About St. Michael · Paulding, Mississippi
St. Michael Catholic Church in Paulding, Mississippi, is one of the oldest Catholic communities in the state — established in 1843 and the second-oldest Catholic parish in Mississippi, after St. Mary in Natchez. Tucked into the piney woods of Jasper County along MS-503, the parish is a small but historic mission-style community served today from the cluster based at St. Michael in Forest. Mass is offered on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m., and the property still includes the parish cemetery that dates to the 1860s and holds the graves of many of its original families.
- Established
- 1843
- Patron
- St. Michael the Archangel
- Rector
- Reverend Adolfo Suarez-Pasillas
- Diocese
- Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi
Why belong here
St. Michael Paulding is a small but deeply rooted rural Catholic community with 180 years of continuous parish life — the second-oldest in the state of Mississippi. Families who belong here often have ancestors buried in the on-site Catholic cemetery that dates to the 1860s, and the parish has historically been a 'cradle of vocations' that produced Sisters of Mercy, Daughters of Charity, Brothers of the Sacred Heart, and others. Even with limited weekend Masses (1st and 3rd Saturdays at 10:00 a.m.), St. Michael remains a spiritual anchor for the families of eastern Jasper County and for descendants now living across the Diocese of Biloxi who keep coming back 'home.'
Mass times at St. Michael
Weekly Mass schedule
History & Heritage
Founded in 1843, St. Michael is the second-oldest Catholic parish in Mississippi, after St. Mary in Natchez. It was built up by yeoman farmers and merchants who settled the piney-woods region of eastern Jasper County during the cotton-and-lumber boom that preceded the Civil War, when Paulding was known as the 'Queen City of the East.' The parish became a 'cradle of vocations,' sending more than twenty men and women into religious life as Sisters of Mercy, Daughters of Charity, Brothers of the Sacred Heart and beyond — their names preserved on a plaque in the back of the present church. The founding families — among them Michael and Rebecca Harrington, the Bergins and the Finnegans — are still represented in the pews and in the cemetery that has been in use since the 1860s.
- Established 1843 — second-oldest Catholic parish in Mississippi
- Famous as a 'cradle of vocations,' with 20+ religious vocations (Sisters of Mercy, Daughters of Charity, Brothers of the Sacred Heart)
- Original church destroyed by lightning-strike fire, July 1942; current church built on same site
- Parish cemetery in continuous use since the 1860s
- Marked 180th anniversary on December 2, 2023 with Bishop Joseph Kopacz
Mass & Liturgy
Mass is celebrated on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in English. Because the parish is served from the Forest cluster, those planning to attend should call ahead to confirm — the parish office phone (601-469-1916) rings through to St. Michael in Forest. Weekday Mass and Holy Day schedules are not listed separately for Paulding; parishioners are typically directed to neighboring parishes in the cluster for additional liturgies.
- Saturday (1st and 3rd) — 10:00 a.m., English
The Parish Cemetery
Adjacent to the church is a Catholic cemetery that has been in use since the 1860s. It holds the graves of many of the original founding families — Harrington, Bergin, Finnegan, and others — and remains an active resting place for descendants of the parish. Several families present at the 180th anniversary Mass traced their ancestry in the cemetery all the way back to the 1843 founding.
- Cemetery dates to the 1860s
- Contains burials of original 1843 founding families (Harrington, Bergin, Finnegan)
- Still an active cemetery for descendants of the parish
The Paulding Community
Paulding, in Jasper County, was a bustling pre-Civil War trade center of about 1,000 people — bigger than Jackson at the time, and nicknamed the 'Queen City of the East.' When the town turned down a proposed rail line in the 1890s the tracks were routed instead through nearby Bay Springs; Paulding's commercial importance collapsed, but the Catholic parish carried on. Today, only a few landmarks remain from those early days, including the Jasper County courthouse and St. Michael Church — making the parish one of the most tangible links to Paulding's antebellum past.
- Pre-Civil War 'Queen City of the East'
- Population ~1,000 at its 19th-century peak
- Economic decline in the 1890s after refusing the rail line
- St. Michael is one of only a few surviving landmarks of that era
Anniversary & Vocations
The parish's most notable recent milestone was the 180th anniversary Mass celebrated on December 2, 2023. Bishop Joseph Kopacz of the Diocese of Jackson was the principal celebrant, with Father Adolfo Suarez-Pasillas concelebrating. A plaque in the present church honors the more than twenty religious vocations that came from St. Michael over its long history — Sisters of Mercy, Daughters of Charity, Brothers of the Sacred Heart, and others — a remarkable record for so small a community.
- 180th anniversary Mass: December 2, 2023
- Principal celebrant: Bishop Joseph Kopacz
- More than 20 religious vocations historically, honored on a plaque in the church
Visiting & Contact
St. Michael sits along MS-503 in the small community of Paulding, Jasper County, Mississippi. Because Mass is offered only twice a month, visitors — and especially those wanting to walk the historic cemetery — are encouraged to call the parish office in advance. Mail is routed through the Forest cluster office (P.O. Box 388, Forest, MS 39074-0388).
- Address: 1823 MS-503, Paulding, MS 39348
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 388, Forest, MS 39074-0388
- Phone: (601) 469-1916
- Diocesan parish page: jacksondiocese.org/parish-detail.php?ID=73
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Gabriel
Remembered by longtime parishioner Donnie Bergin as the pastor when Bergin was baptized in the 1950s; known for singling out anyone making too much noise in church.
- Reverend Adolfo Suarez-Pasillascurrent (as of 2023)
Celebrated the 180th anniversary Mass on Dec. 2, 2023 with Bishop Joseph Kopacz. Also pastor of St. Michael in Forest and St. Anne in Newton, and Administrator of Centro Católico in Morton.