Location Information
(for the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic)
Name:Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Catholic)
Address:870 Howard Avenue
City/County:Biloxi, Harrison County
Architectural Information
Construction Date:1902
Architectural Styles(s):Gothic Revival
No. of Stories:2
Registration Information
NR Listing Date:18 May 1984
    MPS:Historic Resources of Biloxi
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Local Designation Information
Local District Name:Downtown Biloxi Historic District
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Local Landmark Listing Date:07 Sep 2010
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Context/Comments
Dedicated on 14 September 1902. This is the third building erected for the parish, earlier ones having been built in 1843 (destroyed in a hurricane in 1869), and circa 1870 (destroyed by fire on Nov. 9, 1900). This church became a cathedral in 1977 when the Diocese of Biloxi was created.

This building was individually listed on the National Register on 18 May 1984, as a component of the "Historic Resources of Biloxi."

It is included in "Shrines to Tomorrow" (1971), "The Buildings of Biloxi" (1976, pp. 88-89; and 2000/2010, p. 94), "Historic Churches of Mississippi" (2007) (p. 8), "Biloxi (Images of America)" (2009) (pp. 24 and 122), and "Buildings of Mississippi" (2020) (p. 349, GC26).
Brief Description
Two-story, brick, three-bay front-gable Gothic Revival cathedral with square bell tower on the southeast corner. Outer bays have paired two-panel entry doors with stained glass lancet transoms. Bay #3 is a pair of four-panel doors surmounted by a stained-glass transom, set within a pointed-arched surround. All windows are stained glass lancets with decorative brick lintels. Features include triangular buttresses, belt courses, and decorative brick work.
Historic Information
Building committee consisted of Rev. A. Ketels, L. Lopez Sr., W.K. Dukate, E. Glennan, L. Gill, E. Desporte, & P.H. McCabe. Stained glass windows were made by Reis & Reis of Munich, Germany in 1906.