The history of St. Rose de Lima Church and school are interrelated and it goes back over one hundred years. In 1868 the first school in Bay St. Louis, Miss. for African Americans opened with twenty-four black children in attendance. It was a two-story white building originally located on Second Street where Holy Trinity School stands today. The school came into existence about 13 years after St. Joseph Academy (1855) was opened. At that time it was affiliated with Our Lady of the Gulf Church (1845).

The Sisters of St. Joseph who were taking care of St. Joseph Academy were asked to take over the school in 1885. In 1921, the Sisters of St. Joseph asked that some other group take over the school as they found it too difficult to administer to both. In 1921 The Divine Word Missionaries (SVDs) took over the administration of the school.

The Divine Word Missionaries (SVDs) are a group of religious Priests and Brothers, whom originated as a German congregation. They later established a seminary in Techny, Illinois in 1895. They moved down to the south in 1921 and established a seminary in Greenville, Miss. to train the African American men to Priesthood and religious life because no other seminaries would accept them. Due to the racial climate at that time, the seminary known as St. Augustine was relocated to Bay St. Louis, Miss. Along with training the African American men to priesthood and religious life, the SVDs also took over the responsibility of educating the African American children.

Fr. Francis Baltes, SVD was appointed as head of the school in 1923. It was immediately recognized that a separate parish and school should to be established for the African American Catholics in Bay St. Louis. Fr. Baltes, SVD was very instrumental in petitioning the Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS) for help in this endeavor. Four sisters arrived at Bay St. Louis in 1924. Mother Catherine Drexel now known as St. Catherine Drexel greatly contributed toward this project.

Fr. Baltes decided to relocate to the property purchased on Necaise Avenue, Bay St. Louis, Miss. On August 28, 1925, the school was named St. Rose de Lima and was made independent of Our Lady of the Gulf Parish. That same year the construction of the church began with the efforts of its parishioners with Mr. Joseph Labat as general contractor.

On November 14, 1926, the church was dedicated by Bishop Richard O. Gerow along with eleven priests. Adding to the solemnity of the occasion forty-two people made their first Holy Communion and was confirmed that same afternoon. St Rose Parish had become a reality.

In January of 1935, Fr. Holken built the gymnasium and also enlarged the playground. Fr. Nau in 1955 built the new grammar school and the new school building was built in 1959. In 1968, the last high school graduating class held their commencement exercises and the last eighth grade graduation ceremonies were held. Amidst the call for integration, St. Rose with grades from kindergarten to sixth grade was a predominantly African-American population for several years. During the early years the number of enrolled students surpassed capacity. Unfortunately, the inevitable happened, and with it the demise of the Catholic education for African-Americans along the Coast. Thus, the doors of a great institution, St. Rose School, were closed forever. In September 1975, St. Rose School paired with Our Lady of the Gulf to become Bay Catholic Elementary.

However, the Church continues to thrive and has been the home for primarily African-American families. As the Church was gearing to its 65th anniversary celebration, Fr. Ken Hamilton, SVD and the parishioners felt the need to renovate the house of worship. Seeking a way to re-acquaint St. Rose parishioners with themselves as a parish and the parish with its ethnic heritage, Fr. Hamilton developed the concept A Re-Rooting and Re-Routing in Christ, a program which included renovation of the church and the families sharing their family history (roots) during Mass, and developing artwork depicting the ethnic make-up of the parish while illustrating the basic concept of our Catholic Faith: Christ is Risen.

Mainly local craftsmen who did the carpentry, electrical work and painting of the Church, undertook the renovation. Mother earth provided the raw material (trees) for the altar, the ambo, the tabernacle stand and the credence table. The altar base is fashioned from a piece of driftwood that had washed ashore near St. Stanislaus College and is set so the roots seemingly reach for heaven. The altar top is made of roughhewn planks glued together then cut to roughly conform to the general outline of the base.

The tabernacle stand, the ambo and the table for the water and wine (credence table) are also made from trees found in the Bay area. Each piece was carefully chosen for its singular purpose and was required to blend harmoniously with the central theme of the artistic renovation.

The focal point of the renovation is a mural on the rear and side walls of the sanctuary. The artist Auseklis Ozols, and his (then) student Kat Fitzpatrick (St. Rose parishioner) created a mural which represents both the Crucifixion and Resurrection. The figure of Christ floats......free of bonds and burdens of this earth.....before a huge oak tree, the Cross.... grasping the ground with ample roots yet reaching up toward the heaven.....

"The tree has witnessed all, weathered hurricanes, lost branches, lived through many seasons, human and natural. Births and deaths, days and nights, love and hate, summers and winters it has known. It is the true Cross." Auseklis Ozols

Ten years later, 2001 was the 75th anniversary of St. Rose Church. Partnered with a new Pastor, Fr. Sebastian Myladiyil, SVD, of India, St. Rose was to undergo more changes. Most of the physical work done on the Church building itself was structural. A new air conditioning system was installed and a new sound system. A new Baptismal Font that compliment and blend with the interior of St. Rose was made by potter Talle Johnson after consulting with parishioner Kat Fitzpatrick, who assisted Ozols with the mural.

As part of planning for the future, St. Rose held a Parish Forum (general gathering of the all the registered parishioners) in February 2003. The question "Where would you like to see St. Rose in 2005?" drew an overwhelming desire for a Parish Center that could be used for Church functions and other activities in the community. We have come a long way since then and the parish center named The Holy Spirit Center was completed in 2006.