St. Mary

About St. Mary Catholic Church

St. Mary is one of the largest parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee, serving roughly 1,700 families across the Fort Walton Beach area in the Florida Panhandle. Founded in 1914 as a tiny frame mission on the shores of Choctawhatchee Bay, the parish now operates a K–8 Catholic school, a 35,000-square-foot Parish Life Center, a Mother Teresa Community Outreach Building, and a worship schedule that includes five weekend Masses (including one in Spanish), daily Mass Monday–Friday, full Eucharistic Adoration, and Saturday Confessions. It is pastored by Msgr. Doug Halsema with Fr. Anderson de Souza, SVD as Parochial Vicar and four permanent deacons.

Parish History (1914–Today)

The parish's hundred-year arc from 30 Catholics in a borrowed rectory to 1,700 families on a 22-acre campus is one of the most distinctive in the Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee. Three successive church buildings (1914 frame, 1942 red brick, 1972 Vatican-II church) and a parish school (1946/1960) anchor the story, along with the 1940 Marian grotto that still stands at the original site.

• 1914 — First white frame church built (50 seats) at First St. & Shell Ave.
• 1915 — Dedication by Bishop Edward P. Allen of Mobile
• 1916 — Fr. August Beyne becomes first resident pastor
• 1937 — Fr. McGovern completes the first rectory
• 1940 — Marian grotto built with the parish's $400 treasury
• 1942 — Second church (red brick) built
• 1946 — St. Mary Catholic School founded
• 1960 — School moves to current Robinwood Drive campus ($400,000 project including the Josephine Gerlach Memorial Library, 1961)
• 1972 — Present church opened on Holy Thursday, March 30, under Monsignor Patrick Cunningham
• 2005 — St. Mary Catholic School named a U.S. Dept. of Education Blue Ribbon School
• 2006 — Ground broken for the Fr. Mullen Parish Life Center (completed 2008)
• 2019 — Florida historical marker erected at the original Shell Avenue site
• 2024–2026 — Church undergoes major interior reconstruction; returns to church for weekend Masses and Confession weekend of July 6–7

Worship & Sacraments

St. Mary offers one of the most active parish liturgical schedules in the diocese, with five Sunday Masses (one in Spanish), a Saturday Vigil, daily Mass, and almost daily Adoration. The sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist through OCIA), First Reconciliation, First Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony, and Anointing of the Sick are all prepared and celebrated through dedicated parish teams.

• Mass Schedule — Sat Vigil 5:00 PM; Sun 8:00, 10:00 AM, 12:30 PM (Spanish), 5:00 PM; Mon–Fri 8:15 AM
• Confession — Saturdays 2:30–4:30 PM in the Church Chapel, and by appointment
• Adoration — Mon–Fri following 8:15 AM Mass; Fri 9:00 AM–4:00 PM; 1st Wed 6:00–7:00 PM; 3rd Thu 7:00–8:00 PM (Spanish)

Faith Formation & School

Faith formation for every age is centered in the Parish Life Center, while the on-campus St. Mary Catholic School has educated Fort Walton Beach children since 1946 and is recognized as a 2005 U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School. School enrollment is approximately 408 students in PK–8; the school draws from three counties.

• St. Mary Catholic School (PreK–8), 110 Robinwood Drive SW — founded 1946; current campus 1960
• Blue Ribbon School (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2005) — first in Okaloosa County at any elementary/middle level
• Family Faith Formation / Parish School of Religion
• Sacramental Preparation — First Reconciliation, First Holy Communion, Confirmation ($40 per sacrament; $80 family cap)
• Becoming Catholic / OCIA — adult initiation

Youth & Young Adult Ministry

Edge middle-school ministry and Life Teen high-school ministry meet Sunday evenings after the 5:00 PM Mass in the Parish Life Center, complemented by Family Adventure Day events that pull in students, parents, and grandparents together.

• Edge (6th–8th grade) — Sundays 6:00–7:30 PM, Parish Life Center
• Life Teen (9th–12th grade) — Sundays 6:00–7:30 PM, Parish Life Center
• Family Adventure Day — multigenerational parish day
• Family Faith Formation — $75/child or $150 family cap

Outreach, Charity & Community

The Mother Teresa Community Outreach Building is the hub of parish charity — housing both the St. Vincent de Paul Conference (in continuous operation at St. Mary since the 1930s) and the parish thrift shop that has supported the Catholic school for more than 25 years. The parish also runs an Angel Tree at Christmas and partners with respect-life and Knights of Columbus efforts.

• St. Vincent de Paul Society conference (since the 1930s)
• Mother Teresa Community Outreach thrift shop
• Angel Tree Christmas giving for parishioners in need
• Knights of Columbus — St. Mary Council 4444
• Hispanic Ministry (Misa en Español Sundays 12:30 PM; Hora Santa tercer jueves del mes)
• Bereavement Committee
• Respect Life and parish pro-life partnerships

Music & Liturgical Arts

Music Ministry at St. Mary is led by a Director of Music Ministry and includes the Mass Choir, St. Cecilia Children's Choir, Cantors, and instrumentalists, with both English and Spanish liturgical repertoire for the bilingual weekend schedule.

• Director of Music Ministry — Jim Iler
• Mass Choir and St. Cecilia Children's Choir
• Cantors and instrumentalists
• Piano and organ accompaniment

Parish Staff, Deacons & Leadership

The parish leadership team is weekly and operating — gathering the pastor, parochial vicar, deacons, operations director, and ministry directors with a separate Parish Finance Council. Four permanent deacons assist the priests at Mass and in sacramental preparation.

• Pastor — Rev. Msgr. Doug Halsema
• Parochial Vicar — Fr. Anderson de Souza, SVD
• Deacons — Wayne Walker, Mike Symons, Mike Brown, Anthony DeCotis
• Director of Operations — Tony Ferreira
• Director of Pastoral Ministry — Kim Solberg
• Director of Music Ministry — Jim Iler
• Director of Childcare Ministry — Helen Davis
• Director of Facilities — Jorge Murillo
• Life Teen Youth Minister — Scott Gulig
• Edge Youth Minister — Joey Ferreira
• Hispanic Ministry Coordinator — Sara Keyser
• Children's Ministries Coordinator — Brandy Rice
• Children's Sacraments Coordinator — Lydmarie Machado
• Office Manager — Julie Anne Walker
• Bookkeeper / Front Desk — Peter Rodgers
• School Principal — Joleen Cormier
• Parish Finance Council — French Brown, Barbara Bowers, Edward Burns, Don Harrington, Kathi Heapy

Facilities & Campus

The 22-acre parish campus bought under Monsignor Patrick Cunningham now includes the 1972 church (currently in a completed reconstruction project), the original 1914 site with the 1940 Marian grotto and 1942 brick 'Old St. Mary' (preserved, not open to the public), St. Mary Catholic School, the Fr. Mullen Parish Life Center, and the Mother Teresa Community Outreach Building.

• Current Church — built 1972; reopened July 6–7 after interior reconstruction
• Old St. Mary Church (1942 red-brick) and 1940 grotto at First St./Shell Ave.
• St. Mary Catholic School (1960 building) — 110 Robinwood Dr SW
• Fr. Mullen Parish Life Center (35,000+ sq ft, opened 2008)
• Mother Teresa Community Outreach Building — thrift shop + SVdP

Visiting Fort Walton Beach

St. Mary is adjacent to Fort Walton Beach City Hall and within walking distance of the Choctawhatchee Bay waterfront. The historical marker at the original Shell Avenue site is a pilgrimage stop for those tracing the parish's 1914 origins and the 1940 grotto where the Blessed Mother's intercession is credited with making the second church possible.

• Florida Historical Marker (erected 2019) at the 1914 site
• Nearby Old St. Mary Church and Marian grotto
• Parish Office: 110 Saint Mary Avenue SW, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548 — (850) 243-3742 — [email protected]
• Office Hours: Mon–Thu 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM (closed Fri/Sat); staff present at Sun 8 & 10 AM Masses