Landmarks
St. Michael's Catholic Church
177 East First Street, Biloxi, MS 39530
Photo: Jennifer Smits/FEMA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
St. Michael's Catholic Church has anchored Point Cadet since the fishing families of the neighborhood organized the parish in 1908. The building you see today, dedicated in 1964, still goes by the name locals gave it: the Church of the Fishermen. Its rounded walls curve up into a roof scalloped like an open clam shell — a shape you won't find anywhere else in Biloxi.
Getting There
The church sits at 177 East First Street on Point Cadet, the peninsula between the Back Bay and the Mississippi Sound where Biloxi's seafood industry took root more than a century ago. It's a short drive east from downtown Biloxi and just a few blocks from the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum and the Biloxi Lighthouse, easy to fold into a walk around the peninsula. A paved lot beside the church holds a handful of cars, with more parking along First Street — though it fills up fast before the Saturday vigil and Sunday morning Mass, so a weekday visit is quieter if you just want a look at the building.
What to Expect
What stops people on the sidewalk is the roof: a scalloped, seashell-shaped canopy architect James T. Canizaro gave the church when it was rebuilt in 1964. Inside, stained-glass windows repeat a quiet motif of fish, nets, and water — a nod to the shrimping and oystering boats that once filled the nearby harbor. The building has taken its share of hits from the Gulf, from Hurricane Camille in 1969 to Katrina's surge in 2005, and each time the parish rebuilt rather than relocate. That's much of why the nickname stuck: a fishing community built this church, and it's weathered storms the way that community has for well over a century.
Good to Know
Weekday Mass runs Tuesday through Friday at 8 a.m., with a Saturday vigil at 5 p.m., Sunday Mass at 10 a.m., and confession Saturday from 4 to 4:30 p.m. The parish office keeps shorter hours, Tuesday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. — the best time to call ahead at (228) 435-5578, since holidays can shift things. This is a working parish, not a tourist site, so dress modestly, keep your voice down if a service is underway, and skip wandering into the sanctuary outside of Mass times. Photos of the roofline and exterior are welcome any time.
Our Take
Skip St. Michael's and you'd miss the most memorable roofline on the Coast — nothing else in Biloxi looks quite like it. Time a visit for early evening, when low light catches the scalloped edges and the cross out front. A few minutes on the sidewalk or in the parking lot is plenty to take it in — go ahead and admire it, just keep it low-key since services happen here every day of the week.
Details last verified August 2026. Always confirm current hours and prices directly with the attraction.