About St. John the Baptist · Brinkley, Arkansas
St. John the Baptist is a historic Catholic parish in Brinkley, Arkansas (Monroe County), founded in 1875 and serving the faithful of the Arkansas Delta as part of the Diocese of Little Rock's North Delta Deanery. The parish is administered from St. Mary Church in Helena by Fathers of the Holy Spirit (CSSp), with Sunday Mass at 9 a.m. and weekday Masses on Wednesdays and Fridays at 5 p.m. The parish's brick-veneer Classical Revival church building — a converted 1875 Gothic Revival frame structure redesigned in 1929 by Memphis architect Harry J. Kramer — was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 and is the best surviving example of that style in Brinkley.
- Established
- 1875
- Patron
- St. John the Baptist
- Rector
- Fr. James Ibeh, CSSp (Parish Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Little Rock (North Delta Deanery); administered from St. Mary Church, Helena
Why belong here
St. John the Baptist is a small but historically rich parish that has served Brinkley and surrounding Monroe County communities for 150 years — the only Catholic church for miles, rooted in the railroad-immigrant heritage of the Arkansas Delta. The current Spiritan (CSSp) clergy offer three Masses each week (Sunday 9 a.m., Wednesday and Friday 5 p.m.) with confessions before Friday Mass, and Lori Farwick keeps the parish office open Tuesday through Friday. For Catholics in the area who want a faithful Sunday Mass, a sacramental life kept close to home, and a parish whose story is woven into Brinkley's own — including its role after the devastating 1909 tornado — St. John the Baptist is the Delta's enduring spiritual home.
Mass times at St. John the Baptist
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Friday 4:30 p.m.
Parish Identity & Diocese
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church is a parish of the Diocese of Little Rock, one of six or so Catholic parishes and missions that make up the North Delta Deanery in eastern Arkansas. It is currently administered from St. Mary Church in Helena by Spiritan (CSSp) priests. The parish identity is rooted in the Delta railroad-immigrant heritage of Monroe County, where the town of Brinkley itself was laid out in the winter of 1869–70 along the Little Rock and Memphis Railroad line. The church stands today at the southwest corner of the junction of New Orleans Street and West Ash Street, in a building that has served the parish continuously since 1875, albeit in two architectural styles.
Founding (1875)
In 1875, Bishop Fitzgerald of the Diocese of Little Rock appointed Father D. A. Quinn to minister to Catholics along the Little Rock and Memphis Railroad, riding a circuit that took in Hopefield, Brinkley, and DeValls Bluff. Discovering that about a dozen Catholic families had settled in the new railroad town of Brinkley, Quinn obtained the bishop's permission and constructed a wood-frame church, naming it in honor of St. John the Baptist. Father Quinn continued to serve congregations in four counties from this base until 1878.
- Founded 1875 by Rev. D. A. Quinn
- Patron: St. John the Baptist (feast day June 24)
- Served as a mission under visiting priests until the first resident pastor arrived
First Resident Pastor & Early Years
For nearly a decade after Father Quinn moved on, the Brinkley mission was cared for by priests based elsewhere. The parish's first resident pastor, the Reverend M. McGill, arrived in 1886 and remained until 1892, formalizing Catholic life in the town. A parochial school was established shortly after the turn of the century; by 1904 Father Jenne's report to the bishop showed 27 students enrolled for the school year. The sisters who taught at the school would play an unexpected role in 1909.
- Rev. M. McGill — first resident pastor (1886–1892)
- Parochial school established c. 1900–1904
- 27 students enrolled, 1904
The 1909 Tornado
On March 8, 1909, a tornado widely called the most destructive in Arkansas history struck Brinkley within minutes, destroying all but six or eight of the town's approximately 1,500 homes, killing sixty people, and injuring more than six hundred. Governor Donaghey placed the town under martial law; state guard units from Helena and McCrory were called in to patrol the streets. St. John the Baptist was the only church left standing. Parishioners opened its doors to the wounded and the dead, and the religious sisters who ran the parish school were asked by the bishop to nurse the sick and injured; the school itself was suspended for a time.
- Only church in Brinkley to survive the March 8, 1909 tornado
- Used as an emergency hospital and morgue
- Religious sisters attended to the wounded; school suspended
The 1928–29 Renovation
Under Father Charles McCoy, a building committee of Frank Andrews, James Gunn, and Frank Federer engaged Memphis, Tennessee architect Harry J. Kramer to redesign the interior of the 1875 church and reface it in brick veneer in the fashionable new Classical Revival style. The Gothic Revival pointed-arch louvers in the belfry were replaced with rectangular ones decorated with a carved simulated keystone; a dentil course was added beneath the bellcast hipped roof; the frame walls were brick-veneered on a new continuous cast-concrete foundation; and the floor plan was extended east and west to accommodate a larger altar and irregularly placed anterooms. The redesigned interior survives largely unaltered — and the project still defines the parish's appearance today.
- Architect: Harry J. Kramer of Memphis, Tennessee
- Building committee: Frank Andrews, James Gunn, Frank Federer
- Renovation overseen by Father Charles McCoy
- Resulted in the current Classical Revival appearance
National Register Listing (1992)
On October 2, 1992, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP #92001283) under Criterion C, recognized for the local significance of its architecture as the best example of Classical Revival styling among churches in Brinkley. The interior is described as remarkably unaltered since 1929, despite a later collapse of the plaster ceiling that required replacement of light fixtures and pews.
- NRHP reference No. 92001283
- Listed October 2, 1992
- Criterion C — Architecture
Clergy, Staff & Parish Office
St. John the Baptist is administered from St. Mary Church in Helena by the Spiritans (Congregation of the Holy Spirit — CSSp). Day-to-day parish life is coordinated through the parish office in Brinkley by a small team of lay staff and the parish's director of religious education. Office hours are Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m.
- Parish Administrator: Fr. James Ibeh, CSSp
- Associate Pastor: Fr. Peter Ocholi Okolo, CSSp
- Secretary: Lori Farwick — [email protected], (870) 752-0375
- C/DRE (Coordinator/Director of Religious Education): Carl Frein — (870) 734-3392
- Calvary Cemetery: Kathy Frein — (870) 734-6052
- Parish Office: (870) 734-1202
- Office Hours: Tuesday–Friday, noon–4 p.m.
- Email: [email protected]
Worship Schedule & Sacraments
The parish keeps a small but steady weekly schedule, with one Sunday Mass, two weekday Masses, and Friday confession half an hour before Mass. Holy Day Masses are celebrated as announced.
- Sunday Mass — 9:00 a.m.
- Wednesday Mass — 5:00 p.m.
- Friday Mass — 5:00 p.m.
- Holy Day Masses — As announced
- Confessions — Friday 4:30 p.m.
Religious Education & Cemetery
Religious education for children of the parish is coordinated by Carl Frein, the parish's C/DRE (Coordinator/Director of Religious Education). The parish also maintains Calvary Cemetery, with Kathy Frein serving as the parish contact for burial arrangements and grounds matters.
- Religious Education / CCD coordinated by Carl Frein, C/DRE — (870) 734-3392
- Calvary Cemetery contact: Kathy Frein — (870) 734-6052
Visiting & Contact Information
Visitors and parishioners can reach the parish by phone, email, or in person during office hours. The parish is best located using the address 203 W. Ash St., at the southwest corner of the junction of New Orleans Street and W. Ash Street in Brinkley (Monroe County). Because Brinkley is a rural Delta community, travelers should plan to arrive by car; the parish office is the principal point of contact for sacramental arrangements, certificates, and inquiries from across the wider four-county area once served by Father Quinn.
- Address: 203 W. Ash St., Brinkley, AR 72021
- Parish phone: (870) 734-1202
- Email: [email protected]
- Secretary email: [email protected]
- Office Hours: Tuesday–Friday, noon–4 p.m.
- Website: https://www.dolr.org/parishes/st-john-baptist-church-brinkley
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. D. A. Quinn1875–1878
Built the original wood-frame church; served congregations in four counties until 1878
- Rev. M. McGill1886–1892
First resident pastor of the Brinkley church
- Father Jenne
Reported 27 students enrolled at the parochial school in a 1904 report to the bishop
- Father Charles McCoy
Pastored during the 1928–29 Classical Revival renovation; building committee of Frank Andrews, James Gunn and Frank Federer engaged architect Harry J. Kramer