 catholic churches catholic churches ray fri 11182011 1114 timeline   1837 the diocese of natchez was established by the roman catholic church on july 28 1837  the mississippi register august 3 1962  1840 bishop john mary joseph chanche  17951852  1843 on august 15 1843 manette fayard leader 17911853 widow of thomas leader for 200 sold bishop of natchez john joseph chanche a lot of 12 acre on pass christian road howard avenue the tract was 150 feet deep with louis a caillavet to the west and augustine fayard to the east harrison co mississippi chancery court land dee d bk 1 p 355  1853 bishop james oliver van develde  17951855  1857   bishop william henry elder   1881    monsignor francis august anthony joseph janssens  18431897 was a dutchborn prelate who served as bishop of natchez 1881 1888 and archbishop of new orleans 1888 1897 francis janssens was born october 17 1843 in tilburg north brabant to cornelius john janssens and josephine anne dams he studied at the seminary of shertogenbosch from 1856 until 1866 when he entered the american college at louvain belgium with the view of dedicating himself to the american missions janssens was ordained to the priesthood on december 21 1867 arriving at richmond virginia in september 1868 he became rector of the cathedral in 1870 and served as vicar general under bishops james gibbons and john joseph keane on april 7 1881 janssens was appointed the fourth bishop of the diocese of natchez mississippi by pope leo xiii receiving his episcopal consecration on the following may 1 from archbishop james gibbons assisted by bishops thomas becker and john keane during his tenure he completed construction on the cathedral of st peter the apostle which had commenced forty years earlier janssens was promoted to the archbishopric of new orleans louisiana on august 7 1888 succeeding msgr francis xavier leray and was installed on the following september 16 during his tenure he convened the fifth archdiocesan synod in may 1889 founded more than twentyfive new parochial schools dedicated a new preparatory seminary at gessen in september 1891 and established the catholic institute for deaf and dumb at chinchuba in 1890 janssens significantly reduced the immense debt incurred by archbishop napoleonjoseph perche continuing the work of his immediate predecessor francis xavier leray he reduced it from 324759 to about 130000 his tenure also spanned the period of hardening racial divisions between whites and blacks he once said there is nothing in my administration of the diocese that worries me more than our colored people to see what is done by the protestants to capture them and how often they succeed believing that a separate parish would keep blacks within the catholic church and facilitate black leadership just as it had for irish and german immigrants janssens established st katharine s church in 1895 as the first parish designated for black catholics attendance however was optional it was however his expressed hope that anyone might occupy any pew or any seat anywhere in the church bishop janssens died on june 9 1897 aboard the steamer creole  bound for new york city aged 53 he is buried at st louis cathedral in new orleans the mississippi register august 3 1962  1889   thomas heslin  18471911 native of dernacross county longford ireland was appointed the 5th bishop of the see of natchez on march 29 1889 he expired at natchez on february 18 1911 the mississippi register august 3 1962  1900   1902 contract for the nbvm catholic church was let to jf barnes co  of greenville and biloxi for 15558 brick structure 132 feet by 55 feet 60 feet tall and bell tower 140 feet tall architect theo brune 18541932 of nola bid did not include overhead ceiling plastering and wainscoting the biloxi daily herald february 7 1902 p 1 in midseptember  bishop heslin blessed and christened the new church bell at the church of the nativity bvm donated by lazaro lopez  father blanc of bay st louis father aloysius of pass christian and reverend alphonse kettels of biloxi assited bishop heslin with the blessing the bell was given in the name of clara josephine lopez and sponsored by her siblings  master julius lopez and miss rowena lopez  the biloxi daily herald september 16 1902  1903   1904   1905   1906  in early january 1906 seven large stain  glass windows arrived at biloxi from germany to tbe placed in the sanctuary of the nativity bvm catholic church   julia dulion lopez  18571918 had donated these windows described as   equal to anything in the south   in memory of  lazaro lopez  18501903 her late husband frederick thornley of new york was employed to install the windows designed and built by reis and reis of munich germany   the biloxi daily herald january 6 1906 p 4 and january 9 1906 p 1    1908 our lady of good counsel  on cedar street at point cadet in east biloxi was dedicated in late january with father alphonse ketels in charge  frederick henry mccaleb  18461909 donated the land for the small church to the diocese of natchez in february 1908 the deed from mr mccaleb stated that  graves on said lot is not to be molested and reserve the right to have any of my family buried on said lot at all times   the biloxi daily herald january 30 1908 and harrison co mississippi chancery court land deed bk 102 p 121  1910 michael f murphy and spouse donated a large stainedglass window 18 feet tall and about 8 feet wide to nativity bvm catholic church  the window was the work of herr reiss the son of the acclaimed reiss of munich germany edward f brennan representing the mayer company of new yorklondonmunich installed the large light on the west sdie fo the church near the sanctuary the daily herald january 4 1910 p 1  1911   1912 on september 18th  sister mary aloysius cook president of the sisters of mercy st alphonsus council of nola conveyed for 2500 two lots one north and one south of their convent and situated  on the west side of reynoir street and south of west howard avenue to the catholic diocese of natchez  the daily herald september 27 1912 p 1 and harrison co mississippi land deed bk 102 p 123  1920 peter pitalo  18661947  donated a statue representing our lady of the assumption to st michael s church as a memorial to john joseph pitalo  18931918 his deceased son the daily herald june 25 1920  1921 the reverend alphonse kettels  18551921 native of st nicholas belgium and pastor of nbvm since 1897 expired at biloxi mississippi on july 11th father ketels came to the diocese of natchez in 1886 to minister to the people of delisle in the fall of 1920 he visited his four sisters in belgium in december 1921 bishop gunn appointed father peter keenan  18731937 to replace reverend ketels at nbvm the daily herald august 27 1909 p 1 july 12 1921 p 1 and july 13 1921 p 1      st john s catholic church  biloxi s 4th catholic parish was dedicated on december 18 1921 by bishop john e gunn the sanctuary was located on the corner of main street and bayview avenue father pj carey of st theresa s catholic church in north biloxi was appointed to minister to the catholics of back bay he had come to biloxi from bay st louis about two years prior the daily herald december 16 1921 p 1 192 4   richard oliver gerow  18851976 was born at mobile alabama he was appointed bishop of the see of natchez on june 25 1924 and consencrated bishop on october 15 1924 bishop gerow expired at jackson mississippi on december 20 1976 the mississippi register august 3 1962  1931 father pj mcglade  18931980  was appointed the pastor of the newly formed st john s parish on biloxi s back bay the daily herald september 4 1931 p 5  1937  on march 19 1937  eurilda glavan  19152002 became a novice in the  sisters of st joseph convent at st joseph academy in nola the daily herlad march 24 1937 p 2 the reverend jw mulroney was retained as pastor of our mother of sorrows catholic church  father mulroney was to have been transferred father john j albert of brooklyn new york was in charge of the parish while father mulroney was in rome city indiana visiting his ill sister he planned to return to biloix in august the daily herald july 20 1937 p 6  1940 kenneth lewis harris  19121964 native of biloxi  was ordained a roman catholic priest on may 18th at st john s catholic church in biloxi he died at new orleans on june 22 1964  the daily herald may 16 1940 p 6 may 17 1940 p 1 and may 18 1940 p 1 and june 22 1964 p 1      1947 sister mary clarissa  rsm daughter of mr and mrs chester rose  west 1st street and sister mary grace rsm daughter of earl pickard reynoir street arrived yesterday  sister clarissa will be at the convent of mercy on renoir street and sister mary will be at the holy angels nursery on east beach the daily herald august 9 1947 p 2  1948   father harry j pelous  19211994  harry j pelous  19211994 native of garden city louisiana and son of mr and mrs henry j pelous of biloxi  was ordained a catholic priest at st john the evangelist cathedral at lafayette louisiana on may 22 1948 he said his first solemn high mass at nativity bvm in biloxi on may 1948 father pelous died at lafayette loiusiana on february 18 1994 the daily herald may 22 1948 p 10  1950 father patrick scully  b 1926 a native of kilbeggan county westmeath eire and a graduate of st patrick s college carlow ireland  assumed his duties as third assistant pastor at nbvm catholic cghurch at biloxi kilbeggan was known for its irish whiskey distillery  the daily herald october 11 1950 p 7 photo  1956  the see of natchez became the diocese of natchezjackson on december 18 1956  bishop ro gerow 18851976 was in office at the time  1959   ground was broken on january 12th for the new st john s church on lameuse street  the reverend michael fox 19181969 pastor henry f fountain jr 19242011 architect ralph marion contractor and ernest boney building committee the daily herald january 13 1959 p 2  1960 brother joseph otto csc 19311960  died september 20 1960 at indianapolis indiana where he had been teaching at cathedral high school sine 1957 brother joseph was a biloxi native the son of george otto 18791959 and mrs otto he graduated from notre dame high school in 1949 and entered the novitiate of the brothers of the holy cross brother joseph otto s corporal remians were interred at the university of notre dame south bend indiana the daily herald september 21 1960 p 2  1962 in late may  our lady of fatima contracted with the william craig company of gulfport mississippi to erect a 102 811 twostory masonry convent school building to be situated south of the elementary class room buildng slaughter smith pascagoula mississippi architects designed the eightbedroom facility for the catholic teaching nuns the daily herald june 1 1962 p 1  father paul hession  ca 19201993 of our lady of fatima parish celebrated his 20th anniversary as a roman catholic priest in midjune with a tea service assistant pastor lorenzo diamond and monsignor geoffrey t o connell of nbvm were in attendance the daily herald june 14 1962 p 7  1964 the new  st michael s catholic church was dedicated by bishop ro gerow  of the natchezjackson diocese on august 25th  the 500000 10300 squareft structure was designed by james t canizaro architect and erected by mcclendon building services of gulfport  construction commenced in october 1962 father herbert mullin was the pastor the daily herald august 24 1964 p 16 and august 26 1964 p 1  in september reverend morgan kavangh diocesan director announced that five newly ordained irish catholic priests  had arrived on the mississippi gulf coast  father patrick mcdermott  asst at nbvm  thomas white  asst olgbay st louis  john kelly  asst bvm  eugene clarke  st john sgpt and james o riordan  asst olgbay st louis the daily herald september 17 1964 p 23  1969 reverend monsignor michael j fox  19181969 died on marc 1969 at his home at cashel omagh county tyrone ireland a requiem mass was offered by bishop brunini for the repose of his soul at st joseph church at greenville mississippi where he was parish priest father fox had served as assistant pastor at st paul church in vicksburg and our lady of the gulf in bay st louis he was appointed pastor of st john s church at biloxi in 1956 and was later named pastor of st joseph church in greenville the daily herald june 21 1969 p 2  1973 in february  the reverend john robinson became pastor of st michael s catholic church  father robinson came to biloxi from laurel mississippi where he was pastor of the immaculate conception church for 6 and 12 years he was assistant at st michael s under father mullin from 19501952 father robinson was ordained in 1949 at st patrick s college carlow ireland he was born at killesshandra county cavan ireland the daily herald february 7 1973 p 8  1976  reverend monsignor geoffrey t o connell  died on may 9 1976  1977  the roman catholic diocese of biloxi was established on march 1 1977 when it was split from the roman catholic diocese of jackson  bishop joseph lawson howze dd was born august 30 1923 in daphne alabama was the first bishop of the catholic diocese of biloxi he was born lawson howze and took the name joseph when he converted to catholicism in 1948 he received his ba degree from alabama state university in 1948 after religious training at christ the king seminary at st bonaventure university in new york howze was ordained a priest for the roman catholic diocese of raleigh north carolina in 1959 he was named an auxiliary bishop of the roman catholic diocese of natchezjackson mississippi on november 14 1972 and was installed on january 28 1973 when the diocese of biloxi was created in 1977 howze was appointed as its first bishop he was the first african american bishop in the 20th century to head a diocese in the united states bishop howze retired june 6 2001  1981 brother placidus carroll csc 19021981 native of baltimore maryland died at biloxi mississippi on january 25 1981 he came to notre dame high school in 1947 and retired in 1976 his corporal remains were sent to notre dame at south bend indiana for internment the daily herald january 26 1981 p a2    1993 reverend monsignor paul hession died on september 15 1993  1995 the reverend paul alphonse gillis  nee gaulis 19181995 a native of raseniniai lithania died at ocean springs mississippi on august 14 1995 he was ordained on june 6 1946 in washington dc and his first assignment in mississippi commenced in september 1953 at st paul s at vicksburg father gillis retired in july 1988 while at the church of the holy spirit in vancleave jackson county mississippi the corporal remains of father gillis were interred at bassfield mississippi in the st peter catholic cemetery the sun herald august 18 1995 p b2  1996 bishop joseph b brunini  19091996 expired on january 7 1996 2000    archbishop eugene a marino  19342000 a biloxi native and  america s first roman catholic black archbishop  expired at new rochelle new york on 11 november 2000 he was selected by pope john paul ii on march 15 1988 for this position and installed at atlanta georgia on 5 may 1988 the sun herald april 30 1988 p a7 and november 14 2000 p a1 and p a5  2001   bishop thomas j rodi  a native of new orleans graduated from de la salle high school in 1967 and earned a bachelor of arts degree from georgetown university in 1971 he returned to new orleans where he earned a law degree from the tulane university law school in 1974 and then entered notre dame seminary where he received a master of divinity degree in 1978 bishop rodi was ordained to the priesthood on may 20 1978 and served as associate pastor at st ann and st christopher the martyr parishes in metairie and at st agnes in jefferson in 1983 he was appointed judge for the metropolitan tribunal which handles marriage cases he earned a licentiate in canon law from the catholic university of america in washington dc in 1986 and served as professor of canon law at notre dame seminary from 1986 to 1995 bishop rodi served as director of the office of religious education from 1988 to 1989 and as executive director of the department of pastoral services from 1989 to 1996 in addition to his other duties bishop rodi was named archdiocesan chancellor in 1992 and in 1996 he was named vicar general and moderator of the curia in 1992 he was named a prelate of honor a monsignor by pope john paul ii bishop rodi also served as administrator of st matthew the apostle parish in river ridge ministered in our lady of the rosary and st pius x parishes in new orleans and was pastor of st rita church in new orleans he was ordained a bishop and installed as bishop of biloxi on july 2 2001 bishop rodi was appointed archbishop of mobile by pope benedict xvi on april 2 2008 and was installed on june 6 2008  2004 reverend charles r loyacono  19232004 died on may 2 2004 at baton rouge louisiana  2008 reverend monsignor  james hannon  19202008 native of county galway ireland and ordained in june 1945 at st patrick s college carlow ireland expired on march 16 2008 at mississippi one of the founders of the st vincent de paul free pharmacy in biloxi buried evergreen cemetery at ocean springs mississippi the mississippi press march 19 2008 p a4 and the sun herald march 18 2008 p a2  2009 bishop roger p morin was named vicar general and moderator of the curia in the new orleans archdiocese june 15 2001 his episcopal ordination was april 22 2003 at st louis cathedral in new orleans a native of dracut mass he was born on march 7 1941 the son of germain j and lillian e morin after high school and college studies he earned a bachelor s in philosophy in 1966 from st john s seminary in brighton mass and continued theology studies at st john s for two years of graduate school he went to new orleans in 1967 to work in its new summer witness program conducted by the archdiocesan social apostolate when he returned to new orleans in 1968 he became director of the center a neighborhood social service organization run by the social apostolate he enrolled at notre dame seminary studying in the evenings and on saturdays in addition to his fulltime position at the center he was ordained to the priesthood by archbishop hannan on april 15 1971 in his home parish of st therese in dracut mass his first parish assignment was at st henry parish in new orleans in 1973 he was appointed associate director of the social apostolate and in 1975 became the director responsible for the operation of nine yearround social service centers sponsored by the archdiocese bishop morin holds a master of science degree in urban studies from tulane university and completed a program in 1974 as a community economic developer he was in residence at incarnate word parish beginning in 1981 and served as pastor there from 1988 through april 2002 in 1978 he was a volunteer member of mayor ernest dutch morial s transition team dealing with federal programs and then accepted a 1 a year position as deputy special assistant to the mayor for federal programs and projects he served the city of new orleans until 1981 when he was appointed archdiocesan vicar for community affairs in 1981 he assumed the fulltime position of vicar for community affairs with responsibility over nine agencies catholic charities social apostolate human relations alcoholics ministry apostleship of the sea cemeteries disaster relief hospitals and prisons he was named a monsignor by pope john paul ii in 1985 one of the highlights of his priesthood came in 1987 when he directed the archdiocese s preparations for pope john paul s historic visit to new orleans the visit involved thousands of community volunteers and coordination among national state and local religious and political leaders he also coordinated the events of the bicentennial of the archdiocese in 1993 in 1995 bishop morin received the weiss brotherhood award presented by the national conference of christians and jews for his service in the field of human relations bishop morin is a member of the usccb s committee on domestic justice and human development bishop morin s episcopal motto is walk humbly and act justly he has one brother paul and three sisters lillian pat johnson elaine joncas and susan spellissy his parents and his brother james are deceased he was installed as bishop of biloxi on monday april 27 2009 at nativity of the blessed virgin mary cathedral in biloxi the most reverend archbishop pietro sambi apostolic nuncio to the usa and the metropolitan archbishop of mobile the most reverend thomas j rodi presided at the ceremony the sun herald april 26 2009 p a13 and april 28 2009 p a1  2014 father peter f mockler  19482014 native of woodbrook newbridge ballinasloe county galway ireland died on january 30 2014 at lizana harrison county mississippi he studied at st patrick college carlow ireland and was ordained a priest for the diocese of natchezjackson on june 10 1973 he arrived in mississippi on aug 26 1973 the sun herald february 1 2014 p a4  priest and nuns   reverend kenneth lewis harris  19121964 was born at biloxi mississippi on february 16 1912 to fred harris 18891956 and carrie hecht harris 18891969 he was educated at gorenflo public school sacred heart academy and graduated from biloxi high school in 1929 kenneth entered the st bernard seminary at cullman alabama in september 1931 and remained there for two years  kenneth lewis harris  19121964 native of biloxi  was ordained a roman catholic priest on may 18 1940 he died at new orleans on june 22 1964  the daily herald may 16 1940 p 6 may 17 1940 p 1 and may 18 1940 p 1 and june 22 1964 p 1 father harris celebrated his first mass at st john s catholic church in biloxi on 26 may 1940 the daily herald may 27 1940 p 1 father harris expired at new orleans on 22 june 1964 at foundation hospital he had been teachiing at bel aire ohio until may 1964 some of his postingshad been chatawa natchez and hattiesburg in mississippi also california and new mexico  references  the daily herald new priest is native of biloxi may 16 1940 p 6 the daily herald fr harris say first mass may 27 1940 p 1 the hattiesburg american former local catholic priest dies in orleans june 23 1964 p 10  peter francis mockler father peter francis father pete mockler  19482014 age 65 years passed away on january 30 2014 at st ann s catholic church in lizana father pete was born on nov 4 1948 in woodbrook newbridge ballinasloe co galway ireland and he studied at st patrick college carlow ireland and was ordained a priest for the diocese of natchezjackson on june 10 1973 he arrived in mississippi on aug 26 1973 father pete s first assignment was as associate pastor of st john the evangelist in gulfport where he served from sept 1 1973 until sept 3 1978 he served at sacred heart pascagoula from 19781980 and on september 11 1980 he was named pastor of st ann parish lizana on jan 14 1988 he was appointed pastor of our lady of the gulf parish bay st louis in 2001 he was appointed pastor of st ann parish lizana for a second time and served there until his death father pete served on numerous diocesan boards and committees on dec 23 1977 he was named the first director of the diocese of biloxi s permanent diaconate program at the time of his death he was a member of the college of consultors the presbyteral board and the diocesan finance committee he was preceded in death by his father james mockler survivors include his mother mary mockler 11 siblings mary sonny ryan kathleen kevin mullins margaret johnny mullins bridie tony haverin fr paddy mockler eileen john o loughlin nora tommy bane ann john francis walsh michael mockler bernadette sophinne mocker and teresa martin mockler his aunt margaret quinn his cousin fr tommy conway and numerous nieces nephews grandnieces and nephews and other relatives there will be 2 services first a mass of christian burial will be celebrated at 3 pm sunday february 2 2014 at st ann s catholic church lizana where visitation will be from 1 3 pm a rosary will be recited at 230 pm second a mass of christian burial will be celebrated at 5 pm on tuesday february 4 2014 where visitation will be from 3 5 pm burial will take place on the grounds of st patrick s church in newbridge county galway ireland the riemann family funeral home gulfport is in charge of arrangements and an online guestbook may be viewed and signed at wwwriemannfamilycom  the sun herald february 1 2014 p a4 2127 views  