About Sts. Cyril and Methodius · Slovak, Arkansas
Sts. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church is a small, heritage-rich parish serving the unincorporated community of Slovak in Prairie County, Arkansas. Founded by Slovak immigrants who settled the Grand Prairie in 1894, it is the spiritual heart of the only community in the United States named after the European country of Slovakia. The parish is part of the Diocese of Little Rock's South Delta Deanery and is currently attended from St. Rose of Lima Church in Carlisle, sharing priests with neighboring Catholic missions.
- Established
- 1900 (first church); current church built 1914
- Patron
- Sts. Cyril and Methodius (Apostles of the Slavs, patron saints of Slovakia)
- Rector
- Fr. Babu Rao Battula
- Diocese
- Diocese of Little Rock (South Delta Deanery)
Why belong here
Sts. Cyril and Methodius is more than a Sunday obligation — it is the religious and social hub of a community that has, against the odds, kept its Slovak-American identity intact for more than 130 years. Parishioners worship in an intimate rural setting, share coffee-and-donut fellowship after Mass, and tend Slovak folk traditions from the Heritage Day festivities to folk music on the fujara. Visitors and travelers passing through the Grand Prairie are warmly welcomed at Sunday Mass.
Mass times at Sts. Cyril and Methodius
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Thursday 5:00 p.m.
Adoration times
- Thursday 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
History of Sts. Cyril and Methodius and the Community of Slovak
The parish is inseparable from the story of Slovak, Arkansas — an unincorporated Prairie County community founded in 1894 by the Slovak Colonization Company of Pittsburgh under Peter V. Rovnianek. Twenty-five families arrived that fall, traveling by rail to DeValls Bluff and then by wagon to their new 160-acre township. With letters of support sent to Bishop Edward Fitzgerald by 1895, the settlers built their first church in 1900. The current church, dedicated to Sts. Cyril and Methodius — patrons of Slovakia and co-patrons of Europe — was completed in 1914 and has gathered generations of Slovak-American farm families ever since.
- 1894 — Slovak Colonization Company organized in Pittsburgh; ~3,000 acres purchased for settlement
- 1894 — Twenty-five founding families arrive
- 1895 — Letters to Bishop Edward Fitzgerald requesting a resident priest
- 1900 — First church built
- 1914 — Present church built
The Building and Its Slovak Identity
Sts. Cyril and Methodius is described as a visual landmark of the Grand Prairie. Its stained-glass windows incorporate the Slovak coat of arms, and a statue of Saint Isidore, the patron saint of farmers, stands outside — a quiet tribute to the immigrant farming families who built and sustained the parish.
- Stained-glass windows featuring the Slovak coat of arms / crest
- Outdoor statue of Saint Isidore (patron of farmers)
Clergy and Staff
The parish is currently served by clergy assigned from St. Rose of Lima Church in Carlisle, within the Diocese of Little Rock's South Delta Deanery. A team of volunteer staff and parish office personnel keep the church running.
- Pastor: Fr. Babu Rao Battula
- Associate Pastor: Fr. Jayaraju Sure
- Secretaries: Susan Lisko, Melissa Marks, Virginia Lisko, Sherry Hinze
- Bookkeeper: Amy Berg
- Choir Director: Sue Clayton
- Coordinator/Director of Religious Education: Renea Sabbatini
Parish Ministries and Religious Education
A small but dedicated team shepherds faith formation and liturgical music for the community.
- Religious Education program (C/DRE: Renea Sabbatini)
- Parish Choir (Director: Sue Clayton)
- Monthly coffee-and-donut fellowship
Slovak Heritage Day and Cultural Life
Each year on February 14 — the feast of the parish's patron saints — Sts. Cyril and Methodius hosts Slovak Heritage Day, the community's signature cultural event. Beginning in 2015 after a genealogy trip to ancestral villages in Slovakia, Heritage Day draws nearly 200 people who share family photos, heirlooms, kraslice (decorated Easter eggs), and traditional foods like kolaches, bobalky, holubky, and sauerkraut soup. The day features polka music, dancing, performances on the fujara (a long Slovak wooden flute), and oral histories that link the Arkansas congregation back to the coal-country parishes of Pennsylvania and the villages of the old country.
- Heritage Day held annually on the feast day (Feb. 14)
- Salt, bread, and slivovitz welcome for visitors
- Displays of family memorabilia, embroidered textiles, woodcarvings, folk art on glass
- Subject of scholarly research and a documentary in production