St. Francis Xavier Convent is significant as one of the largest and best-preserved examples of Gothic Revival architecture in Vicksburg. The Sisters of Mercy, for whom the convent was built, have exercised great influence in the state of Mississippi in the areas of education and public health since 1860. This building was individually listed on the National Register on 18 April 1977 from a nomination prepared by MDAH architectural historian William C. Allen. It was later included as element #39 in the Uptown Vicksburg Historic District, which was placed on the National Register on 19 August 1993, and it was more recently included as element #41 in the Uptown Vicksburg Amendment and Boundary Increase No. 2, which was added to the National Register on 4 February 2020. It is included in the "Old Homes of Mississippi, Volume I: Natchez and the South" (1977, 1979) (p. 95), the "Historic Vicksburg Walking Tour Guide" (1987) (in #24, p. 21), and "Buildings of Mississippi" (2020) (pp.78-79, YB18). |