History of Our Church
History
Although it is possible that priests, accompanying De Soto’s expedition, passed the present site of Vicksburg as early as 1642, the first resident priest, Reverend M. D. O’Reilly, came to Vicksburg in 1839. He made rapid progress in the area, and by 1841 had purchased a lot on the east side of Walnut Street between South and Crawford Streets to erect a frame church. By 1843, plans were being made for a larger church.
In 1847, the lot on the northwest corner of Crawford and Walnut was purchased and a beautiful Gothic church, erected on this location, was dedicated on October 14, 1849. This edifice was severely damaged by a tornado in 1953 and had to be demolished.
The cornerstone for the present St. Paul Catholic Church was laid in 1956; the first Sunday Mass was offered in the new church on February 10, 1957.
Parish Priests since the Beginning
| Rev. Michael D. O'Reilly | 1840-1846 |
| Rev. Stephen H. Montgomery | 1847-1852 |
| Rev. R. B. Hardy | 1853-1857 |
| Rev. J. O'Connor | 1858-1859 |
| Rev. Francis Xavier Leray | 1860-1874 |
| Rev. John McManus | 1874-1878 |
| Rev. Herman Oberfeld | 1879-1881 |
| Rev. Henry Picherit | 1882-1899 |
| Rev. F. McConkey | 1900-1904 |
| Rev. J. J. Mallin | 1905-1917 |
| Rev. John Prendergast | 1919-1941 |
| Rev. D. J. O'Beirne | 1942-1960 |
| Rev. Michael McCarthy | 1958-1967 |
| Rev. Eamon Mullen | 1967-1970 |
| Rev. Michael Glynn | 1970-1977 |
| Msgr. Joseph Koury | 1977-1981 |
| Rev. John Egan | 1981-1991 |
| Rev. Thomas McGing | 1991-2003 |
| Msgr. Patrick Farrell | 2003-2013 |
| Rev. Tom Lalor | 2013-2018 |
| Rev. Rusty Vincent | 2018-Present |
St. Paul on Christmas Eve in 1953.
