Information provided by Brenda Finnegan, Regina Hines, Ann Hilt

Carved from St. Alphonsus Parish, St. Elizabeth Seton Parish was established in 1975 by Most Reverend Joseph Brunini, Bishop of the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson, to serve the east Ocean Springs area beginning at Hanley Road. Bishop Brunini appointed Reverend Noel Fannon as St. Elizabeth Seton’s first pastor. The first Mass of the new parish was celebrated on October 12, 1975 at the former Wayside Furniture building on Highway 90.

In 1977, the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson was divided into two dioceses, Diocese of Biloxi and Diocese of Jackson. Bishop Joseph Howze was appointed the first bishop of the new Diocese of Biloxi and the first African-American bishop in the state of Mississippi.

A new multi-purpose building on a ten-acre lot was dedicated by Bishop Howze in 1978 and would become home to St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church. The 8,008 square-foot, brick structure with seating for 350 people was designed by Biloxi architect Gerald A. Hopkins and Associates and built by McClendon Building Services. This structure served the parish of St. Elizabeth Seton until 1987 when heavy rains forced the construction of a new building.

Built by Polk Construction, the new 9,180 square-foot, brick church building was dedicated by Bishop Howze on January 3, 1988. The new church provided more amenities including a spacious vestibule, sacristy, cry room, bathrooms and storage rooms all opened to the congregational area and seating for 463 people in the sanctuary. The first church structure would later be named Fannon Hall in honor of the parish’s first pastor.

Rev. George Kitchin and Deacon Martin Finnegan were both assigned to St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church by Bishop Howze in 1988.  Fr. Kitchin would serve as pastor until 2002.  The Kitchin Addition including five new classrooms was added to Fannon Hall in 1993 in order accommodate the growing number of CCD students in the parish.

Deacon Martin Finnegan was assigned as pastoral associate with liturgical duties to the parish and served as full-time Director of Religious Education and Youth until 2005.   He and his wife, Brenda, moved to Ocean Springs in 1991.

In 2001, eleven additional acres adjoining the property to the north were purchased, which included a brick house that now serves as the Knights of Columbus Hall.  The structure was renovated by the KC’s and decorated by the Ladies Auxiliary.

Bishop Howze appointed Reverend Bernard Farrell in February 2002, who served as the third pastor of St. Elizabeth Seton until his retirement in January 2014.

Reverend Sergio Balderas celebrated his first Mass as pastor of Saint Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church on January 18, 2014.  Fr. Sergio is originally from Saltillo, Mexico, where the Mississippi sponsored Mission is located. 

The parish has grown from 150 families in 1975 to 540 in 2000, and now has 668 registered families. Since the parish was established in 1975 until December 2, 2012, there have been 1215 baptisms, 262 marriages, 683 confirmations, 949 First Communions, and 353 funerals performed.

Office Staff:  Margie Fleming was the first parish secretary, followed by Betty Mason and later, Sharon Jones. Amy Meadows serves as the current church secretary, as well as the RCIA coordinator. 

Parish Council: The first parish council president was Dr. Peter Pavlov. Les Cottrell was the parish council president at the time the new church was built. There have been several since that time and the current president is John Meadows.

CCD began in the early days of the parish. Mary Brown was the director of religious education, followed by Deacon Martin Finnegan. When he retired from that position in 2005, shortly before Hurricane Katrina, his assistant, Linda Holtorf was hired on July 1, 2005 as the new director, a post she holds today. There were 196 students in 1988 and there are now 320 students enrolled in grades K-11.

RCIA: There are currently twelve pre-catechumenates in the RCIA program. Amy Meadows is the coordinator. The program includes both unbaptized and baptized inquirers in the journey of initiation into the Catholic Church.

Altar Society: St. Elizabeth Seton Altar Society was founded in 1979. Sue Clear was the first President. The members in the Society and a group of Friday volunteers help clean the church. The current president is Helen Gill.

Knights of Columbus: Deacon Martin Finnegan led the way for the chartering of the Msgr. Gregory Kennedy Knights of Columbus Council #10499 on November 6, 1990, and was acting Grand Knight until Bruce Pabon was elected and Deacon Martin became the chaplain of the council. The current Grand Knight is Gary Vaughn.

Society of St. Vincent DePaul Society was formed in the mid 1970’s with Doctor Peter Pavlov as president, assisted by his wife, Mary, as treasurer. Scott Leslie now leads the group, which delivers Thanksgiving dinners and distributes Wal-Mart gift cards to families at Christmas and assists families with utilities and gasoline, as needed.

Youth Group: A number of volunteers have led the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) since the 1970's including Theresa Broyard, followed by Darlene Chavarria. From the 14 original members, the CYO has now grown to approximately 25, ranging in age from grades 6-12. Life Teen, a national youth organization, was active for a number of years, under the direction of youth minister Jeff Vitelli. Jennifer Catchot currently serves as the volunteer Youth Director.

St. Elizabeth Seton continues to grow, with great-grandchildren of the original members becoming new members of our faith community. Many new faces are now among us and we welcome them in Jesus' name and in the tradition of St. Elizabeth Seton, who, despite tragedies in her own life, welcomed new souls into her community, teaching children, establishing orphanages, and setting the groundwork for the parochial school system in the United States.