Father John Antony, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, blessed the church’s new back altar during Mass Sunday, May 18. 

The project, which took 16 months to design and install, was envisioned as a way to bring the tabernacle, formerly located at the left altar, to the center of the church.

“We go to church to visit Jesus, and now, from every angle in the church, we’ll have a clear view of who we are visiting,” Father Antony told his parishioners. 

Turning to the First Communicants who would be receiving Jesus that day, he said this would be a day they would never forget.

St. Anne’s Chapel, located on the parish campus in a former school built by the Sisters of Mercy, was the inspiration for the new altar’s design. The front of the altar in the chapel is engraved with the Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, recalling Jesus’ words in chapter 22 of Revelation. The center panel is engraved with a lamb sitting on a book of seven seals. 

“Revelation 5 speaks of Jesus as the lamb who alone is worthy to open the seven-sealed book. And by the way, the seven seals signify the seven sacraments, which open up God’s graces to us, and Jesus alone unlocks,” Father Antony said.

Working with King Richard’s Liturgical Design, a South Carolina firm, the panels on St. Anne’s altar were replicated on the new church altar. Pink and white marble was imported from Carrara, Italy, to match the altar and the communion rails. The six niches over the candles match the niches over the stained-glass windows.

Like the rest of the Gothic-style church, which was erected in 1899, the new altar, statues and windows tell a story, which Father Antony recounted to his parishioners during his homily. He related the beliefs of Bishop Robert Barron that “a church building should basically be like a book, indeed, a catechism.” 

“In their windows and towers, vaults, naves, roses, labyrinths, altars and façades, these Gothic churches…teach the faith and focus the journey of the spirit.’ In other words, every time we walk into church, it should feel like we entered the Bible on four walls,” Bishop Barron said.

The central rear altar is flanked by two side altars, and the statues have been rearranged to fill the empty space created by the moving of the tabernacle. Statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph holding the child Jesus are on the right. A statue of St. Patrick, made of painted wood, is at center left to commemorate the Irish immigrants whose sacrifices financed the current church, making possible, as Father Antony said, “The Bible on four walls we enjoy today.”

The left altar, which has a background of gold stone inlay, now holds the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as gold signifies divinity. 

Immaculate Conception is one of five churches throughout the diocese designated as a Jubilee Church during the Jubilee of Hope through Jan. 6, 2026. The arrival of the diocese’s Jubilee Cross coincided with the altar dedication and will be displayed at all weekend Masses. A relic of the true cross of Jesus Christ is embedded in the center of the cross. If visitors touch a rosary, scapular or religious article to the relic of the true cross, it will become a third-class relic. 

On weekdays, the cross will be housed in the church office and will be available for veneration until it is moved to the next location.

Michelle O’Neal’s 25-year career as an educator has been a colorful one. 

Until four years ago, O’Neal was an art teacher. With her husband in the military, O’Neal taught at many different schools, from New York to Oklahoma to Hawaii. In spite of the moves, the O’Neal family has always valued a Catholic education. 

In 2015, the family returned to the small town of Paris, and O’Neal began working at St. Joseph School. She became the principal in 2021. 

O’Neal has faced a host of different challenges as an educator — whether it was finding funding as an art teacher or tackling the pandemic and economic challenges as principal of the Paris parochial school. 

“We are the oldest continuously running elementary school in the state of Arkansas, since 1879,” O’Neal said. “We have our parish’s support, but we still struggle with enrollment. When you have low enrollment, it costs more to educate. So that’s always a challenge — keeping the education affordable for our parishioners and working economically is important to us.”

O’Neal has also worked to make sure that technology and social media do not negatively impact her students and their ability and willingness to learn. That’s where having an art background comes in. 

“I’m the fun art person,” she said with a laugh. “I can get the kids in there, and we can always have a good time making some art and enjoying time together.”

But it’s the creativity and outside-the-box thinking of many students that have motivated O’Neal to persist throughout her career. 

“It was always inspirational to me, to amplify my creativity off of theirs,” she said. 

In addition to drawing inspiration from her students, O’Neal’s faith has spurred her onward. 

“Our family, we practice our faith. We attend church on Sunday. Our kids went to Catholic schools, our friends, the families we hung out with, our social network, generally speaking, are all associated with the school and the Church,” she said. “It helps when you truly believe in the mission of the school. And I truly believe that the most important mission of the Catholic Church is Catholic education, because, not to be cheesy, but that’s the future, and you’ve got to get them while they’re young. 

“I think if an educator believes that, that’s why they’re working at the school — that’s why you work there. I’ve worked in both public and private schools. The private experience is really special. We pray every morning all together — it’s the way we start the day as a school. It’s a very special experience. So if you’re blessed enough to get to work at a Catholic school, I think that makes it easier to come in on a daily basis when things are really hard.”

O’Neal’s contract ends July 31. She’ll work on some projects at the school over the summer, but she’s looking forward to having more time to help her aging parents. 

“Then I’ll just wait and see what door is opened next for me,” she said. “God opens and closes the door, and I try to be aware of that. He’ll provide something for me.”