| The Church of the Annunciation is the oldest Roman Catholic Church in northeast Mississippi. Established as a mission church staffed by French priests, the parish served a 12,000 square mile area. The cornerstone was laid in 1863 and the church was designed Father Jean Baptiste Mouton and modeled on the Sainte Chappele in Paris, the Gothic chapel of King Louis IX, completed in 1248. Due to the Civil War and economic difficulties following, the church was not completed for 15 years. Early priests lived in the basement of the church. After 1908 Benedictine monks from St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman, Alabama staffed the church. The altar was carved by a Benedictine brother from St. Bernard. Father Sylvester Yoerg donated the first stained glass window, crafted by the Jacoby Art Glass Company of St. Louis. By World War I, parishioners donated the remaining windows. It was listed as a contributing element (element #296) in the South Columbus Historic District, which was placed on the National Register in 1982. When that district was resurveyed and enlarged as the South Columbus Historic District Amendment No. 2 (which was added to the National Register 29 September 2021) this building was included in the enlarged district as element #402 (previously listed/contributing). It is included in "Shrines to Tomorrow" (1971), "Historic Architecture in Mississippi" (1973) (p. 112), "Old Homes of Mississippi, Volume II: Columbus and the North" (1977) (p. 13),"Historic Churches of Mississippi" (2007) (p. 37), and "Buildings of Mississippi" (2020) (p.187, PR31). [see HABS: MS-101 (1936/1975)] |