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Very Reverend A. J. Gmelch
Rev. Andrew J. Gmelch was born November 30, 1877, at Rohrbach, Germany. He made his ecclesiastical studies at Cullman, Ala., and in New Orleans, La. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 14, 1901, in St. Stephen’s church, New Orleans. The early years of his priesthood were spent in Clarksdale, Vicksburg and Merigold. In the fall of 1905 he became pastor of Canton, where he remained until his appointment as pastor of Bay St. Louis on January 17, 1918.
Father Gmelch quickly realized that Waveland and the adjoining missions were about ready for a resident pastor and he consulted Bishop Gunn on the matter. The plan met with the favor of the Bishop, who had come to this conclusion while on a visit to the mission on November 16, 1912. On July 27, 1918, Bishop Gunn purchased from the Jesuits a tract of land they had inherited. This acquisition made it possible to build a priest’s house and install a pastor at Waveland. On June 1, 1919, Rev. Michael Costello, assistant at Bay St. Louis, was appointed to take charge of Waveland and the neighboring missions.
Father Gmelch had long been a friend of the Fathers of the Divine Word. He was the first to welcome them when they came into the diocese in 1905. He likewise welcomed them to Bay St. Louis to establish St. Augustine’s Mission House and to care for the Colored of the parish. The cornerstone of St. Augustine’s Mission House was laid November 23,1922. The Divine Work Fathers took over the Colored school in 1923 and the parish of St. Rose of Lima was definitely separated from the parish of Our Lady of the Gulf on August 28, 1926.