Appointments to take effect in April, June

Published: April 14, 2015

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor recently announced the following pastoral appointments:

Effective April 15

• Father John Antony, appointed administrator and chaplain of Trinity Junior High in Fort Smith. He remains pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith.
• Father Andrew Hart, relieved of his responsibilities as administrator and chaplain of Trinity Junior High in Fort Smith. He remains associate pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith.
• Father Joseph Archibong, appointed to celebrate African Mass at St. Augustine Church in North Little Rock. He remains associate pastor of Christ the King Church in Little Rock.
• Msgr. Richard Oswald, relieved of his responsibilities as associate pastor of St. Edward Church in Little Rock, diocesan director of liturgy, and assistant vocations director to become senior priest with residence at the House of Formation in Little Rock.
• Father Michael Sinkler appointed chaplain of St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro, pastor of St. Norbert Church in Marked Tree and St. Anthony Church in Weiner, with residence in St. Mary Church in Paragould. He is relieved of his responsibilities as pastor of St. Mary Church in Paragould and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Walnut Ridge.
• Father Stephen Mallanga, AJ, appointed administrator of St. Mary Church in Paragould and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Walnut Ridge.
• Father Felix Chirapurathel, OPraem, relieved of his responsibilities as pastor of St. Norbert Church in Marked Tree. He remains pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Blytheville and St. Matthew Church in Osceola.
• Father Lourduswamy Dhanraj Narla, relieved of his responsibilities as pastor of St. Anthony Church in Weiner. He remains pastor of St. Mary Church in Batesville and St. Cecilia Church in Newport.

Effective June 17

• Father Rick Hobbs appointed associate pastor of St. Stephen Church in Bentonville and administrator of St. John the Evangelist Church in Huntsville. He is relieved of his responsibilities as associate pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Rogers.
• Father John Miranda, a priest from the Diocese of Nellore, India, appointed associate pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Rogers.
• Father Chuma Ibebuike relieved of his responsibilities as pastor of St. John Church in Russellville to begin his retirement and return to the Diocese of Orlu, Nigeria.
• Father Jack Sidler appointed administrator of St. John Church in Russellville. He is relieved of his responsibilities as associate pastor of Christ the King Church in Little Rock.
• Father Joseph Shantiraj, a priest from the Diocese of Nellore, India, appointed associate pastor of Christ the King Church in Little Rock.
• Father Matt Garrison relieved of his responsibilities as rector of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock to begin a five-month deployment with the Air National Guard.
• Father Jack Vu appointed rector of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock and minister to the Vietnamese community in Little Rock. He is relieved of his responsibilities as pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church and Blessed John Newman University Parish in Jonesboro.
• Father Alphonse Gollapalli appointed pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church and Blessed John Newman University Parish in Jonesboro. He is relieved of his responsibilities as pastor of Our Lady of Good Hope Church in Hope.
• Father Mariadass Vallapaneni, a priest from the Diocese of Nellore, India, appointed associate pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church and Blessed John Newman University Parish in Jonesboro.
• Father Nirmalraj Kambala Mariadass, CPPS, appointed administrator of Our Lady of Good Hope Church in Hope.
• Father Tom Elliott to begin a leave of absence from his priestly responsibilities at Immaculate Conception Church in North Little Rock.
• Father John Wakube, AJ, appointed administrator of Immaculate Conception Church in North Little Rock. He is relieved of his responsibilities as temporary administrator of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Little Rock.
• Father Josh Stengel appointed pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Little Rock, with Hispanic apostolate. He is relieved of his responsibilities as pastor of St. Agnes Church in Mena, All Saints Church in Mount Ida and Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Glenwood.
• Father Michael Walsh, CM, appointed sacramental minister of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Glenwood. This is in addition to his current responsibilities as pastor of St. Anne Church in North Little Rock.
• Father Luis Ariel Ramírez, CM, appointed sacramental minister of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Glenwood. This is in addition to his current responsibilities as associate pastor of St. Anne Church in North Little Rock.
• Father John Tuyen Kim Tran appointed administrator of St. Agnes Church in Mena and All Saints Church in Mount Ida. He is relieved of his responsibilities as associate pastor of St. James Church in Searcy, St. Richard Church in Bald Knob, St. Albert Church in Heber Springs and as minister to the Vietnamese community in Little Rock.
• Father George Sanders appointed administrator of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Glenwood. This is in addition to his responsibilities as administrator of St. Mary of the Springs Church in Hot Springs.