A BRIEF HISTORY OF ST. MARK PARISH

Although Catholicism was introduced to Arkansas hundreds of years ago, the Catholic Church in Drew County is relatively recent-Monticello did not have its first resident priest until July of 1983, and St. Mark was not established as a parish until August 24, 1983.  Originally founded by the Glenmary Missionary order, during the earliest years of St Mark Parish, the first "church" was a remodeled building on West Oakland Street.  The present location on North Hyatt opened in 1986, with the original church (now the parish hall) completed that year, and education wing constructed in 1996-97 to serve the growing parish.  By the early 2000s, St. Mark had grown sufficiently to prompt church leaders and parishioners to raise the funds to build a new, larger church building just to the north.  Although Glenmary had turned St. Mark over to the Diocese of Little Rock by 2006, they were instrumental in helping fund the larger church building.  This new church was dedicated in 2008 by Bishop Anthony Taylor.  Today, St. Mark serves about 120 families in southeastern Arkansas.