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Lay Cornerstone
On Saturday morning, November 16, 1907, a great catastrophe occurred. The parochial school for girls, St. Joseph’s academy, the Church of Our Lady of the Gulf and the Catholic rectory were destroyed by fire. The church was one of the oldest landmarks; its associations and memories made the loss irreparable. Father Prendergast, however, was not disheartened. He formulated plans for a new and greater church. On October 4,1908, the cornerstone of the new church was laid by Rt. Rev. Thomas Heslin. The first Mass in the new church was celebrated by Father Prendergast on Sunday, December 13, 1908; it was likewise the day of the first initiation of the Knights of Columbus in Bay St. Louis. The architecture of the church is Romanesque; the proportions are 65 feet front by 149 feet in depth. Even to this day it is one of the finest churches in the Diocese of Natchez.
Many and great were the difficulties to be faced in the parish during these years. The zealous pastor not only met and solved these problems but, like a true missionary, he opened new fields. He build the Church of St. Henry at Edwardsville, dedicated the church at Lakeshore and built the church at Clermont Harbor.
During his residence here Father Prendergast endeared himself to all the people. The recognized his splendid worth as a citizen and as a priest. The prosperity of the parish during his administration stamped him as the executive of rare ability; his profound learning was always evident; his eloquence was proverbial; his zeal, self-sacrifice and fatherly affection caused everyone to love Father John. Bay St. Louis sincerely regretted his departure for Vicksburg, where he became pastor January 17, 1918.