St. Therese

Welcome & Identity

St. Therese Catholic Church is a bilingual Roman Catholic parish in South Jackson, Mississippi, under the Diocese of Jackson. The parish's name — honoring St. Therese of Lisieux, the 'Little Flower' — shapes its whole spirituality: a simple, faithful 'little way' of prayer, family life, and service. According to the Diocese of Jackson's Metro Jackson parishes page, St. Therese 'serves the Catholic community of South Jackson with a spirit of faith, welcome and service,' and its parish life reflects St. Therese's 'simple but powerful witness of love, humility and devotion to Christ.'

History of the Parish

Founded in 1955, St. Therese grew out of the post-war Catholic life of South Jackson and was dedicated to St. Therese of the Child Jesus by Bishop Gerow. In 2023, longtime parishioners (with the help of Vicky Bell Pope and Marilyn, working from papers donated by the family of founding-era patriarch Louis Joseph) compiled a permanent exhibit tracing the parish's origin story; Bishop Joseph Kopacz celebrated a Mass for the parish on St. Therese's feast day that year. A pivotal moment came in February 2015, when Bishop Kopacz signed a decree of extinctive merger uniting Jackson's St. Mary Parish into St. Therese — St. Therese took on St. Mary's territory, and the former St. Mary school community relocated to St. Therese's former school building after the St. Mary church was found to have serious structural and foundation problems tied to the shifting Yazoo clay.

• Founded 1955
• Dedicated by Bishop Gerow
• 2015 extinctive merger with Jackson's St. Mary Parish
• 2023 parish-history exhibit compiled with the Joseph family papers

Patroness: St. Therese of Lisieux

The parish's patron is St. Therese of Lisieux (1873–1897), the French Carmelite known as 'the Little Flower,' a Doctor of the Church and co-patroness of the missions. Every year around October 1 — the official feast day on the Church calendar — the parish celebrates her with a special bilingual Mass at Camp Garaywa in Clinton. Children of the parish process to the altar carrying red roses, which they lay near the parish's image of St. Therese in memory of the saint who saw herself as 'a little flower of Jesus.' A pot-luck meal and family activities (including piñatas) follow the Mass, and Bishop Joseph Kopacz has joined related celebrations honoring the Little Flower's spirituality of 'doing the ordinary with extraordinary love.'

• Feast day: October 1
• Annual bilingual feast-day Mass at Camp Garaywa, Clinton
• Children's procession with red roses
• Pot-luck meal and family activities after Mass

Clergy & Staff

According to the Diocese of Jackson's parish finder, St. Therese's current Sacramental Minister is Reverend Kevin Slattery, with parish administration support from Father Stephen Okojie (listed on the diocesan Metro Jackson parishes page). Earlier pastors include Father Ricardo Phipps, who led the parish through the 2015 merger with St. Mary, and Padre Juan Chavajay, who presided at the 2019 bilingual feast-day Mass. Parishioners Eva Sanchez, Veronica Womack, and Joel Montoya have organized the annual feast-day food and activities.

• Rev. Kevin Slattery — Sacramental Minister (Diocese of Jackson parish finder)
• Fr. Stephen Okojie — Administrator (Diocese of Jackson Metro Jackson parishes listing)
• Fr. Ricardo Phipps — pastor at the 2015 St. Mary merger
• Padre Juan Chavajay — pastor at the 2019 Camp Garaywa feast-day Mass

Bilingual & Hispanic Ministry

St. Therese is recognized in the local Catholic press as one of the Diocese of Jackson's bilingual Hispanic ministry parishes. Sunday Mass is offered in both English and Spanish, the annual feast-day Mass at Camp Garaywa is celebrated bilingually, and parish life centers on the union of the two language communities. When St. Mary Parish was merged into St. Therese in 2015, then-pastor Fr. Ricardo Phipps told members: 'I know the members of St. Therese are ready to welcome them warmly with their many gifts.'

• Sunday Spanish Mass at 1:00 PM
• Bilingual feast-day Mass at Camp Garaywa each October
• Welcoming community for families from the former St. Mary Parish

Visit, Contact & Directions

The parish is located at 329 W. McDowell Road, Jackson, MS 39204 (mailing address: P.O. Box 8642, Jackson, MS 39284-8642). From I-55, take the McDowell Rd. exit and continue past Food Depot Grocery Store and Greenbriar Apartments; the church is on the left. The parish office can be reached by phone at (601) 372-4481 or by email at [email protected], and office hours are Wednesdays 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM or by appointment. The parish maintains a presence on Facebook under the name 'St. Therese Catholic Church — Jackson MS.'

• Address: 329 W. McDowell Road, Jackson, MS 39204
• Mailing: P.O. Box 8642, Jackson, MS 39284-8642
• Phone: (601) 372-4481
• Email: [email protected]
• From I-55: McDowell Rd. exit, west past Food Depot and Greenbriar Apartments; church on the left
• Facebook: St. Therese Catholic Church — Jackson MS

Diocese of Jackson

St. Therese is one of 74 parishes in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson, which covers the northern and central parts of Mississippi. Established July 28, 1837, the diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Mobile, is the largest Catholic diocese by area east of the Mississippi River, and is currently led by Bishop Joseph Kopacz. Its cathedral is the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson.

• Diocese established 1837
• Bishop: Joseph Kopacz
• Cathedral: Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Jackson