About St. Jude Thaddeus · Waldron, Arkansas
St. Jude Thaddeus Church is a small Catholic parish in Waldron, Arkansas (Scott County), part of the Diocese of Little Rock's West River Valley Deanery. Because it is a mission-sized community, the parish is attended from Our Lady of the Assumption Church in nearby Booneville, sharing pastoral care with that parish. St. Jude Thaddeus serves a bilingual community, offering Sunday Mass in both English and Spanish, and provides Eucharistic Adoration before each Mass along with a weekly Wednesday and weekday First-Friday schedule. The parish is pastored by Fr. Les Farley and supported by a parish contact (Kathryn Chicoine) and a Director of Religious Education (Betsy Cardenas).
- Patron
- St. Jude Thaddeus (Apostle)
- Rector
- Fr. Les Farley
- Diocese
- Diocese of Little Rock
Why belong here
St. Jude Thaddeus offers a warm, bilingual Catholic home in rural western Arkansas, with Sunday Mass in both English and Spanish and Eucharistic Adoration before each liturgy. The parish is small enough to know one another but connected to the wider Diocese of Little Rock, with faith formation for children and adults through its DRE, Betsy Cardenas. Confession is available by appointment, the rosary is prayed before Sunday Masses, and the parish is cared for from nearby Our Lady of the Assumption in Booneville, giving members access to broader deanery resources.
Mass times at St. Jude Thaddeus
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment only
Adoration times
- Sunday: 11:00–11:30 a.m. (before English Mass)
- Sunday: 1:00–1:30 p.m. (before Spanish Mass)
- Wednesday: 8:30–9:00 a.m.
- Friday (First Friday): 9:30–10:00 a.m.
Parish Identity & Diocese
St. Jude Thaddeus Church is a parish of the Diocese of Little Rock, situated in Waldron, the county seat of Scott County, Arkansas. It belongs to the West River Valley Deanery, one of the regional deaneries used by the diocese to organize parishes in western Arkansas. As a small mission-style parish, it is attended from Our Lady of the Assumption Church in nearby Booneville, which means it shares pastoral staff and certain resources with that parish.
- Diocese: Diocese of Little Rock
- Deanery: West River Valley Deanery
- County: Scott County, Arkansas
- Attended from: Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Booneville
Pastor & Parish Staff
The parish is served by Fr. Les Farley as pastor. Day-to-day parish communication is handled by parish contact Kathryn Chicoine, and religious education for children is coordinated by the Director of Religious Education (DRE), Betsy Cardenas. Bulletin submissions can be sent to a dedicated email address maintained by the parish.
- Pastor: Fr. Les Farley
- Parish Contact: Kathryn Chicoine ([email protected])
- Director of Religious Education: Betsy Cardenas ([email protected])
- Bulletin email: [email protected]
Devotions
The rosary is a regular devotion at St. Jude Thaddeus, prayed together as a community about twenty minutes before each Sunday Mass. This makes the half-hour before liturgy a natural time for prayer and fellowship for both English- and Spanish-speaking parishioners.
- Rosary: 20 minutes before each Sunday Mass
Faith Formation & Religious Education
Religious education for the parish's children and youth is coordinated by Director of Religious Education Betsy Cardenas. As a bilingual parish, faith formation ministries are organized to serve both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking families.
- Director of Religious Education: Betsy Cardenas ([email protected])
Bilingual Community
One of the distinctive marks of St. Jude Thaddeus is its bilingual liturgical life. Each Sunday the parish celebrates Mass twice — first in English at 11:30 a.m. and then in Spanish at 1:30 p.m. — with adoration scheduled before each liturgy. This reflects the makeup of the local Catholic community in Waldron and the surrounding Scott County area.
- Sunday English Mass: 11:30 a.m.
- Sunday Spanish Mass: 1:30 p.m.
Visit, Contact & Location
The parish's physical address is 638 St. Jude Drive, Waldron, AR 72958, with a mailing address of P.O. Box 1688, Waldron, AR 72958. Parishioners and visitors can reach the office at (479) 966-5376 or by email at [email protected]. A map and driving directions are available through the Diocese of Little Rock parish page.
- Physical address: 638 St. Jude Drive, Waldron, AR 72958
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 1688, Waldron, AR 72958
- Phone: (479) 966-5376
- Email: [email protected]
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Ravi Gudipalli
Native of India; served as pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption in Booneville and St. Jude Thaddeus in Waldron before being reassigned in 2019 (per Arkansas Catholic, May 2025).