St. Mary's Parish
The need for a new parish in west Jackson was evident in the late 1930s with Bishop Richard Gerow commissioning the pastor of St. Peter's to look for opportune sites for a new parish in west Jackson. A five acre parcel was purchased in November 1937, but it would be a decade before the parish itself was organized. In 1947, with the postwar expansion of the city, west Jackson was becoming increasingly populated, and by a relatively high proportion of Catholics. In July, 1948, Bishop Gerow gave Fr. Peter Quinn the assignment of organizing a new parish in this part of the city. A native of Galway, Ireland, this former Army chaplain was an exceptional leader.
Parish boundaries were set in early August, and later this same month, Fr. Quinn called the first parish meeting and outlined his plans. Children would be the first priority. A multi-purpose gymnasium would be built first, then a school and a convent, finally a church and rectory. Max Payment Sr. and Mrs. Ernest Koenig were appointed as the first lay leaders of the parish. Their first task was to renovate and furnish the temporary rectory -- a residence across Claiborne street from the parish acreage. This residence had providentially been purchased by the Pastor of neighboring St. Peter's parish the year before. Daily Mass would be celebrated there for several years.
To say that St. Mary's got off to a running start would be an understatement. The fall of 1948 saw an elaborate fund-raising banquet, an open house at the rectory, and the first parish Mass celebrated in the chapel of the old Veterans Administration Hospital on Thanksgiving day. This chapel was used for two Masses each Sunday until the gym was completed the following Spring. Miss Mattye Hobert organized and directed the first choir and Ed Thomas Jr., a student at St. Joseph and a music pupil of the famed Sister Celestine Goff served as parish organist. Ms. Mitchell Thomas was elected president of the Altar Society, which had 60 charter members.
Ground was broken for the gymnasium in November, and pioneer parishioners recall that Fr. Quinn, in overalls, helped to lay the bricks.
Just in time for Christmas, the first assistant pastor arrived. He was Fr. John Leonard, who directed the altar boys, the CYO, the Sodality, and established a tradition of Irish assistants at St. Mary. Before moving on, Fr. Leonard completed the first parish census which established that St. Mary's congregation numbered 1,200. No one can agree today how many of these parishioners were Lebanese, but everyone agrees that their contributions to the parish were significant. From immigrant beginnings, the Lebanese men had achieved early prominence in Jackson's business community and were assets to the parish on that account, as were their sons. But the Lebanese traditions of strong families, deep faith, hospitality and courtesy are cited as elements which enriched the character of St. Mary Parish.
The first Mass on the acreage of St. Mary's was held in the gymnasium on Palm Sunday, April 10, 1949. There was a terrible torrent of rain on this day, with the sodden congregation slogging through deep mud to get into the gymnasium. With Mass concluded, the parishioners exited only to find many of their cars stuck in the mud!
Then tragedy struck. Fr. Quinn left for Chicago on April 30th by train from New Orleans to preach mission appeals for his new parish, but he never saw Chicago. He suffered a heart attack sometime that day and died on the train. He was only 48. The news stunned St. Mary's congregation. Two services were held on May 3rd, the first at 8:30 at St. Mary's and the second at 10:30 at St. Peter's -- where Fr. Quinn's younger brother sang Solemn High Requiem Mass. He was buried at Cedar Lawn Cemetery, but later his body was moved to the private cemetery at the Renewal Center.
Bishop Gerow appointed Fr. Francis Quinn to succeed his brother on June 7, 1949. Two weeks later ground was broken for the school and convent, and St. Mary School opened on Sept. 12, 1949 for kindergarten through sixth grade.
The Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, KY, staffed the school. Sr. Georgeline Dues was the first school Principal. The convent was completed in mid-October. The Feast of Christ the King found Bishop Gerow at St. Mary's dedicating the three parish buildings.
The early 1950's saw the congregation stretching to pay off the first loan and anxious to build a church. Meanwhile greater and lesser parish milestones occurred in the gym, including the first confirmation service (1950), Fr. John Scanlon's ordination (1951), autumn carnivals, dances, meetings, box lunch auctions, and the famous parishwide dinners requiring rows of long tables set up end to end and covered with white table cloths. And every Saturday afternoon the ladies of the Altar Society turned out to push furniture, set up chairs, dust, arrange flowers and transform the place into a church for Sunday services.
By 1955, 11 additional acres had been acquired from the Public School Board, Fr. Quinn had been installed as Monsignor, and the beautiful new Gothic Church had been completed. The first Mass was offered in May, 1955. In June, Fr. Thad Harkins, the son of parishioner Mike Harkins, was ordained in the new church. Bishop Gerow dedicated the church and the rectory on October 25, 1955.
School traditions in these early years included a genuine children's orchestra, directed by Sr. Francesca Conneally, a Mardi Gras Parade and Ball, and ballroom dancing lessons taught at the school.
Msgr. Quinn had long been an institution at St. Mary's, but in 1963 he found the burden of such a large parish too much and requested a transfer to a smaller parish. His successor was Fr. Patrick Martin who remained until 1966. St. Mary's gymnasium continued to be a center for parish life, especially with the spaghetti and pancake suppers organized by Charlie Marascalo and attended by many.
On September 8, 1964, the first black child registered for school at St. Mary. In these early years there was tension, but there was also a lot of learning among whites and blacks going on as well. Today the school reflects the makeup of west Jackson, with the school population being over 85% black. The regrettable phenomenon known as "white flight" from the neighborhood began during Fr. Martin's tenure as pastor and has continued ever since.
Fr. Edward Cratin succeeded Fr. Martin in 1966 and remained through 1976. He guided the parish in implementing Vatican II reforms and in developing the parish council. One of his last actions in the parish was overseeing the "Mortgage Burning" ceremony, indicating that the parish was debt free for the first time. Msgr. Cratin was proud the next pastor would be able to put parish monies to work for people and programs, and not for buildings.
Msgr. Paul Hession, pastor from 1976 through 1978, was the priest in charge of the Raymond Immaculate Conception mission and also ministered to patients at the VA hospital as Catholic chaplain. Fr. Patrick Noonan succeeded Msgr. Hession as pastor. He was very energetic in his compassion for the sick and elderly and had a special rapport with the children of the parish.
In the first relationship of its kind in Mississippi, St. Mary and St. Columb Episcopal Church entered into a covenant on March 15, 1981. Through this covenant, the two parishes, both located on Claiborne Avenue, confirmed "what we have been doing for years." The covenant defined several areas of sharing, including praying at Sunday Masses for each other's parish, working together for social justice and the common good, and making available to each other physical facilities, programs and social events.
The Norbertine Order came to St. Mary's in June, 1989. Fr. Xavier Colavechio, O.Praem. was pastor at St. Mary's from 1989 to 1996 and Fr. Richard Chiles, O. Praem. succeeded him in 1996 and continues today as pastor. Norbertine Assistants at the parish have included Fr. Andrew Cribben, O.Praem. from 1996-1998 and Fr. Jeremy Tobin, O.Praem. presently.
St. Mary was and remains primarily a neighborhood parish. It's primary outreach to the community is through its elementary school. Music continues to be important at St. Mary, as does the RENEW program. Religious education programs continue for Catholic children being educated in the Public Schools, and the sports program of the CYO is still active. Traditional St. Patrick's Day dinners still thrive, as does a vacation bible school.
Join Us! St. Moses the Black Priory Our Way of Life Our Ministries Life of St. Moses the Black Christ the King Parish Contact Us! Kente Page on This Page