Left, St. Joseph pastor Father
Ron Herzog, who is now the
bishop of Alexandria, La.,
checks Stations of the Cross
being assembled by parishio-
ners before they are hung in
St. Joseph Church, which was
consecrated by Bishop Joseph
Lawson Howze on May 10,
1981.
Below, Bishop Howze,
assisted by pastor Father Ken
Ramon-Landry, blessed the St.
Joseph Parish Center on
February 25, 2001.
St. Joseph Mission celebrates 50 years of ministering to Catholics in Pearl River County
POPLARVILLE -- St. Joseph Catholic Mission will celebrate its 50th an-
niversary on April 6 at 4 pm with a Mass and a reception.
Bishop Roger Morin will be the main celebrant.
Beginnings
In the early 1960s, Catholics in and near Poplarville attended Mass at vari-
ous locations in central and north Pearl River County. However, in the spring
of 1963, Dr. Emile Bertucci and his wife Shirley offered a building known as
the Bertucci Clinic to the Diocese of Natchez Jackson as a potential site for a
mission church and Bishop Joseph Brunini accepted the generous gift.
By 1964, because of generous donations of time and materials, the Bertucci
Clinic was converted into St. Joseph’s chapel. Among those people to offer
their services were Oscar Gelpi of Picayune who did the plumbing, wiring
and air conditioning installation and W.A. Gaspar of Picayune who did the
carpentry and woodwork. The pews, statuary, Stations of the Cross, altar and
vestments were donated by St. Michael Parish in Biloxi. Our Lady of Fatima
Parish in Biloxi donated the baptismal font and other furnishings.
Father Francis Mignot, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in
Lumberton, celebrated the first Mass in early 1964. At the time of St. Joseph
Chapel’s dedication, it was serving as a Newman Center for students attending
Pearl River Junior College.
In 1968, Father Mignot had to be replaced as pastor of Our Lady of Per-
petual Help due to illness. Father William Vollor and later Father Jim Kircher
served the parish’s spiritual needs.
During Father Kircher’s pastorate, St. Joseph served the community with
its STAR Program, which was sponsored by the Diocese of Natchez Jack-
son and subsidized by the United States Department of Labor. The program
provided teaching, training and facilities needed so that high school dropouts
could meet requirements to get their diplomas.
Father Kircher was a novelty to the Poplarville area in the early 1970s
because he rode a motorcycle in carrying out his ecclesiastical duties. It was
he who advised the parishioners to think of planning ahead for a larger church
and possible relocation.
Planning for the future
In 1972, Father Thomas White, who did not carry out his ecclesiastical du-
ties on a motorcycle, was named pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St.
Joseph. The congregation’s numbers were growing. It was time to look for a
new church, and plans were drawn for the new building.
Under the direction of the parish council and consultation with the parish
families, ideas for securing finances, receiving bids for the building contract
and overseeing construction began to unfold.
Before Father White could see construction of the new church to comple-
tion, he was appointed pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Laurel and
Father Ron Herzog, now bishop of Alexandria, La, was named his successor
in April 1980.
On May 10, 1981, Bishop Joseph Lawson Howze blessed the new church
building. Funding of the new building was made possible in part due to as-
sistance from the Chicago-based Catholic Extension Society, the Diocese of
Biloxi’s Misson Board and the Catholic Sharing Appeal.
In May 1985, Bishop Herzog was transferred and Father Vollor returned as
pastor. Katie Murphy was named pastoral associate.
In 1987, the parish formed a local conference of the St. Vincent de Paul
Society to reach out to the poor and needy of the community. A building con-
structed entirely by parishioners to house the society and its ministry was
dedicated by Father George Murphy, Director of Catholic Social Services, on
February 5, 1987.
On December 9, 1994, Father Clark Bearden was named pastor. During
his pastorate, plans were made to start an Oktoberfest, an annual event whose
proceeds would benefit the parish building fund.
Growing St. Joseph
Father Ken Ramon-Landry was appointed pastor on September 1998 and
is fondly remembered for the many good things that were accomplished dur-
ing his pastorate. Father Ken helped finalize plans for Oktoberfest and said a
special Mass for all of the people at the fairgrounds involved in the project.
Over the years, the Oktoberfest besides building community, cleared about
$25,000 per year. Eventually, the event was renamed “Fall Fest” as Pearl River
County is a dry county.
As the size of the congregation continued to increase, a focus group was
formed to study the feasibility of building a new church. The group was led
by Father Ken. After a series of monthly meetings, a parish-wide meeting was
held, during which attendees decided to build a parish house, renovate the cur-
rent church, build a new church to seat 450 people, new parking lots and a faith
formation building along with two parish offices. It was also decided to start a
capital campaign to fund the construction projects.
Left, on March 8, 2008,
Bishop Thomas Rodi, flanked
at right by then-pastor Father
Patrick O’Shaughnessy, signs
the contract for construction
of the current St. Joseph
Church.
Left, Bishop Roger Morin and
Father O’Shaughnessy anoint the
altar of the current St. Joseph
Church during the Mass of
Dedication, which was celebrated
on June 5, 2009.
Bishop Morin is joined by concelebrating priests and permanent deacons for the
Mass of Dedication.
Exterior view of St. Joseph Church, which is a mission of Our Lady of Perpetual
Help Parish in Lumberton. Father Fintan Kilmurray is the current pastor.
See St. joseph mission, page 19
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Gulf Pine Catholic
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March 28, 2014
Gulf Pine Catholic
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March 28, 2014
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