St. Stephen (Diocese of Little Rock)

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St. Stephen
Dedication: St. Stephen
Type/Classification: Territorial Parish
Non-Parochial: No
Operated By: Diocesan clergy
Venerated Saints: None specified
Diocese: Diocese of Little Rock
Deanery:
Address: 1300 NE J St., Bentonville, Arkansas 72712
City: Bentonville, AR
Subdivision: Arkansas
Country: United States
County: Benton County
Website: No website specified
Founded:
School: No
Email: None specified
AI Confidence: 7/10
Review Level: 0/5


St. Stephen is a territorial parish of the Diocese of Little Rock located at 1300 NE J St. in Bentonville, Arkansas. Dedicated to Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr and one of the seven deacons appointed by the apostles, the parish serves Catholics in Benton County in the rapidly growing northwest corner of the state. It is not a shrine, basilica, or cathedral, and it is not staffed by a religious order.

The parish has grown considerably alongside the city of Bentonville itself, which expanded from roughly 35,000 residents in 2010 to nearly 62,000 by 2024.[1] A 2002 expansion added a new sanctuary, a chapel, and classroom space to accommodate this growth, and the parish has continued to add ministries and worship space in the years since.[2]

As of 2026, the parish is served by Monsignor Scott L. Marczuk, JCL, as pastor, with an associate pastor assisting in parish ministry.[3]

History

The exact founding date of St. Stephen Parish is not documented in available sources.[4] By September 2002, under the pastoral leadership of Father Mike Sinkler, the parish counted roughly 400 registered members worshiping at its present location on Northeast J Street. That year, the parish completed an expansion that added a new sanctuary, a chapel, and additional classroom space to serve its growing congregation.[5]

In April 2005, parishioners established the St. Stephen Benevolent Conference, a local affiliate of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, which has since organized charitable outreach in the community, including the annual Friends of the Poor walk.[6] On September 15, 2009, the parish celebrated its first Spanish-language Sunday Mass, reflecting the growing diversity of its congregation; the parish continues to offer a weekly Spanish Mass alongside its English Masses.[7]

Between 2010 and 2025, St. Stephen recorded one of the largest increases in Mass attendance of any parish in the state, with average weekend Mass attendance rising from about 1,531 to roughly 3,020—an increase of about 49 percent—tracking the rapid population growth of Bentonville over the same period.[8]

In 2026, a chapel at St. Stephen was designated an official site of the diocese's Year of St. Francis pilgrimage by the diocesan Office of Divine Worship, allowing visitors to make a pilgrimage there and, under the usual conditions, receive a plenary indulgence. The designation followed the 2024 installation of a stained-glass window in the chapel honoring the founder of the Franciscans.[9]

Special features

  • Designated pilgrimage chapel for the diocese's Year of St. Francis, offering visitors the opportunity to gain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions
  • St. Stephen Benevolent Conference, a parish affiliate of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul founded in 2005, which hosts the annual Friends of the Poor walk
  • Weekly Spanish-language Sunday Mass, offered continuously since September 2009

Relics

According to established Catholic tradition, the main altar of a dedicated parish church customarily contains relics of saints. Specific information about relics housed at St. Stephen is not documented in publicly available sources.

Architecture and Art

Exterior features

The church's sanctuary, chapel, and classroom wing were completed in a 2002 expansion project designed by architect Elton Roe.[10] The sanctuary is laid out as an expansive, quarter-pie-shaped wedge, with a monumental curved wall on its west-facing side designed to shield worshipers from street noise and harsh afternoon sun.[11]

Interior features

Behind the altar, a Cross-shaped opening—set back roughly three feet into the stone wall—houses the Altar Cross Window. A suspended, life-size Italian corpus is positioned to visually superimpose over the window's white cross, forming a three-dimensional crucifix that serves as the visual focal point of the sanctuary.[12]

Stained Glass Windows

The stained-glass windows of the 2002 sanctuary are arranged in four distinct sections, each carrying its own liturgical and architectural significance within the quarter-pie-shaped worship space, including the Altar Cross Window behind the main altar.[13] In 2024, a chapel at the parish received an additional stained-glass window honoring Saint Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan order; the window contributed to the chapel's 2026 designation as an official diocesan pilgrimage site.[14]

Statues and Sculptures

The life-size Italian corpus suspended behind the main altar is the parish's most distinctive sculptural feature, forming a three-dimensional crucifix in combination with the Altar Cross Window.[15] Additional statuary is not documented in publicly available sources.

Other Artwork

No further devotional artwork is publicly documented in available sources.

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Media

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Related parishes

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External links

Social media

Official Social Media

References

  1. ↑ "Parish Growth in Bentonville Reflects City's Success". Arkansas Catholic. https://arkansas-catholic.org/2026/03/10/bentonville-church-growth-boom/. 
  2. ↑ "St. Stephen Church, Bentonville". Catholic Encyclopedia of Arkansas, Wikibooks. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_of_Arkansas/Churches/St._Stephen_Church,_Bentonville. 
  3. ↑ "St. Stephen Church - Bentonville". Diocese of Little Rock. https://www.dolr.org/parishes/st-stephen-church-bentonville. 
  4. ↑ "St. Stephen Church, Bentonville". Catholic Encyclopedia of Arkansas, Wikibooks. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_of_Arkansas/Churches/St._Stephen_Church,_Bentonville. 
  5. ↑ "St. Stephen Church, Bentonville". Catholic Encyclopedia of Arkansas, Wikibooks. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_of_Arkansas/Churches/St._Stephen_Church,_Bentonville. 
  6. ↑ "St. Stephen Church, Bentonville". Catholic Encyclopedia of Arkansas, Wikibooks. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_of_Arkansas/Churches/St._Stephen_Church,_Bentonville. 
  7. ↑ "St. Stephen Church, Bentonville". Catholic Encyclopedia of Arkansas, Wikibooks. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_of_Arkansas/Churches/St._Stephen_Church,_Bentonville. 
  8. ↑ "Parish Growth in Bentonville Reflects City's Success". Arkansas Catholic. https://arkansas-catholic.org/2026/03/10/bentonville-church-growth-boom/. 
  9. ↑ "St. Francis Chapel Joins Arkansas Pilgrimage Sites". Arkansas Catholic. https://arkansas-catholic.org/2026/07/30/bentonville-st-francis-chapel-pilgrimage/. 
  10. ↑ "St. Stephen Catholic Church in Bentonville". Elton Roe Architect. http://eltonroearchitect.com/StStephens/. 
  11. ↑ "St. Stephen Catholic Church in Bentonville". Elton Roe Architect. http://eltonroearchitect.com/StStephens/. 
  12. ↑ "St. Stephen Catholic Church in Bentonville". Elton Roe Architect. http://eltonroearchitect.com/StStephens/. 
  13. ↑ "St. Stephen Catholic Church in Bentonville". Elton Roe Architect. http://eltonroearchitect.com/StStephens/. 
  14. ↑ "St. Francis Chapel Joins Arkansas Pilgrimage Sites". Arkansas Catholic. https://arkansas-catholic.org/2026/07/30/bentonville-st-francis-chapel-pilgrimage/. 
  15. ↑ "St. Stephen Catholic Church in Bentonville". Elton Roe Architect. http://eltonroearchitect.com/StStephens/. 
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