A Short History of St. Pierre’s Episcopal Church
 

The Church on the Bayou
 
The original St. Pierre’s Church was built atop an Indian mound next to Bayou Pierre. The Rt. Rev. Theodore Dubose Bratton, third bishop of Mississippi, had a summer home in Gautier. He spent several months each year there and held Sunday services at his home. In 1921, Bishop Bratton determined to build an Episcopal Church in the community, which had no church of any denomination. Bishop Bratton drew in many people who had no affiliation into the Episcopal Church.
 
The Rev. John Chipman, vicar of St. John’s in Pascagoula, was also an architect and a civil engineer.  He drew up the plans for St. Pierre’s and helped with building construction.  His son, John, carved the date on the cornerstone, November 12, 1921. On that day, Bishop Bratton confirmed George and Carroll Clifford, and workmen began laying blocks for the building after the service.
 
St. Pierre’s became a community project.  The land was donated by Mrs. Eugenia Orrell.  Money for construction came from the Church Building Fund in New York.  Paul LeBatard and Mabry Penton did all the woodwork.  LeBatard used a cedar log donated by Mrs. Vivian Chestnut to build the altar and baptismal font. The building blocks were made on the spot by Leonard W. Fuller and Carroll Clifford.  The brass altar cross was given by the Grinstead family in memory of Agnes Hellmuth.  Fuller served as senior warden from 1921 until his death in 1961.
 
In the early years, St. Pierres’s had an ecumenical atmosphere.  Many denominations used the building until they built church of their own.
 
The church was served by priests from Pascgoula:  the Rev. Paul Chipman (1921-1922), the Rev. Dr. Charles L.W. Reese (1922-1926), the Rev. John Beehan (1926-1932), the Rev. Edward G. Maxted )1932-1941), the Rev. Frederick S. Resch (1942-1948), the Rev. Cyril Vlamynck (1948-1968), the Rev. Harold O. Martin (1969-1978), and the Rev. Paul Cosby (1978-1986).
 
St. Pierre’s was not the primary focus of these priests’ obligations and the congregation suffered from neglect as did the church building due to hurricane damage throughout the years. Yet, the St. Pierre’s church family determined to become an independent mission of the Diocese of Mississippi. Father Harold Martin, who retired in Moss Point, agreed to serve as vicar.  Bishop Duncan Gray, Jr. gave his consent for elections to be held, and the first mission committee was chosen: Carroll Clifford III, senior warden, James LeBatard, junior warden, Carroll Clifford, Jr., treasurer, James Henry LeBatard, clerk.  Other members included Mary Penton, Marguerite Fuller, Norma Katzenmeyer, James Manatt, and James Fuller.
 
The building was renovated with new altar hangings and vestments. An organist was hired. Outreach became a primary goal of the new mission, and a search was begun to find a more suitable location in the future.
 
The Church on Gautier-Vancleave Road 1988-2020

                      
In 1986, the congregation purchased the Rouse property on one of Gautier’s main streets, Gautier-Vancleave Road.  Ground breaking for the new church was held in March, 1992, and Starks Construction in Biloxi began building.  The new church was dedicated on January 17, 1993, by the Rt. Rev. Duncan, Gray Jr., 7th Bishop of Mississippi. The church is a simplified gotich design with a steel frame faced with brick.
 
There is an icon of St. Peter in the church narthex reflecting the church’s patron saint painted by Chester Delacruz of Biloxi.  Most of the stained-glass windows were designed by Andrew Young of Pearl River Glass in Jackson, Mississippi.
 
The altar is adorned with a gothic revival reredos designed and built by Edward Burn-Jones, a pre-Raphaelite English artist of the 19th century.  The piece was likely built in the 1880s.  The reredos depicts three scenes from the life of Jesus: the crucifixion (center), the flight to Egypt, and the presentation in the Temple.
 
The Rev. Harold Martin discovered the reredos in an antique store in Darbyshire, England, in 1991 with his wife, Marge, and friends, Aubrey and Lucy Hilley. The Hilleys purchased the reredos for the new church in memory of their son, Kenneth Hilley.
 
Adjacent to the church is a distinctive bell tower which plays chimes on the hour.  Two buildings are behind the church that serve as a parish hall and Sunday school rooms.

Since the new church opened, the congregation has been served by: the Rev. Harold Martin (1986-1994), the Rev. Harry Hughes (1994-1999), the Rev. Al Meade (1999-2000), the Rev. Scott Lenoir (2001-2005), the Rev. Hunter Isaacs (2005-2014), the Rev. Deacon James Henry LeBatard (200-2014), the Rev. Harold Roberts (2013-2017).  The Rev. Dr. John Switzer is the current rector of St. Pierre’s.  He is assisted by the Rev. Johnny Bond and the Rev. Scott Lenoir.                                                  

St. Pierre’s also has a beautiful outdoor chapel complete with a Stations of the Cross walk.

The chapel and stations were added in 2003. The chapel was
an Eagle Scout project of Kyle McLaughlin, a St. Pierre’s member who is now deceased. The first Stations of the Cross were handmade by long-time senior warden, Don Waddell.                           

The stations had to be replaced in 2017 and were given as a memorial to Don by his wife,
Neal.
 
St. Pierre’s was recently awarded with a historical marker by the State of Mississippi for its significance to Gautier.  In 2019, the church moved from mission status to parish status. While the congregation celebrates its history, the church looks with optimism toward its future role within the community and in the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi.