About Holy Family · Gloster, Mississippi
Holy Family Mission is a small Roman Catholic mission church in Gloster, Mississippi, the seat of Catholic life for Amite County in the southwest corner of the state. Founded in 1983 at the urging of parishioner June Vallely and approved by Bishop Joseph B. Brunini of the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson, it grew out of humble storefront beginnings into a worship community on Main Street. As a mission (rather than an independent parish) it is pastored together with St. Joseph Catholic Church in Woodville and currently serves Mass in English on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Established
- 1983
- Patron
- The Holy Family (Jesus, Mary and Joseph)
- Rector
- Reverend Anthony Claret Onyeocha
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson (formerly Diocese of Natchez-Jackson)
Why belong here
Holy Family Mission offers Catholics in rural Amite County a worship community of their own rather than a long drive to the nearest parish — a gift its founding families literally petitioned the bishop to create in 1983. The mission is small, multi-generational, and family-centered; parishioners take on the roles of lectors, Eucharistic ministers, ushers and groundskeepers, and they gather socially around Cajun Lenten fish fries and shared cleanups. For Catholics in southwest Mississippi, it is the closest Catholic church, celebrated in English, with weekly Saturday and Wednesday Masses and confessions before Mass or by appointment.
Mass times at Holy Family
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday at 4:00 PM (before Mass), or by appointment
History and Founding (1983)
Holy Family Mission traces its origin to 1983, when Amite County had no Catholic church and the nearest parish — St. Joseph in Woodville — was more than 23 miles from Gloster. June Vallely, a mother of five who had moved to town in 1980, began quietly canvassing the community for Catholics and, in the middle of a thunderstorm, sat down at her kitchen table and wrote to Bishop Joseph B. Brunini asking for a church. Within months Brunini gave permission, the name Holy Family was drawn by lot from a brown paper bag, and the mission began with Sister Margaret Maria Coon, SCN, guiding the congregation. The first chapel was an old Main Street storefront hung with burlap, with a kitchen cabinet as the altar, a crucifix from an army-surplus store, a borrowed baptismal font from a Methodist church in Crosby, and a tabernacle sent from a Catholic church in Illinois.
- Founded 1983 under Bishop Joseph B. Brunini (8th Bishop of Natchez-Jackson, 1967–1984)
- Name drawn by lot by youngest member Jason Chabreck
- Sister Margaret Maria Coon, SCN, helped organize the mission
- First chapel: storefront on Main Street with burlap walls
- First altar: kitchen cabinet from a parishioner
40th Anniversary Celebration (2023)
On Saturday, September 9, 2023, Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz celebrated a special anniversary Mass with pastor Father Anthony Claret Onyeocha and several of the founding families. June Vallely was presented with a plaque for her founding role. Michele Chabreck — one of only two founding families still present along with the Vallelys — spoke of the parish's resilience, while Pauline Gauthier (a Gloster resident of 36 years) summarized its character: "We're not a big parish or big community, but those of us that are here – we're family." The anniversary Mass was celebrated the same weekend that the clustered parish St. Joseph Woodville marked its 150th anniversary.
- Anniversary Mass: September 9, 2023
- Celebrant: Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz
- Pastor concelebrant: Fr. Anthony Claret Onyeocha
- Plaque presented to founding parishioner June Vallely
- Founding families still present in 2023: Vallely and Chabreck
Parish Ministries and Service
Holy Family Mission is a small congregation in which laypeople take on a wide range of liturgical and maintenance roles. Documented ministries include lectors, Eucharistic ministers, ushers, and stewardship of the parish memorial garden, the church interior and exterior, and the outdoor flag-and-pole stand honoring deceased veteran parishioners. The parish is also known for its social fundraising — most famously the Friday Lenten fish fries and Cajun dinners that helped pay for the mission's earliest years and continue as a community tradition.
- Lectors
- Eucharistic Ministers
- Ushers
- Parish memorial garden and church maintenance
- Honor guard for deceased veteran parishioners
- Friday Lenten fish fries and Cajun dinners (jambalaya, shrimp etouffee)
Clustered Parish: St. Joseph, Woodville
Holy Family Mission is pastorally linked with St. Joseph Catholic Church in Woodville, founded in 1873 under Father Germain Martin and the oldest parish in this corner of the diocese. The two share a pastor (currently Father Anthony Claret Onyeocha), phone line, and email, and are celebrated together at milestones such as the September 2023 double anniversary (St. Joseph's 150th and Holy Family's 40th).
- Shared pastor: Fr. Anthony Claret Onyeocha
- Shared phone: (601) 225-4171
- Shared email: [email protected]
- Father PJ Curley concelebrated the 2023 anniversary Masses (had served in the 1970s)
Religious Communities Connected to the Mission
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (SCN) have been tied to Holy Family since its earliest days. Sister Margaret Maria Coon, SCN, helped the mission get on its feet in 1983, and SCNs — together with Sacred Heart Southern Ministries — have continued to provide pastoral and social-service support in this part of rural Mississippi.
- Sister Margaret Maria Coon, SCN — founding organizer (1983)
- SCN mission presence in Mississippi dates back to 1868 (Holly Springs)
- SCNs continue to serve rural poor communities through Sacred Heart Southern Ministries
Parish Recognition: Bishop Chanche Award
Holy Family parishioners have frequently been honored with the Diocese of Jackson's Bishop Chanche Award for outstanding lay stewardship. Documented recipients from the parish include Florence Chambers (2012), Dan & Middi Twiner (2014), Anita Zorn Hossley (2015), Bill & June Vallely (2015), Christine McDaniel (2016), Agnes McCraine (2017), Deborah Hopf (2019), Chuck & Betty Turner (2020), and David & Michelle Chabreck (2022).
- Florence Chambers — 2012
- Dan & Middi Twiner — 2014
- Anita Zorn Hossley — 2015
- Bill & June Vallely — 2015
- Christine McDaniel — 2016
- Agnes McCraine — 2017
- Deborah Hopf — 2019
- Chuck & Betty Turner — 2020
- David & Michelle Chabreck — 2022
Local Context: Gloster and Amite County
Gloster is a small town in central Amite County in southwestern Mississippi, near the Louisiana border. Incorporated March 11, 1884, as a railroad town along the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad, it had a population of 897 at the 2020 census. Amite County, one of Mississippi's original eleven counties (est. 1810), is named for the Amite River and the French word amitié ("friendship"). The wider region has a Catholic history going back to 1682, when — according to local historians — the first Mass on Mississippi soil was celebrated near Fort Adams on Easter Sunday.
- Gloster incorporated March 11, 1884
- Population (2020): 897
- Amite County: one of Mississippi's original counties (est. 1810)
- Region includes parts of Homochitto National Forest
- Catholic presence in the area dates to 1682 (Fort Adams Easter Mass)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Founding lay leaders — June Vallely, Bill Vallely, Michele Chabreck, David Chabreck and other Amite County families1983–
Lay founders who wrote to Bishop Joseph B. Brunini and organized the first worship space in a Main Street storefront; Holy Family has always functioned as a mission rather than an independent parish, served by priests assigned from St. Joseph Woodville and the Diocese of Jackson.
- Sister Margaret Maria Coon, SCN1983–
Retired college philosophy teacher and former provincial of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth of Kentucky who had retired to the area; assisted in organizing the fledgling mission at its founding.
- Reverend Anthony Claret Onyeochaby 2023–present
Current pastor of St. Joseph Woodville and Holy Family Mission, Gloster; celebrated American citizenship in 2023 and concelebrated the 40th anniversary Mass with Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz.