About Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos · Biloxi, Mississippi
Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Parish is a bilingual Catholic community in East Biloxi, Mississippi, served by the Redemptorist Fathers and Brothers of the Denver Province. Formed in 2005 when Bishop Thomas J. Rodi merged St. John and St. Louis parishes after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the parish was deliberately named for Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos — a Redemptorist priest beatified in 2000 — to honor the order's new mission on the Point Cadet peninsula. Today the parish worships at 360 Lameuse Street in a modest 1959 Modern-style brick church and reaches both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking Catholics in one of the most historically diverse, working-class neighborhoods on the coast.
- Established
- 2005
- Patron
- Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos (1819–1867), Redemptorist priest beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 9, 2000
- Rector
- Rev. Daniel Martinez Patiño
- Diocese
- Diocese of Biloxi (suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mobile)
Why belong here
Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos is a small, bilingual, Redemptorist-served parish in historic East Biloxi that welcomes both English- and Spanish-speaking Catholics to the same altar. Weekday Mass and Friday Communion Services are offered in the intimate Mercy House Chapel, weekly Thursday Holy Hour includes both an English hour (6 pm) and a Spanish hour (7 pm), and Saturday confessions and Sunday Masses are scheduled around working families. If you are looking for a parish where the Redemptorist charism of preaching the Gospel to the poor and most abandoned is lived out daily — and where you can pray in English or Spanish side by side — Seelos is a true community of faith and cultural diversity.
Mass times at Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:15 pm – 3:45 pm (or by appointment)
Adoration times
- Thursday Exposition & Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, 8:00 am – 11:00 am, Mercy House Chapel
- Thursday Holy Hour, 6:00 pm English, 7:00 pm Spanish
Parish Identity and Mission
Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Parish gathers in the heart of East Biloxi's Point Cadet neighborhood as a bilingual Catholic community served by the Redemptorist Fathers and Brothers of the Denver Province. Its mission statement reads: 'Celebrating Community and cultural diversity, striving to treat everyone as our neighbor, all with the help of the power, love and grace of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.' The parish is intentionally small, intentionally bilingual, and intentionally Redemptorist — a 21st-century continuation of the order's mission to preach the Gospel to the poor and most abandoned.
- Diocese: Diocese of Biloxi (suffragan of Mobile)
- Founded: 2005 (merger of St. John and St. Louis parishes after Hurricane Katrina)
- Patron: Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, C.Ss.R. (feast day October 5)
- Languages: English and Spanish
History: Born from Hurricane Katrina
The Redemptorists of the Denver Province were scheduled to arrive in Biloxi on August 31, 2005 to minister to St. John, St. Louis, and Our Mother of Sorrows parishes. Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29. Bishop Thomas J. Rodi (later Archbishop of Mobile) gave the Redemptorists the option to withdraw their commitment; Fathers Steve Wilson and Chung Cao and Brother Gene refused. Within weeks, St. John and St. Louis parishes were combined into a single parish and named Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos — after the 19th-century Redemptorist whose beatification Rome had celebrated just five years earlier.
- August 29, 2005: Hurricane Katrina strikes the Mississippi Gulf Coast
- Redemptorists honor their commitment to come to Biloxi
- St. John + St. Louis parishes merged by Bishop Rodi
- Father Steve Wilson, C.Ss.R. — founding pastor
The Church Building
The parish worships in the former St. John church at 360 Lameuse Street, a 1959 Modern brick-veneer sanctuary with tall stained-glass windows, a glazed recessed entry, and the open metal tower with its white metal cross that defines the corner of the block. The building is Element 98 of the Lameuse Street Historic District (NR-listed 2015) and was surveyed in the 2017 East Biloxi African American and Civil Rights Survey.
- Built: 1959, replacing the 1921/1940 wooden church moved from Bay View Avenue
- Architectural style: Modern (brick veneer, stained glass, open metal cross tower)
- Severely damaged by fire in 1981 and rebuilt
- Contributing structure in the Lameuse Street Historic District
Clergy and Staff
The parish is led by Pastor Rev. Daniel Martinez Patiño, supported by two deacons, a sister serving Hispanic Ministry, and a parish secretary. The Redemptorist commitment to East Biloxi, first made in 2005, is the pastoral backbone of the community.
- Pastor: Rev. Daniel Martinez Patiño
- Pastoral Associate: Deacon M.J. Landry
- Pastoral Associate: Deacon Edgar Flores
- Hispanic Ministry: Sister Claudia Inez Crisotomo-Reyes
- Secretary: Toni Balius
Hispanic Ministry
Hispanic Ministry at Seelos is a core expression of the parish mission to celebrate community and cultural diversity. Sister Claudia Inez Crisotomo-Reyes coordinates the ministry; Deacon Edgar Flores serves as a pastoral associate; the Spanish Mass, Spanish Holy Hour, and Spanish-language sacramental preparation all flow from this ministry.
- Spanish Sunday Mass: 11:00 am
- Spanish Holy Hour: Thursdays 7:00 pm
- Hispanic Ministry coordinator: Sister Claudia Inez Crisotomo-Reyes
- Pastoral associate: Deacon Edgar Flores
Sacraments
Seelos offers the normal range of parish sacraments on a working-parish schedule: weekday Mass for First Friday and other devotion-friendly devotions, Saturday Reconciliation before the Vigil Mass, and by-appointment confessions for those who cannot make Saturday afternoon. (Detailed baptism/marriage/anointing-of-the-sick preparation pages are not published online; parishioners are directed to call the parish office.)
- Reconciliation: Saturday 3:15–3:45 pm or by appointment
- Weekday Mass: Mon–Thu 7:30 am
- Friday Communion Service: 7:30 am, Mercy House Chapel
Parish Life, Fundraisers, and Formation
Beyond the Sunday and weekday schedule, the parish keeps a busy calendar of formation opportunities and community fundraisers. The parish publishes a weekly bulletin, posts upcoming events online (yard sales, raffles, seasonal celebrations like Easter Vigil and Holy Good Friday), and lists spiritual growth opportunities for parishioners of every age. The Liturgical Minister Schedule keeps lay liturgical roles filled throughout the year.
- Weekly Bulletin (published online)
- Liturgical Minister Schedule
- Spiritual Growth Opportunities
- Parish Yard Sale (spring fundraiser)
- Blessed Seelos Raffle (spring fundraiser)
Who Is Blessed Seelos?
Francis Xavier Seelos was born on January 11, 1819 in Füssen, Bavaria, and was baptized the same day in the parish church of St. Mang. Drawn by Redemptorist missionaries and their letters about abandoned German-speaking immigrants in America, he entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, was accepted in 1842, sailed from Le Havre in 1843, and was ordained a priest in the Redemptorist Church of St. James in Baltimore on December 22, 1844. For nine years he worked in St. Philomena's parish in Pittsburgh alongside St. John Neumann — first as assistant pastor, then as Superior, then as pastor. He served in Baltimore (1854), Cumberland (1857), and Annapolis (1862), where as Prefect of Students he even met President Lincoln to ask that his seminarians be excused from the Civil War draft. From 1863 to 1866 he was an itinerant missionary preaching in English and German across nine states. He was proposed as Bishop of Pittsburgh in 1860 but excused by Pope Pius IX. In 1866 he was sent to New Orleans as pastor of St. Mary's Assumption Church, where he served the poorest and most abandoned until September 1867, when he contracted yellow fever while caring for its victims. He died on October 4, 1867, at the age of 48. Pope John Paul II beatified him in St. Peter's Square on April 9, 2000; one miracle has been approved and others are under investigation for his canonization. His feast day is October 5.
- Born: January 11, 1819, Füssen, Bavaria
- Ordained: December 22, 1844, Baltimore (Redemptorist)
- Worked with St. John Neumann in Pittsburgh
- Died of yellow fever: October 4, 1867, New Orleans
- Beatified: April 9, 2000, by Pope John Paul II
- Feast Day: October 5 (Optional Memorial for U.S. dioceses, since 2014)
Contact and Location
Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office by phone, email, or in person at the church on Lameuse Street.
- Address: 360 Lameuse Street, Biloxi, MS 39530
- Phone: (228) 273-4281
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://www.seelosbiloxi.com/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Steve Wilson, C.Ss.R.2005–? (founding pastor after Katrina)
First pastor of the merged parish; Redemptorist of the Denver Province who honored the community's commitment to come to Biloxi just as Hurricane Katrina struck. Remembered for his loving care, straight-forward style, and humor.
- Rev. Daniel Martinez Patiñopresent
Current pastor, serving the bilingual (English/Spanish) community.