About St. Mary · Vicksburg, Mississippi
St. Mary Catholic Church is a historic African-American Catholic parish in Vicksburg, Mississippi, serving Warren County since 1906. Founded by the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) with the help of Blessed (now Saint) Katharine Drexel, it has long been a center of spiritual life and Catholic education for the local Black community. The parish is part of the Catholic Diocese of Jackson and is currently pastored by Father Marvin Gyasie, SVD, a Ghanaian Divine Word priest who divides his ministry between St. Mary's and St. Joseph in Port Gibson.
- Established
- 1906
- Patron
- Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Father Marvin Gyasie, SVD
- Diocese
- Catholic Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi
Why belong here
St. Mary's is more than a parish — it is a 119-year-old spiritual home for African-American Catholics in Vicksburg and Warren County, with deep roots in Catholic education, civil rights witness, and SVD missionary tradition. Visitors are welcomed into a warm, multigenerational community that gathers for Sunday Mass at 9:00 a.m. and daily Mass at 7:00 a.m. in the parish chapel, with a pastor who also serves the local Catholic schools. Joining St. Mary's means walking in the footsteps of Blessed Katharine Drexel, the German and Dutch Missionary Sisters of the Holy Spirit, and generations of lay leaders who literally built the high school and Baltes Gym with their own hands.
Mass times at St. Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
About St. Mary Catholic Church, Vicksburg
St. Mary's is a historic African-American Catholic parish at 1512 Main Street in Vicksburg, Mississippi, part of the Catholic Diocese of Jackson. It was founded in 1906 by the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) and has been a center of Catholic worship, education, and community life for African-American Catholics in Warren County ever since. The parish is led by Father Marvin Gyasie, SVD, who also serves St. Joseph in Port Gibson and assists Vicksburg Catholic Schools. Visitors are warmly welcomed to Sunday Mass at 9:00 a.m. and to weekday Masses celebrated at 7:00 a.m. in the chapel inside the rectory behind the church.
History
St. Mary's was founded in 1906 by Father Aloysius Heick of the Society of the Divine Word, making it one of the historic Black Catholic parishes of Mississippi. The first Mass was celebrated early in February 1906 at rented property on Holly Street; by June of that year, with a major gift from Blessed Katharine Drexel (now Saint Katharine Drexel) and additional loans, Father Heick purchased the present property at Main and Second North Streets. Four one-story houses on the lot were converted into a chapel, convent, school, and rectory. The Sisters of Mercy supplied the first altar, candlesticks, and vestments, while the priests of neighboring St. Paul Catholic Church housed Father Heick until the move was complete. A permanent brick church was built on the site and first used for Mass on March 23, 1923 — the building still in use today. On October 16, 2022, two historic markers were unveiled in honor of the parish's 116th anniversary: one for the church and one for the school.
Founding and the Drexel Connection
Philanthropist and foundress Katharine Drexel, then Blessed Katharine Drexel, gave more than half the funds needed to purchase the parish's Main Street property, alongside loans taken out by Father Heick. Drexel — who later funded Xavier University in New Orleans and the property for Holy Family in Jackson — visited Vicksburg herself to inspect what the fledgling parish was doing and, according to parishioner accounts, was very impressed. The parish centennial history calls this generosity 'substantial aid' that 'advanced Fr. Heick and his Order's modest but determined effort to build a Black church here.'
St. Mary's School
St. Mary's elementary and high school opened alongside the parish in 1906 with about thirty students; enrollment doubled within a year. By 1908, 150 children were in school. Teaching was carried out largely by the Missionary Servant Sisters of the Holy Spirit, German and Dutch nuns, several of whom held two degrees (with additional training from DePaul University in Chicago); one teacher had been a professor at Peking University before being expelled from China. A new high school building was built in 1948, financed mostly by parishioner contractor Charles McClelland. The high school closed in 1964 and the elementary school in 1970; afterwards, parishioner J.W. Calloway drove children 50 miles daily to Catholic schools in Yazoo City.
Civil Rights and Black Catholic Witness
St. Mary's has long stood at the intersection of faith and the Black freedom struggle in Mississippi. In 1919, when 18-year-old Lloyd Clay was lynched at Clay and Farmer streets, Monsignor John Prendergast of St. Paul's denounced the crime from his pulpit and declared anyone who participated — or even watched — guilty of murder. During the Civil Rights Movement, Father John Kist, SVD, opened the rectory to civil rights workers so they could shower and rest. The parish is also the cradle of Black Catholic vocations in the SVD tradition: Bishop Joseph O. Bowers, the first Black bishop in the United States, was ordained out of this lineage, and Father Bowman — the first Black Catholic chaplain in the U.S. military — became St. Mary's first Black pastor.
Clergy and Staff
St. Mary's is pastored by Father Marvin Gyasie, SVD, a Ghanaian member of the Society of the Divine Word. Father Gyasie was recently installed as the parish's head priest and also serves St. Joseph Catholic Church in Port Gibson, dividing his time between the two communities and assisting Vicksburg Catholic Schools. He celebrates Sunday Mass at 9:00 a.m. at St. Mary's and Saturday Mass at 4:00 p.m. at St. Joseph. The parish offices can be reached at (601) 636-0115.
- Pastor: Fr. Marvin Gyasie, SVD
Bulletin and Liturgical Ministry
The parish publishes a monthly bulletin with a published Liturgical Ministry Schedule (distributed in PDF form) and announcements for the Sundays of the month. Recent bulletin pages listed the Fourteenth through Seventeenth Sundays in Ordinary Time.
Parish Life and Ministries
Beyond Mass, St. Mary's sustains a liturgical ministry corps (lector, minister, and other roles) coordinated through the bulletin, and the parish grounds host gatherings of the wider Vicksburg Catholic community. The parish website points visitors to the other two Vicksburg parishes — St. Paul and St. Michael — as well as to Vicksburg Catholic Schools and the Diocese of Jackson, reflecting the close cooperation among the local Catholic institutions.
- Liturgical Ministry Schedule (monthly PDF)
- Cooperation with St. Paul and St. Michael parishes, Vicksburg
- Cooperation with Vicksburg Catholic Schools
- Diocese of Jackson pastoral care
Contact and Visiting
St. Mary's Catholic Church is located at 1512 Main Street, Vicksburg, MS 39183. The parish office can be reached by phone at (601) 636-0115 or by email at [email protected]. The official website is stmaryvicksburg.weebly.com, and the parish maintains a Facebook page under the name 'Saint Mary's Catholic Church.' From I-20, take Exit 4B, turn right onto Clay Street, then go four blocks to reach the parish.
- Address: 1512 Main Street, Vicksburg, MS 39183-2652
- Phone: (601) 636-0115
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://stmaryvicksburg.weebly.com/
- Facebook: Saint Mary's Catholic Church
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Aloysius Heick, SVD1906–1908
First pastor; founded the parish and opened the school.
- Father Hoenderop, SVDfrom 1908
Succeeded Fr. Heick; oversaw rapid growth of parish and school.
- Father Francis X. Baltes, SVD
Long-serving Divine Word pastor; held up construction of Mercy Hospital until desegregation was assured; refused a segregated funeral.
- Father John Kist, SVD
Opened the rectory to civil rights workers during the Civil Rights Movement.
- Father Bowman, SVD
First Black Catholic chaplain in the U.S. military; later became St. Mary's first Black pastor.
- Father Malcolm O'Leary, SVDretired 2019
Retired in 2019 after long service.
- Father Joseph Nguyen, SVD2019–
Installed March 3, 2019 as the 18th pastor; initiated the 2022 historic markers.
- Father Marvin Gyasie, SVDinstalled November 30 (recent)
Ghanaian Divine Word priest; also serves St. Joseph, Port Gibson, and assists Vicksburg Catholic Schools.