About St. Andrew · Marianna, Arkansas
St. Andrew Church is a small Catholic mission parish in Marianna, the county seat of Lee County in the Arkansas Delta. It is part of the Diocese of Little Rock's North Delta Deanery and is listed by the diocese as a 'church' (mission status) that is 'attended from' St. Mary Church in Helena, meaning it is served by the clergy of that nearby parish rather than having a resident priest. The mission is staffed by Spiritan (Holy Ghost Fathers / CSSp) priests and offers Saturday Vigil Mass and confessions, with Holy Day Masses announced as they occur. Its modest presence reflects the historically small Catholic population of the Mississippi Delta region of eastern Arkansas.
- Patron
- St. Andrew (the Apostle)
- Rector
- Fr. Honest Munishi, CSSp (Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Little Rock
Why belong here
St. Andrew is a welcoming Catholic mission in the heart of the Arkansas Delta, offering a Saturday Vigil Mass and the sacrament of Reconciliation in a small, tight-knit community of faith. It is supported by the Spiritan Fathers (Congregation of the Holy Ghost), a missionary order with a long tradition of serving the poor, and is closely tied to St. Mary Church in Helena for ongoing sacramental life and pastoral care. For Catholics in Lee County, it is a convenient local place to worship close to home, and visitors passing through the Delta are warmly received.
Mass times at St. Andrew
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 5:00–5:15 p.m.
- By appointment
About St. Andrew Church, Marianna
St. Andrew Church is a small Catholic mission parish in Marianna, Arkansas, in the heart of the Mississippi Delta region. The parish is classified by the Diocese of Little Rock as a mission church that is 'attended from' St. Mary Church in nearby Helena, which means the sacramental life of the parish is sustained by the priests of St. Mary rather than by a resident pastor. The church sits at 54 W. Tennessee Street and serves Catholic families throughout Lee County, one of the most economically challenged counties in eastern Arkansas. It belongs to the North Delta Deanery of the diocese.
- Mission church in Marianna, Lee County, Arkansas
- Attended from St. Mary Church, Helena
- Member of the North Delta Deanery, Diocese of Little Rock
Catholic History of the Arkansas Delta
Catholicism arrived in what is now Arkansas with Spanish explorers and French Jesuit missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries — the first Christian ceremony on Arkansas soil took place in 1541 near present-day Helena-West Helena, in the same Delta region where St. Andrew and St. Mary parishes now stand. The Diocese of Little Rock was established in 1843, and Marianna, founded as Walnut Ridge in 1848 and renamed four years later, grew up as an agricultural and cotton-trading town on the L'Anguille River. Because the great European Catholic immigration waves largely bypassed the rural South, eastern Arkansas has long been a missionary frontier. In 2010, the Spiritans (Congregation of the Holy Ghost / CSSp) — already present in Arkansas since 1878 — redirected their U.S. mission to the Delta, taking responsibility for parishes in Forrest City, Marianna, Brinkley, and Helena-West Helena at the invitation of Bishop Anthony Taylor.
- First Catholic ceremony in Arkansas: 1541 near present-day Helena-West Helena
- Diocese of Little Rock established 1843
- Spiritans (CSSp) active in Arkansas since 1878
- In 2010, Spiritans took on Delta parishes including Marianna
Spiritans in the Delta (CSSp)
The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans / CSSp) is an international missionary religious order founded in 1703 in France with a charism to evangelize the poor. They first came to Arkansas in 1878 when Father Joseph Strub founded St. Joseph Colony in the Arkansas River Valley to settle German-speaking Catholic immigrants. After more than a century of service in Conway, the order in 2010 withdrew from that parish and accepted responsibility for several Delta-area parishes — including St. Andrew in Marianna and St. Mary in Helena — to better live out their founding mission among the economically poor and African-American communities of eastern Arkansas. The order's stated purpose in taking on these parishes was 'to develop the Delta' and 'bring the good news' to a region marked by poverty.
- Spiritans founded in 1703 with a mission to the poor
- First Arkansas presence: 1878, St. Joseph Colony
- Reassigned to Delta parishes in 2010
- Strong tradition of ministry among African-American Catholics
Clergy & Parish Staff
Because St. Andrew is a mission church attended from Helena, the priests of St. Mary Church in Helena provide pastoral care. The Diocese of Little Rock parish directory lists a Spiritan priest as pastor of St. Andrew and another as associate pastor. Local lay staff handle the parish's bookkeeping and finances.
- Administrator / Pastor: Fr. Honest Munishi, CSSp
- Associate Pastor: Fr. Peter Ocholi Okolo, CSSp
- Also referenced as pastor: Fr. James Ibeh, CSSp
- Bookkeeper: Pam Johnson — (870) 295-6774
- Finance: Terrye Northcutt — (870) 295-9999
Visit, Contact & Location
St. Andrew Church is on West Tennessee Street in Marianna, the county seat of Lee County. Parish correspondence and phone calls are handled through St. Mary Church in Helena. The mailing address is P.O. Box 724, Marianna, AR 72360.
- Street address: 54 W. Tennessee St., Marianna, AR 72360
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 724, Marianna, AR 72360
- Phone: (870) 338-6990 (Helena parish office)
- Deanery: North Delta Deanery, Diocese of Little Rock