sunday, Dec. 29, in Little Rock. The event started at 2:30 p.m. with a half-mile procession from St. Edward Church to the Cathedral of St. Andrew.

At 3:15 p.m., Bishop Anthony B. Taylor led a bilingual Mass at the Cathedral, during which he imparted an apostolic blessing to all attendees. Bishop Taylor said an apostolic blessing, also referred to as a papal blessing, grants a plenary indulgence and can be bestowed by bishops “when there is a valid reason,” and can only be imparted three times a year.

You can find more information about the Diocese of Little Rock’s celebrations for the Jubilee Year at dolr.org/article/jubilee-opening-mass. 

Catholics across the state will also have two opportunities to go on a pilgrimage to Rome through Arkansas Catholic. 

Due to the sell-out of the September pilgrimage to Italy, Arkansas Catholic has added a second pilgrimage. The 12-day pilgrimage will be led by Father Brian Cundall, pastor of Christ the King Church in Fort Smith, Oct. 28-Nov. 8 and includes visits to Rome, Florence, Milan, Turin and Siena. Pilgrims will be able to experience All Saints Day and All Souls Day in the company of the saints. A $600 deposit is required at the time of registration, with the final payment due by Aug. 18, 2025. You can find more information at arkansas-catholic.org/pilgrimage. 

For those who don’t want to leave the state, visits to the five Jubilee Churches are encouraged. 

“Bishop Taylor has also identified pilgrimage sites within Arkansas, and he is planning to organize Jubilee pilgrimages and events in June 2025,” Hines said, for Catholics who want to take pilgrimages closer to home. 

“You can plan your own pilgrimage, even to a neighboring parish or city,” Hines said.

Hines encourages Catholics to challenge themselves and try something new during the Jubilee year.

“During the Jubilee year, take an opportunity to go into a different setting. Go to a different parish to encounter Christ there. After Mass, go to a place you will encounter people who are not like you, who are perhaps those who are not in your group of people,” Hines said. “By doing this, you are opening yourself to let the Holy Spirit work through you to bring hope to others.”

Both Hines and Father Guido said the following year will be full of opportunities for Catholics to grow stronger in their faith.

“We grow in our faith when we do two things: Encounter Christ and encounter others, both by the power of the Holy Spirit,” Hines said. “Both require ‘going’ of some sort. First, to encounter Christ, we go to Mass to encounter him in the Word and the Sacraments. Even if a person cannot receive the Eucharist, they still should go to be in the presence of Christ in the Word and the Eucharist, which is an encounter.

“Second, they go and interact with others in their daily life, recognizing that the Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of those they encounter, whether they be friends, family or co-workers. Think of these encounters as Jubilee pilgrimages in which you are bringing hope to others. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide.”

John “Jack” Thomas Krug Sr., a deacon at St. Peter the Fisherman Church in Mountain Home, died Dec. 17. He was 99. 

Born July 11, 1925, in Dayton, Ohio, to Clifford and Marcella McGreevy Krug, he would go on to serve in the U.S. Army during World War II. After marrying his childhood sweetheart, Rose Ann Meyer, Krug and his family moved to Mountain Home. Krug was ordained to the permanent diaconate Nov. 15, 1986. He enjoyed gardening, fishing and photographing flowers. 

Krug is survived by four sons, Nicholas Krug, Christopher Krug, Philip Krug and Paul Krug; three daughters, Cathy Welch, Mary Tolleson and Ann Leadingham; 29 grandchildren; 73 great-grandchildren; and 19 great-great-grandchildren.

A funeral Mass will be 11:00 a.m., Dec. 21, 2024, at St. Peter the Fisherman Church, with Father Norbert Rappold officiating. Burial will be in the Kirby’s Tucker Memorial Cemetery in Mountain Home.