Holy Family Church and School

Holy Family Church and School. Natchez Trails. , In 1889 Bishop Thomas Heslin started the first parish for Roman Catholic African Americans in Mississippi. He first oversaw construction of a small frame church (above left) on Beaumont Street and brought Father A.N.J. Peters to Natchez to become the founding parish priest., The congregation grew quickly, and Father Peters traveled north to raise money for a new, larger church and school. Heiress Katharine Drexel of Philadelphia became a major benefactor., In 1894 the congregation dedicated a Victorian Gothic brick church, constructed by local builder William Ketteringham, and named it Holy Family Church. The building featured an upper-story sanctuary with classrooms below., Pictured above (left to right) are the 1906 school auditorium/cafeteria, the 1894 convent and Holy Family Church. Not visible is the ca. 1895 redtory., Photo Captions.. Top left The interior of Holy Family has changed little since 1911. The aspe, the arch containing the altar, originally featured a wall painting of the Holy Family: Mary, Joseph and Jesus., Bottom Left In 1899 the Josephite Society of the Sacred Heart, a Baltimore society focused on ministering to African Americans, took charge of the church. They assumed ownership of the property in 1904. Their strong commitment to social justice had a profound effect on the Civil Rights movement in Natchez., Top right The Gospel Choir of Holy Family presents a musical history of the Natchez African American experience during the Spring Pilgrimage tour of houses and also by special arrangement., Bottom Right Father William Morrissey of Holy Family (far right) was the first white officer of the Mississippi Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Also pictured at a 1965 NAACP meeting at Holy Family (left to right) are Civil Rights activists Shead Baldwin, P.K. Pennington, George West and Charles Evers.