About St. Patrick · North Little Rock, Arkansas
St. Patrick Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic parish at 211 W. 19th Street in North Little Rock (formerly Argenta), Arkansas, in the Diocese of Little Rock. Founded in 1895 to serve the European immigrant railroad workers of Argenta, the parish built a school the same year that was originally staffed by the Sisters of Mercy. Today it is a bilingual English-and-Vietnamese community served by Father Jack Vu and the Daughters of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary (FMSR) from their Our Lady of Fatima convent on Maple Street. The parish continues to celebrate Mass in both English and Vietnamese and operates the St. Patrick campus (grades 6–8) of the merged North Little Rock Catholic Academy.
- Established
- 1895
- Patron
- St. Patrick
- Rector
- Fr. Jack Vu
- Diocese
- Diocese of Little Rock (Central Deanery)
Why belong here
St. Patrick offers a rare combination in central Arkansas: a historic inner-city parish (since 1895) with a genuinely bilingual, multicultural worship life—Mass is celebrated in English on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, and in Vietnamese on Sunday at 10 a.m. A community of Vietnamese Daughters of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary lives on site at the Our Lady of Fatima convent and runs religious education and outreach, giving the parish the warmth of a religious order at its core. Daily Mass, weekday Eucharistic Adoration, regular Confession before every Mass, and active participation in the North Little Rock Catholic Academy make it a parish where families can pray, send their children to Catholic school, and find a sense of belonging in the old Argenta neighborhood.
Mass times at St. Patrick
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:15 p.m.
- Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 7:00–7:45 a.m.
- By appointment
Adoration times
- Sunday 7:00–7:45 a.m.
- Monday 7:00–7:45 a.m.
- Wednesday 7:00–7:45 a.m.
- Thursday 7:00–7:45 a.m.
- Friday 7:00–7:45 a.m.
About St. Patrick Catholic Church
St. Patrick is a Roman Catholic parish in the Diocese of Little Rock, located at 211 W. 19th Street in the historic Argenta district of North Little Rock, Arkansas. The parish's mission statement, as published on its website, is that 'St. Patrick's Church was built to the honor and glory of God wherein His people may worship Him.' Today it is a bilingual community serving both longtime English-speaking parishioners and a thriving Vietnamese Catholic community.
Parish History
The parish was founded in 1895 in Argenta (then an independent railroad town, now part of North Little Rock), at the height of European immigration to the area. The Sisters of Mercy arrived that same year to staff the parish school. St. Patrick was listed in the Diocese of Little Rock's 1911 census of parishes as 'St. Patrick (Argenta).' After the Mercy sisters retired to Barling in 2002, the parish went 15 years without a resident religious order before Father Jack Vu invited the Daughters of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary from New Orleans to take up residence in 2017.
- 1895 — Parish and school founded; Sisters of Mercy arrive to teach.
- 1911 — Listed as 'St. Patrick (Argenta)' in the diocesan directory.
- 2002 — Sisters of Mercy move to their retirement home in Barling.
- 2007 — St. Patrick School merges with St. Mary School to form North Little Rock Catholic Academy.
- 2017 — Daughters of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary (FMSR) arrive to minister.
Clergy and Staff
St. Patrick is served by an inter-cultural team of secular clergy, religious sisters, and lay staff. The pastor is Father Jack Vu, who simultaneously serves as rector of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in downtown Little Rock. The Daughters of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary provide secretarial, faith-formation, and pastoral ministry on site.
- Fr. Jack Vu — Pastor
- Sr. M. Cecilia Thuy Thanh Le, FMSR — Secretary
- Sr. Mary Rose Tin Vu, FMSR — Coordinator of Religious Education
- Sr. Imelda, FMSR — Superior
- Sr. Maria Theresa Thien-Y Tran, FMSR
- Betty Peterson — Music Director
- Jane Eason — Bookkeeper
Religious Education and Faith Formation
Faith formation at St. Patrick is coordinated by Sr. Mary Rose Tin Vu, FMSR, who serves as the parish Coordinator of Religious Education and works alongside the other Daughters of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. The program serves both English-speaking families and the Vietnamese community, and is part of the parish's wider effort to pass on Catholic life to children and adults.
- Coordinator of Religious Education: Sr. Mary Rose Tin Vu, FMSR
- Vietnamese-language catechesis for ~50 Vietnamese families
- Adult and children's faith formation
The Vietnamese Community
Roughly 50 Vietnamese families worship at St. Patrick, attending the Sunday 10:00 a.m. Vietnamese Mass and gathering throughout the week for catechesis, fellowship, and devotions led by the FMSR sisters. As Sr. Mary Rose explained to the Arkansas Catholic, the older Vietnamese faithful especially value having a parish where they can worship in their own language and build community beyond Sunday Mass.
- Sunday 10:00 a.m. Vietnamese Mass
- Our Lady of Fatima Convent — 1921 Maple St., North Little Rock, AR 72114
- Religious-order residence since 2017 (Daughters of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary)
Parish School — North Little Rock Catholic Academy
The former St. Patrick School is today the junior-high campus of the North Little Rock Catholic Academy (NLRCA), a Pre-K through 8th-grade regional Catholic school formed in 2007 by the merger of St. Patrick School (founded 1895) and St. Mary School (founded 1896). The merger was approved by diocesan administrator Msgr. J. Gaston Hebert and was the first Catholic-school consolidation of its kind in the state of Arkansas. The St. Patrick campus currently houses grades 6–8, while the former St. Mary campus houses pre-K through 5.
- St. Patrick School originally founded 1895 by the Sisters of Mercy
- Enrollment grew then declined from 252 students (1991) to ~140 (2007)
- Merged in 2007 with St. Mary School to form North Little Rock Catholic Academy
- St. Patrick campus now serves grades 6–8
- St. Mary (west) campus serves pre-K through 5
Music Ministry
Liturgical music at St. Patrick is directed by Betty Peterson, who serves as Music Director. The parish supports congregational singing at its weekend and Vietnamese Masses.
Contact and Visiting Information
Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office by phone, email, or in person. Office hours run Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The FMSR sisters are also reachable through the convent address on Maple Street.
- Address: 211 W. 19th Street, North Little Rock, AR 72114
- Phone: (501) 758-1155
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://saintpatricknlr.com
- Fatima Convent: 1921 Maple St., North Little Rock, AR 72114
- Office Hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- Directions: I-30 Exit 15 → right on Main Street → left on 19th Street
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Warren Harveyby 2007
Served as parish pastor at the time of the 2007 St. Patrick / St. Mary school merger into North Little Rock Catholic Academy.
- Fr. Jack Vu2017–present
Invited the Daughters of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary (FMSR) from New Orleans to St. Patrick in 2017; serves concurrently as pastor of St. Patrick and rector of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock.