First MassMarch 29, 1682
| Location | Fort Adams |
|---|---|
| State/Territory | Mississippi |
| County | Wilkinson County |
| Modern Diocese | Jackson |
| Historical Diocese | Diocese of the Two Floridas and Louisiana(?) |
| Date | March 29, 1682 |
| Priest | Father Zenobius Membre, O.M.R. |
| Religious Order | Other |
| Rite | Roman (Latin) Rite |
| Expedition | Sieur Robert Cavelier de LaSalle’s expedition down the Mississippi river from Montreal to its mouth. |
| Confidence | confirmed |
Documentation
Notes
"Although this is the first documented Mass in the area, there is much evidence that the Hernando deSoto expedition in 1540 would have had Masses celebrated in what is now southern Alabama. It is believed by the time the expedition reached the Mississippi, where deSoto died of a mosquito born illness in 1842[sic] near present day Ferriday, Louisiana, the priests traveling with him would have run out of the wine needed for Mass."
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