St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church

In September 1975, St. Elizabeth Seton Parish was carved from St. Alphonsus Parish in Ocean Springs, taking in the eastern part of the parish, beginning at Hanley Road. The name of the parish came from a newly canonized American saint. Most Rev. Joseph B. Brunini, Bishop of Natchez-Jackson, appointed the first pastor, Rev. Noel Fannon, a native of Ireland. He lived in Ft. Bayou Estates until a rectory was built on Reilly Road.

On October 12, 1975 the first Mass of the new parish was celebrated at the former Wayside Furniture building on Highway 90, and, when it was no longer available, at a former nightclub, Caesars' Palace. At one time even Bud's Mobile Homes served as our church. Early parishioners remember it as a colorful time in the parish's history.

ln 1977, the Diocese of Biloxi was established when the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson was split into two dioceses, Biloxi and Jackson. St. Elizabeth Seton became a parish of the new diocese, with Bishop Joseph Lawson Howze as the first bishop of the new diocese and the first black bishop of Mississippi.

On May 14, 1978, a new multi-purpose building was dedicated by Bishop Howze, on a ten-acre site at 4900 Riley (a.k.a.Reilly) Road. Designed by Biloxi architect, Gerald A Hopkins and Associates, McClendon Building Service built the 8,008 square foot brick structure, with seating for 350. Heavy rain on March 29, 1987, forced the groundbreaking ceremony for a new church inside the multi-purpose building

On January 3, 1988, Bishop Howze dedicated the new church building. Polk Construction built the 9180 square foot brick church at a cost of $480,000, A large vestibule, sacristy, cry room, bathrooms and storage rooms all opened to the congregational area, with seating in the sanctuary for 463. On the same day, the bishop announced that Fr. Fannon would be leaving for new duties at St. Clare in Waveland, so the dedication was tempered somewhat by that announcement.

On February I, 1988, Bishop Howze appointed Rev. George Kitchin, a native of Greenwood, MS., the second pastor. He was installed on March 26 in the new church. Deacon Martin Finnegan joined the parish as full-time Director of Religious Education and Youth on July I, 1988, and was assigned as pastoral associate with liturgical duties to the parish by Bishop Howze. He and his wife, Brenda, moved to Ocean Springs in 1991.

The "Kitchin Addition" (named for Fr. Kitchin) was added to the parish hall in 1993, due to the increase in CCD students. It included five new classrooms and was dedicated on June 9, 1993.

ln 1997, Deacon Tom LeBlanc of Wiggins joined the parish part-time, and was assigned liturgical duties to the parish by Bishop Howze. He and his wife, Ann, moved here from St. Francis in Wiggins.

A new concrete parking lot was installed in 1997, ending the rain-filled potholes of the past. A successful Renew program was begun in 1998 under the direction of Tim Baftle. The church debt was paid in 1998, and the renovations to Fannon Hall were paid off in 1999. Jeff Vitelli joined the staff as the first full-time Youth Minister in 1999, bringing the Life Teen program to SES.

In 2001, eleven additional acres adjoining the property to the north were purchased, which included a brick house. The KC members renovated the building and the Ladies Auxiliary decorated it. Both groups now meet there.

February 1, 2002, brought more changes to the parish when Bishop Howze appointed Rev. Bernard Farrell, a native of Ireland, as the third pastor of St. Elizabeth Seton. He came from St. Alphonsus in Ocean Springs, and has ably served our parish until his retirement in February 2014.

In 2004, the parking lot was resurfaced. Hurricane Katrina hit on August 29, 2005, with catastrophic damages to many parishioners.

In 2006 new parking lots were added behind Fannon Hall and next door beside the Knights of Columbus home.

Two transitional deacons who worked in our parish were later ordained as priests. Fr. Charles Nutter, a member of St. Elizabeth Seton parish celebrated his first Mass at our parish on June 9, 2006. The following year, Fr. Khoa Vo, who also served with us as transitional deacon, celebrated his first Mass at SES on June 9, 2007.

Office Staff: Margie Fleming was the first parish secretary, followed by Betty Mason and later, Sharon Jones. Amy Meadows serves as the current church secretary, as well as the RCIA coordinator.

Parish Growth: The parish grew from 150 families in 1975 to 540 in 2000, and now has 668 registered families. Since the parish was established in 1975 until December 2, 2012, there have been 1215 baptisms, 262 marriages, 683 confirmations,949 First Communions, and 353 funerals performed.

Parish Council: The first parish council president was Dr. Peter Pavlov. Les Cottrell was the parish council president at the time the new church was built. There have been several since that time and the current president is John Meadows.

CCD began in the early days of the parish. Mary Brown was the director of religious education, followed by Deacon Martin Finnegan. When he retired from that position in 2005, shortly before Hurricane Katrina, his assistant, Linda Holtorf was hired on July 1, 2005 as the new director, a post she holds today. There were 196 students in 1988 and there are now 320 students enrolled in grades K-11.

RCIA: There are currently twelve pre-catechumenates in the RCIA program. Amy Meadows is the coordinator. The program includes both unbaptized and baptized inquirers in the journey of initiation into the Catholic Church.

Altar Society: St. Elizabeth Seton Altar Society was founded in 1979. Sue Clear was the first President. The members in the Society and a group of Friday volunteers help clean the church. The current president is Helen Gill

Knights of Columbus: Deacon Finnegan led the way for the chartering of the Msgr. Gregory Kennedy Knights of Columbus Council #10499 on November 6, 1990, and was acting Grand Knight until Bruce Pabon was elected and Deacon Martin became the chaplain of the council. The current Grand Knight is Harry Rucker. The Ladies Auxiliary was formally organized on March 5, l99l with Mrs. Nelda Wagner as the first president. Pia Bordelon is the current president.

St. Vincent DePaul Society was formed around 1975 with Doctor Peter Pavlov as president, assisted by his wife, Mary, as treasurer. Dr. Todd Culter now leads the fourteen-member group, which delivers Thanksgiving dinners and distributes Wal-Mart gift cards to families at Christmas and assists families with utilities and gasoline, as needed.

Youth Group A number of volunteers led the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) since the 1970's including Theresa Broyard, followed by Darlene Chavarria. From the 14 original members, the CYO has now grown to about 25, in grades 6-12. Life Teen, a national youth organization was active for a number of years, under the direction of youth minister Jeff Vitelli. Mary Bolner and Karen Williams currently serve as the volunteer Youth Directors.

Eucharistic Ministers, Altar Servers, Ushers, Lectors: Richard Greenwold coordinates the altar servers and schedules the Eucharistic Ministers.Virginia Bigelow schedules the lectors. The ushers are weekly volunteers.

Choirs: A traditional choir sings at 11:00 a.m. Sunday Mass, directed by Allan Cahela, who plays organ and piano. We have a guitar choir at 8:30 a.m. Mass and the youth choir, accompanied by guitars and drums, sings at the 5:00 p.m. Sunday Mass, Volunteers sing at the Saturday evening Mass, accompanied by guitars, as well.