About St. Anne · Carthage, Mississippi
St. Anne Catholic Church is a historic mission parish in Carthage, Mississippi, seated in Leake County and cared for by the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity (the Trinitarian order of Missionary Servants, designated 'ST' after their names). Founded in 1874 and currently serving a bilingual Catholic community in central Mississippi, the parish offers Sunday Mass in English and Spanish, a weekly bilingual Tuesday Mass, and outreach to Hispanic immigrants in the surrounding rural area. It is part of the Catholic Diocese of Jackson and is currently twinned with St. Therese in Kosciusko, sharing a pastor and parochial vicar from the Trinitarians.
- Established
- 1874
- Patron
- St. Anne (Saint Anne, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Reverend Marco Antonio Sanchez, ST (Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity)
- Diocese
- Catholic Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi
Why belong here
St. Anne in Carthage is a tight-knit, bilingual rural Catholic community where English-speaking and Spanish-speaking parishioners worship side by side, with regular Masses offered in both languages and a Tuesday bilingual Mass in addition to the weekend schedule. As a Trinitarian mission parish it carries a strong missionary, immigrant-outreach identity, and visitors will find a church that is small in size but generous in pastoral attention — its clergy drive long distances across central Mississippi to reach scattered Catholic families in Leake and surrounding counties. Anyone looking for a welcoming Spanish-language or bilingual Mass in central Mississippi, or a quiet, devotional rural parish rooted in more than 150 years of local Catholic life, will feel right at home here.
Mass times at St. Anne
Weekly Mass schedule
History of St. Anne Catholic Parish
St. Anne Catholic Church in Carthage was founded in 1874, placing it among the oldest continuously serving Catholic congregations in central Mississippi. For its first seventy years it was served by visiting clergy from the former Diocese of Natchez (renamed the Diocese of Jackson in 1956). In 1944 the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinitarians) — under Father Andrew Lawrence, ST — assumed responsibility for St. Anne as a mission church of Immaculate Conception in Camden. From that point the parish became part of a network of Trinitarian mission parishes across central Mississippi emphasizing immigrant, rural, and African-American outreach.
Trinitarian Heritage in Mississippi
The Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity arrived in Mississippi in 1944, expanding a mission effort originally focused on Catholic immigrants that had begun in Brooklyn in 1909 under Father Thomas Judge, a son of Irish immigrants. Bishop R. O. Gerow directed the early Trinitarian missionaries to build churches and schools in rural Mississippi, including the famous Sacred Heart Agricultural School for African-American youth near Sulphur Springs. St. Anne Carthage was one of the founding Trinitarian missions in the state, alongside Immaculate Conception Camden, Sacred Heart Camden, Holy Child Jesus Canton and others. In 2021 the centennial of the Trinitarian Mississippi missions was marked at a Mass celebrated by Bishop Joseph Kopacz at Sacred Heart Camden.
Bilingual and Hispanic Ministry
Hispanic ministry has been central to St. Anne's identity for decades. The Sunday Spanish Mass and the bilingual Tuesday Mass serve the growing Spanish-speaking population in Leake County and surrounding rural areas. The Trinitarians' broader mission focus — 'preserving the faith among immigrants' — shaped this work, and parish clergy publicly ministered to immigrant families during the 2019 immigration raids in central Mississippi.
Clergy and Pastoral Leadership
St. Anne Carthage is currently pastored by Reverend Marco Antonio Sanchez, ST, a priest of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, who also serves as pastor of St. Therese in Kosciusko. Reverend Alexis Zuniga Velasquez, ST, assists as missionary ministry / parochial vicar at the parish. Past Trinitarian pastors of record include Father Odel Medina, ST (pastor in 2019) and — going back to the founding — Father Andrew Lawrence, ST (1944), under whom the Trinitarians first took responsibility for St. Anne.
Parish Identity in the Diocese of Jackson
St. Anne is a parish of the Catholic Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi, listed at 207 Red Dog Road, Carthage, MS 39051-3113, within the Newton Deanery grouping of the diocese. It is formally twinned with St. Therese, Kosciusko, and both parishes share Trinitarian clergy.
Visiting Carthage and St. Anne
The parish sits in the rural 'St. Anne Community' about a mile north of the intersection of Hwy. 16 and Hwy. 35, north of the town of Carthage. The setting is small-town, rural Mississippi — quiet, low-traffic, and an easy drive from anywhere in Leake County. Visitors attending Mass are asked simply to arrive a few minutes before the scheduled time and to introduce themselves to the priest after Mass if they would like to be received formally.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Andrew Lawrence, STfrom 1944
First Trinitarian priest in Mississippi; under his responsibility Immaculate Conception Camden and its missions, including St. Anne Carthage, came under the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity.
- Father Odel Medina, ST
Pastor of St. Anne Carthage in 2019; publicly identified as one of two Trinitarian priests who helped families caught in the August 2019 immigration raids in central Mississippi.
- Father Marco Antonio Sanchez, STthrough at least 2021–2024
Current pastor; also serves as pastor of St. Therese, Kosciusko; recognized at the 2021 centennial of the Trinitarian missions in Mississippi.
- Father Alexis Zuniga Velasquez, STcurrent
Listed by the Diocese of Jackson as Missionary Ministry at St. Anne Carthage; serves alongside the pastor.