About St. Joseph Chapel · Pearlington, Mississippi
St. Joseph Chapel is a small Roman Catholic mission chapel in Pearlington, Mississippi, a quiet unincorporated community on the Pearl River near the Louisiana border. Originally established as St. Joseph Catholic Church in 1939, the parish was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 — the church building itself was completely destroyed. The Diocese of Biloxi later merged St. Joseph with St. Ann Parish in Clermont Harbor (Bay St. Louis), and the surviving cinder-block church hall was fitted out as a chapel for Catholic liturgy. Today the chapel continues to serve the Catholics of Pearlington and weekend-home owners from across the Louisiana line, drawing about 40 people to its Sunday Mass.
- Established
- 1939
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Fr. Truong Q. Trinh (Parochial Administrator of St. Ann Parish, which has pastoral oversight of St. Joseph Chapel)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Biloxi
Why belong here
St. Joseph Chapel offers a small, resilient Catholic community in a rural corner of the Mississippi Gulf Coast that has stood back up after Hurricane Katrina wiped out the original 1939 church. Weekday adoration, weekly Mass, and a network of sister communities — Clermont Harbor, Lakeshore, and Ansley — make it easy to plug into parish life through St. Ann Parish. Visitors and seasonal residents from across the Louisiana line are warmly welcomed at the chapel and at the diocesan shrine of the Holy Infant of Good Health on the same campus.
Mass times at St. Joseph Chapel
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Penance Services are scheduled before and after the 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass (e.g., April 6, 2025); contact the parish office for the regular reconciliation schedule
Adoration times
- Wednesday 9:00 am (one hour, followed by 10:00 am Mass)
- First Friday 9:00 am Holy Hour (followed by 10:00 am Mass)
A Short History of St. Joseph Chapel
St. Joseph Catholic Church was established in 1939 in Pearlington, a small Pearl River community on the Mississippi–Louisiana line, and served as the town's parish church for more than six decades. Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 destroyed the church building completely; the storm surge swept it off its foundation and left, by NPR's account, only a statue of the Virgin Mary standing. In the years that followed, parishioners — led in particular by Camille Lichtenstein — salvaged the neighboring cinder-block parish hall, and the Diocese of Biloxi merged the remaining St. Joseph congregation with St. Ann Parish in Clermont Harbor. The hall was fitted out with the appropriate ornamentation for Catholic liturgy and reopened as St. Joseph Chapel, continuing to serve the Catholics who remained in Pearlington and weekend visitors from Louisiana.
- Established 1939 as St. Joseph Catholic Church
- Church destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, August 29, 2005
- Merged with St. Ann Parish, Clermont Harbor (Diocese of Biloxi)
- Parish hall converted into a chapel
- Chapel re-opened for services April 7, 2024
Mass & Service Times
Sunday Mass at St. Joseph Chapel is celebrated at 10:30 a.m. On Wednesdays the chapel hosts a weekly hour of Eucharistic adoration beginning at 9:00 a.m., followed by Mass at 10:00 a.m. A Friday Holy Hour is also held at 9:00 a.m., with First Friday Mass following at 10:00 a.m. Visitors are encouraged to call the parish office to confirm the current schedule, as the chapel has had periods of closure.
- Sunday Mass — 10:30 a.m.
- Wednesday — Adoration 9:00 a.m., Mass 10:00 a.m.
- First Friday — Holy Hour 9:00 a.m., Mass 10:00 a.m.
Sacraments & Religious Education
Sacramental preparation for St. Joseph Chapel parishioners is coordinated through the parent parish of St. Ann in Clermont Harbor. The parish website specifically invites couples preparing for the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony to contact Fr. Trinh six to nine months before the wedding date. Children of the community receive religious education through the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD), the parish's catechetical program, which prepares them to receive the Sacraments of Penance (Confession), the Eucharist (First Holy Communion), and Confirmation.
- Holy Matrimony — contact Fr. Trinh 6–9 months in advance
- CCD / Catechism for children
- Sacramental preparation for Penance, First Communion, and Confirmation
Parish Staff & Leadership
St. Joseph Chapel is served by the clergy and lay leadership of St. Ann Parish. Fr. Truong Q. Trinh serves as Parochial Administrator of the combined parish (listed by the Diocese of Biloxi as Pastor of St. Ann Parish, Clermont Harbor). The Parish Council is led by Mr. Greg Federico (President), with Ms. Andre' Sires as Secretary. Pearlington-side liaison work is handled by Ms. Camille Lichtenstein and Mrs. Denise Wilkinson, and Mrs. Yvonne Garcia coordinates the Holy Infant of Good Health Shrine on the St. Ann campus.
- Fr. Truong Q. Trinh — Parochial Administrator
- Mr. Greg Federico — President, Parish Council
- Ms. Andre' Sires — Secretary
- Ms. Camille Lichtenstein & Mrs. Denise Wilkinson — St. Joseph's Chapel, Pearlington
- Mrs. Yvonne Garcia — Holy Infant of Good Health Shrine
The Parish Mission Statement
The combined St. Ann Parish / St. Joseph Mission statement reads: 'We the faithful people of four communities — Clermont Harbor, Lakeshore, Ansley, and Pearlington — are called to give glory to the Lord through our lives of service to one another and we are always promoting the sense of fellowship in our community. As a parish, we are called to support the poor and one another in times of need and difficulty. With a strong belief in the future of our Church, we have persistently invested our resources to educate our children with the Catholic Faith, and we offer a sincere invitation to people of all walks of life to come and join us in celebrating regularly the Sacraments as well as being part of the stewardship in our community. Our salvation is in the Lord.'
- Four communities served: Clermont Harbor, Lakeshore, Ansley, Pearlington
- Open invitation to newcomers and visitors
- Emphasis on fellowship, stewardship, and support of the poor
Hurricane Katrina & the Rebuilding of Parish Life
A reporter from the Aspen Times who visited Pearlington after Katrina described St. Joseph's Catholic Church as 'swept off its foundation and smashed to pieces,' with pilings designed to keep the church dry in three feet of flood water standing useless against the 30-foot storm surge. NPR reported that a statue of the Virgin Mary was the only thing remaining of the Catholic church. Camille Lichtenstein, who lost her own home, channeled volunteer groups from across the country into rebuilding efforts, and parishioners raced to finish the cinder-block parish hall in time for their longtime pastor — just before he was transferred and the Diocese of Biloxi reorganized the parish. The refurbished hall became St. Joseph Chapel and continues to celebrate Mass and adoration for the surviving community.
- Church destroyed by Katrina's 2005 storm surge
- Statue of the Virgin Mary was the only remnant (per NPR)
- Cinder-block parish hall survived and was refitted as a chapel
- Parishioner Camille Lichtenstein led volunteer rebuilding efforts