About Holy Child · Dumas, Arkansas
Holy Child of Jesus Church is a small Catholic mission parish in Dumas, Arkansas, located in Desha County in the South Delta Deanery of the Diocese of Little Rock. It began as a house-church mission, with Mass celebrated in local parishioners' homes, until a brick church was built and opened in 1967. The mission is administered from St. Mark Church in Monticello, sharing clergy and pastoral staff with St. Mark (Monticello) and St. Mary (McGehee), and it historically served a bilingual English/Spanish community.
- Established
- 1967
- Patron
- The Holy Child of Jesus
- Rector
- Fr. Daniel Wendel
- Diocese
- Diocese of Little Rock (South Delta Deanery)
Why belong here
Holy Child of Jesus offers a small, close-knit Catholic community in Dumas where everyone knows one another, with weekly Sunday Mass and a CCD religious-education program for children during the school year. As a mission of St. Mark in Monticello, it shares pastoral staff and Sacramental preparation with two neighboring Delta parishes, so parishioners are never far from a priest, the Sacraments, or a faith community that has been part of southeast Arkansas for more than half a century.
Mass times at Holy Child
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before Mass or by appointment (at St. Mark Church, Monticello, 870-367-2848)
Adoration times
- Thursday 6:00 PM (preceding the 7:00 PM Spanish Mass)
History of Holy Child of Jesus Church
Holy Child of Jesus Church in Dumas, Arkansas, began as a mission church whose earliest Masses were offered in the homes of local Catholic families. A brick church was built and dedicated in 1967 at 807 West Waterman Street, giving the growing mission a permanent home. The parish grew under the care of the Glenmary Home Missioners, the religious order founded in 1939 to establish the Catholic Church in small-town and rural America. Glenmary priests and lay missionaries gathered the Catholics of southeast Arkansas into St. Mark Parish in Monticello in 1975, and Holy Child in Dumas (along with St. Luke in Warren) became missions of St. Mark. In 2006, after more than thirty years of Glenmary service, the cluster was formally returned to the Diocese of Little Rock. Today Holy Child is administered by the pastor of St. Mark and shares Sacramental and pastoral life with the wider South Delta cluster of parishes.
- Brick church opened 1967
- Mission of St. Mark Parish, Monticello
- Returned to the Diocese of Little Rock in 2006
- Served by Glenmary Home Missioners for several decades
Mass and Service Schedule
The parish publishes its schedule through the St. Mark Catholic Church website (stmkcatholic.com). The current weekly Mass is Sunday at 11:30 AM (English), preceded by the Rosary at 11:00 AM. A Thursday evening Spanish Mass is offered at 7:00 PM with Adoration beginning at 6:00 PM. The Diocese of Little Rock's parish page also lists a bilingual Sunday Mass at 11:15 AM and a Spanish Thursday Mass at 7:00 PM; the parish site's English-only note reflects the most recent schedule update due to priest shortages.
- Sunday Mass — 11:30 AM (English)
- Sunday Rosary — 11:00 AM
- Thursday Adoration — 6:00 PM
- Thursday Spanish Mass — 7:00 PM
- Holy Day Masses — as announced
Sacramental Life and Devotions
Confessions are heard before Mass or by appointment at St. Mark Church in Monticello. Families preparing for Baptism, First Eucharist, Confirmation, or Marriage are asked to contact the parish office. The cluster also keeps the First Saturday Devotion at St. Mark's: 9:30 AM Confessions, 10:00 AM Rosary, 10:30 AM Mass.
- Confession before Mass or by appointment
- First Saturday Devotion at St. Mark (9:30 AM Confessions, 10:00 AM Rosary, 10:30 AM Mass)
- Sacramental preparation coordinated through the parish office (870-367-2848)
Religious Education (CCD)
Children's faith formation at Holy Child follows the school-year calendar. CCD classes meet at Holy Child in Dumas on Sundays at 9:30 AM during the school year, with additional Wednesday evening sessions offered at St. Mark Church in Monticello (6:30–7:30 PM). Families can contact the parish office for the current schedule and Sacramental-preparation registration.
- Sunday CCD — 9:30 AM at Holy Child, Dumas
- Wednesday CCD — 6:30–7:30 PM at St. Mark, Monticello
- Sacramental preparation through the parish office
Parish Staff
Holy Child is administered as part of the St. Mark Catholic Church cluster, which also includes St. Mary Church in McGehee. Pastoral and administrative staff serve all three communities.
- Fr. Daniel Wendel — Pastor (serves Holy Child, St. Mark, and St. Mary)
- Denise Adams — Secretary, St. Mark Church / Holy Child
- Office email: [email protected]
Glenmary Home Missioners and the South Delta Cluster
For decades the Catholics of Dumas and the surrounding Delta were served by the Glenmary Home Missioners, an order founded in 1939 to plant and sustain Catholic parishes in rural America not otherwise served by a diocese. Several Glenmary priests served the Monticello area; Fathers Dan Dorsey and Chet Artysiewicz each served as president of the Glenmary order. Father Dan Dorsey helped secure the original St. Mark Church and its associated educational facility, and Father Chet Artysiewicz was the driving force behind the fundraising and construction of the current St. Mark Church. Holy Child in Dumas was one of three Arkansas Glenmary missions transitioned to the Diocese of Little Rock; the parish and its missions became the responsibility of the diocese in 2006.
- Glenmary founded 1939
- Fr. Dan Dorsey — Glenmary president; secured the original St. Mark campus
- Fr. Chet Artysiewicz — Glenmary president; led construction of the current St. Mark Church
- Transition to Diocese of Little Rock in 2006
Contact and Visiting
Holy Child is administered from St. Mark Church in Monticello, which handles all phone calls, mail, and Sacramental coordination. Visitors and parishioners are welcome to attend Sunday Mass at 11:30 AM at 807 West Waterman Street in Dumas.
- Church address: 807 West Waterman St., Dumas, AR 71639
- Mailing address: 1016 N. Hyatt St., Monticello, AR 71655
- Phone: (870) 367-2848
- Email: [email protected]
- Web: stmkcatholic.com/holy-child-history
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Chet Artysiewicz, O.S.F.S.
Glenmary-era priest who was the driving force behind the fundraising and construction of the current St. Mark Church in Monticello; served as the last Glenmary pastor before the parish was returned to the Diocese of Little Rock in 2006.
- Fr. Erik Pohlmeier2001–2005
Served as pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Lake Village together with St. Mary mission in McGehee and Holy Child of Jesus in Dumas; later named Bishop of St. Augustine.