Catholics in the Gautier area attended Mass at Pascagoula Our Lady of Victories parish until the early 1950’s when OLV pastor Msgr. P.J. Carey began celebrating Mass in homes in the area.

Under Msgr. Carey’s direction, St. Mary Chapel was built on De La Pointe Drive and dedicated by Bishop Richard Gerow, Bishop Toolen of Mobile and Archbishop William O’Brien, director of the Catholic Extension Society of Chicago, on Feb. 19, 1952.

With expansion of Pascagoula’s Ingalls Shipyard located across the Pascagoula River from Gautier, St. Mary Mission began to grow far beyond its original 30 families.  An additional 4 acres were purchased for a new church on Nov. 2, 1962.

In 1968, St. Mary’s was canonically established as a parish for the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson, with Father Patrick Tierney as its first resident pastor.

Father Gerard Cleary succeeded him in 1970 and began making plans for a new facility to serve parishioners.  In 1973 a combined church-parish center was constructed on land adjacent to the existing chapel.

Father Cleary, who had been residing in a mobile home, purchased property adjacent to the church-parish center for a rectory.  Today, the St. Mary Parish encompasses almost 10 acres.

Toward the end of Father Cleary’s 10-year assignment plans were made for an even larger facility that included conversion to the existing center into a church and the construction of an activities center.

Msgr. Eamon Mullen, who became pastor in 1980, guided completion construction of the handsome church and spacious activities center which continues to serve St. Mary’s 300 families.  The sprawling facility was dedicated to the Blessed Mother by Bishop Joseph L. Howze on Sept. 19, 1982.

The original church building is presently being used by the Knights of Columbus as a meeting hall.  St. Mary Chapel has been renovated to hold three classrooms, one of which today is used as a CYO meeting room.  The former chapel also houses St. Mary Thrift Shop which serves low-income families of the community with clothing and household articles.

Father Michael Kelleher, succeeded Msgr. Mullen on Jan 4, 1985.  (Deacon Patrick Houghton was assigned to the parish in June, 1993.)  Father Patrick Hayes was assigned to the parish on Sept. 5, 1997. Deacon Gayden Harper was also assigned to the parish. Father Hayes died in June 2007 and was succeeded by Father Charles Nutter in January 2008. The current pastor, Father George Kitchin, was assigned in January 2014.