About St. Cecilia · Newport, Arkansas
St. Cecilia Church is a small mission parish of the Diocese of Little Rock located in Newport, Arkansas, in Jackson County. Founded in 1935 (descended from an 1896 Church of St. John the Evangelist), the parish is attended from St. Mary Church in Batesville and currently serves a bilingual (English/Spanish) Catholic community of roughly 50 households. The parish is staffed by Fr. Jon Miskin, who serves as pastor of both St. Mary in Batesville and St. Cecilia, along with a small team of dedicated lay volunteers who keep the parish running.
- Established
- 1935
- Patron
- St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr
- Rector
- Fr. Jon Miskin
- Diocese
- Diocese of Little Rock (North Delta Deanery, Jackson County)
Why belong here
St. Cecilia offers the gift of a Sunday Mass right in Newport — bilingual (English and Spanish) at 8:30 a.m. — so that Catholics in Jackson County who cannot easily travel to Batesville or beyond can still receive the Eucharist and the sacraments weekly. The parish is small (about 50 households) and runs entirely on the talents of its volunteer parishioners, who handle maintenance, gardening, faith formation, and liturgical roles; the result is the kind of close, family-like community where everyone knows each other's names, parents serve alongside their children, and the elderly are cared for. It is a mission where every gift of time and talent visibly keeps the parish alive.
Mass times at St. Cecilia
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 30 minutes before weekend (Sunday) Mass
Adoration times
- Wednesday 5:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Parish Overview
St. Cecilia Church is a small mission parish of the Diocese of Little Rock serving Catholics in Newport, Arkansas, and the wider Jackson County area. With roughly 50 households, it is one of the smaller Catholic communities in the diocese and depends heavily on volunteer ministry. Because of its size, the parish is attended from St. Mary Church in nearby Batesville; the same pastor ministers to both communities.
- Type: Mission (attended from St. Mary, Batesville)
- County: Jackson County
- Deanery: North Delta Deanery, Diocese of Little Rock
- Approximate size: 50 households
- Mass offered bilingually (English/Spanish)
History of the Parish
Catholic presence in Newport stretches back to 1896, when the wooden Church of St. John the Evangelist was built on land donated by Mr. Hurley, with C.J. Saenger contributing $500 of the $1,000 raised. After that building burned in the Newport fire of 1926, parishioners worshipped in the Schratz Laundry until the native-stone Church of St. Cecilia was dedicated in 1935.
- 1896 – Church of St. John the Evangelist built in Newport
- 1926 – Original wooden church destroyed by fire; Mass held in the Schratz Laundry
- 1935 – Native-stone Church of St. Cecilia and rectory dedicated
- 1952 – Stone church gutted by fire (roof and interior destroyed); tabernacle and Blessed Sacrament saved by parishioners
- 1953 – Stone church rebuilt
- 1960 – 40-foot bell tower added in memory of Edward Baum
- 1994 – Parish relocates to current brick church at 2475 Galeria Dr.; old stone church becomes a daycare
Architecture & Buildings
The 1994 brick church is the current home of the parish, but it is built around two sacred heirlooms from the earlier stone church: the round stained-glass window of St. Cecilia (in memory of C.J. Saenger) and the 40-foot bell tower (in memory of Edward Baum), which still tolls every 15 minutes. The 1935 stone church itself still stands and now operates as a community daycare.
- 1994 brick church at 2475 Galeria Dr.
- Original round stained-glass window of St. Cecilia (memorial to C.J. Saenger)
- 40-foot bell tower (1960, memorial to Edward Baum); tolls ~every 15 minutes
- 1935 native-stone church preserved nearby as a daycare center
Clergy & Staff
St. Cecilia is led by Fr. Jon Miskin, who also pastors St. Mary Church in Batesville. Day-to-day parish operations are carried out by a small, dedicated lay team, with Sharon Robinson serving as secretary and Coordinator of Religious Education (C-DRE) and Lynn Nicolson as business assistant.
- Pastor: Fr. Jon Miskin (ordained May 25, 2019; also pastor of St. Mary, Batesville; chaplain for Lyon College; prison ministry in Newport; fluent in Spanish)
- Secretary / C-DRE: Sharon Robinson ([email protected])
- Business Assistant: Lynn Nicolson
- Parish Council: includes Jerry Saracini, Lynn Nicolson, Sharon Robinson
- Longtime organist: Mary Balch (25+ years)
- Liturgical and maintenance volunteers: David Robinson (built back altar and tabernacle cover) and many others
Ministries & Parish Life
Every ministry at St. Cecilia exists because parishioners step up: 'Everybody brings their own talents to the table and we make it work,' as longtime member Sharon Robinson has put it. Beyond liturgical roles, the parish reaches out to those who cannot easily come to church — the elderly, the sick, the incarcerated — and joins with local partners to serve the wider community.
- Religious education for children and adults
- Lectors and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
- Parish Council
- Prison ministry (provided by pastor Fr. Jon Miskin)
- Visits to the elderly and homebound
- Community health-clinic partnership outreach
- Parish maintenance, gardening, decorating, and the annual cleanup day with fish-fry fellowship
Sacraments
The parish celebrates Sunday and weekday Mass, hears Confessions before Sunday Mass, and offers a weekly period of Eucharistic Adoration. Because St. Cecilia is a mission of St. Mary in Batesville, baptism, marriage preparation, and other sacramental matters are typically coordinated through the parish office and the pastor.
- Eucharist — Sunday 8:30 a.m. (bilingual), Thursday 5:30 p.m.
- Penance (Confession) — 30 minutes before Sunday Mass
- Eucharistic Adoration — Wednesdays 5:00 – 5:30 p.m.
- Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick — through the parish office / St. Mary, Batesville
Contact & Visiting
The parish office can be reached at the Newport phone line or through the St. Mary, Batesville office. Visitors are warmly welcomed — the small size of the parish means newcomers are quickly known by name.
- Address: 2475 Galeria Dr., Newport, AR 72112
- Parish phone: (870) 523-6542
- Batesville office: (870) 793-7717
- Secretary email: [email protected]
- Pastor email: [email protected]
- Official page: http://www.dolr.org/parishes/st-cecilia-church-newport
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Phillip Reavescirca 2010
Served as pastor of St. Mary, Batesville while also ministering to mission parish St. Cecilia in Newport (per Arkansas Catholic, Dec 2010).
- Fr. Jon Miskin2019–present
Ordained May 25, 2019; current pastor of both St. Mary (Batesville) and St. Cecilia (Newport); also chaplain for Lyon College campus ministry and provides prison ministry in Newport. Fluent in Spanish.