Our Lady of Fatima (Diocese of Little Rock)

From Saintapedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search


Our Lady of Fatima
Dedication: Our Lady of Fatima
Type/Classification: Territorial Parish
Non-Parochial: No
Operated By: Diocesan clergy
Venerated Saints: None specified
Diocese: Diocese of Little Rock
Deanery:
Address: 900 W Cross St., Benton, Arkansas 72015
City: Benton, AR
Subdivision: Arkansas
Country: United States
County: Saline County
Website: No website specified
Founded:
School: Yes
Email: None specified
AI Confidence: 6/10
Review Level: 0/5


Our Lady of Fatima is a territorial parish of the Diocese of Little Rock, located in Benton, Arkansas, in Saline County. Dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in connection with her reported 1917 apparitions to three shepherd children in Fátima, Portugal, the parish serves Catholics throughout Benton and the surrounding Saline County area. According to the diocesan newspaper Arkansas Catholic, it is the only parish in the state of Arkansas named for the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.[1]

The parish maintains a connected parochial school, Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School, serving students from Pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade. The school traces its roots to a predecessor institution, Notre Dame School, whose construction began in 1957, before being renamed Our Lady of Fatima in 1980.[2]

No confirmed founding date for the parish itself is documented in available sources, though the associated school's development places an active Catholic community in Benton by at least the late 1950s.

History

Our Lady of Fatima's parochial school has documented roots going back to the construction of Notre Dame School, which began in April 1957 and was completed the following year; the school opened its first four grades in the fall of 1959 with an enrollment of 39 students, and was formally blessed and dedicated by Bishop Albert L. Fletcher on January 22, 1961.[3] For its early decades, the school was staffed by the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters of Jonesboro, Arkansas.[4]

On October 30, 1980, at the request of the pastor, Father John Janesko, the parish council changed the school's name from Notre Dame to Our Lady of Fatima.[5] In the fall of 1996 the school relocated into a new parish educational facility, which Bishop Andrew J. McDonald came to Benton to dedicate and bless that September.[6] The last of the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters serving at the school retired from teaching in 1998, and on May 17, 1998, the parish and school held a special Mass and celebration to thank the sisters for their decades of service.[7]

In 2000, the parish established a perpetual adoration ministry, which began on March 5, 2000. In February 2025, the parish marked the 25th anniversary of continuous perpetual adoration with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Anthony B. Taylor, attended by more than 250 parishioners along with clergy who had served the parish since the ministry's founding.[8]

In October 2017, the parish, then under pastor Father Paul Worm, joined the diocese in observing the centennial of the Fatima apparitions with a bilingual Mass celebrated by Bishop Anthony B. Taylor, part of a series of Masses and confessions held from May through October of that year.[9]

Special features

  • A perpetual adoration chapel, in continuous operation since March 5, 2000
  • Bilingual parish life, with Masses celebrated in both English and Spanish
  • Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School, serving students from Pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade

Relics

According to established Catholic tradition, the main altar of a dedicated parish church typically contains deposited relics of saints, as is customary in the rite of dedication. Specific information regarding relics housed at Our Lady of Fatima is not documented in available sources.

Architecture and Art

Exterior features

Specific documentation of the church building's exterior architectural style is not available in current public sources.

Interior features

The parish maintains a dedicated perpetual adoration chapel used continuously for Eucharistic adoration since 2000.[10] Further detail on the arrangement of the nave and sanctuary is not documented in available sources.

Stained Glass Windows

Specific details regarding the church's stained glass windows are not publicly documented in available sources.

Statues and Sculptures

Devotional imagery associated with the parish's title, Our Lady of Fatima, is understood to be present, consistent with parishes dedicated to this Marian devotion, though specific statuary is not documented in available sources.

Other Artwork

No further devotional artwork is publicly documented in available sources.

Image gallery

`

No gallery has been created yet. Type "Gallery" into the input box to create the page, save the page with the loaded template, and then use the Form tab to start adding photos. No gallery subpage has been created. Please use the input box above to create it.

Media

No media found for this saint.

Related parishes

Template:OtherSaintParishes

External links

Social media

Official Social Media

References

  1. ↑ "Centennial celebration held in Benton for Fatima apparitions". Arkansas Catholic. https://arkansas-catholic.org/2017/10/19/centennial-celebration-held-in-benton-for-fatima-apparitions/. 
  2. ↑ "School History". Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church & School. https://olfbenton.org/school-history. 
  3. ↑ "School History". Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church & School. https://olfbenton.org/school-history. 
  4. ↑ "School History". Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church & School. https://olfbenton.org/school-history. 
  5. ↑ "School History". Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church & School. https://olfbenton.org/school-history. 
  6. ↑ "School History". Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church & School. https://olfbenton.org/school-history. 
  7. ↑ "School History". Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church & School. https://olfbenton.org/school-history. 
  8. ↑ "Benton parish celebrates 25 years of perpetual adoration". Arkansas Catholic. https://arkansas-catholic.org/2025/03/14/our-lady-fatima-25th-anniversary/. 
  9. ↑ "Centennial celebration held in Benton for Fatima apparitions". Arkansas Catholic. https://arkansas-catholic.org/2017/10/19/centennial-celebration-held-in-benton-for-fatima-apparitions/. 
  10. ↑ "Benton parish celebrates 25 years of perpetual adoration". Arkansas Catholic. https://arkansas-catholic.org/2025/03/14/our-lady-fatima-25th-anniversary/. 
Retrieved from "https://dev.saintapedia.org/w/index.php?title=Our_Lady_of_Fatima_(Diocese_of_Little_Rock)&oldid=57946"