Deacon John Froning at Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church has a new Deacon.  John Froning becomes the fifth Deacon at Sacred Heart joining the four current Deacons Bernie Bauer, Bill Friedman, Wally Gieringer and Larry Lipsmeyer.

John was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest of four children.  He is only a few minutes younger than his twin “older” sister.  After graduating from St. Louis University, John pursued a career in the oil and natural gas industry.  His various assignments included time living in London, England and Melbourne, Australia as well as various U.S. locations.  Retiring in 2000, John did some consulting work but had a long time interest in the Permanent Diaconate Program which he had not been able to pursue due to his international travels.  He enrolled in the University of St. Thomas School of Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston, Texas, ultimately receiving a Master of Divinity Degree in 2006.  In 2002 he also was accepted into the formation program for the Permanent Diaconate and was ordained in 2007.  While studying and later serving in the Galveston – Houston Diocese, John focused on hospital ministry and became the first Catholic Staff Chaplin appointed to serve at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital.

John and his wife Nancy have four children and eight grandchildren with number nine due in April.  The children live across the country in Mississippi, Illinois, Michigan and Texas.  In 2009 they made the decision to relocate to Hot Springs Village where Nancy’s parents had built a home over 25 years ago.  They were fortunate to purchase the lot on Lake Cortez next to the parent’s home and built a home that they moved into in June 2010.  John and Nancy enjoy kayaking on the lake.  John is looking forward to trying his fortunes at golf in the spring while Nancy is hoping to get back into playing tennis.

When the decision to relocate was made John requested permission to transfer as a Deacon from Texas to Arkansas.  In October 2010 Bishop Taylor accepted the transfer and assigned John to Sacred Heart of Jesus church.  Since beginning his ministry at Sacred Heart John has been assisting with the RCIA Program as well as the Lay Lector Program.  He is looking forward to becoming involved in hospital ministry and also providing services to those in nursing homes.  The parishioners of Sacred Heart have given John a warm welcome and are grateful recipients of the services of their newest Deacon.