St. Paul's Catholic Church is a historic

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church located in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, United States. It is a compact

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style, cruciform plan church. It is constructed of load-bearing masonry walls clad in quarry-faced granite. The church was designed by John Peebles (1876-1934) in 1897, and dedicated in 1905. It is the fifth church on the site. Also on the property is a contributing

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

constructed in 1913. an
''Accompanying two photos''
/ref> It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2002. It is located in the Downtown Portsmouth Historic District. Yearly, the choir director and organ player, Nick Nespoli, who is also the chorus instructor of

Western Branch High School Western Branch High School (WBHS) is a suburban high school in Chesapeake, Virginia, United States. Established in 1968, it currently has over 2100 students. The two feeder schools of WBHS are Joliff Middle School and Western Branch Middle School ...

, has his students from school perform at the church around

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

. This concert is a free event, and the music performed ranges from secular to religious music. The main pieces performed are selections from the Messiah, by

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

, or the Gloria RV 589 by

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

References

External links

St. Paul's Church website
Churches in Portsmouth, Virginia Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond Gothic Revival church buildings in Virginia Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Portsmouth, Virginia Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Roman Catholic churches completed in 1905 1905 establishments in Virginia 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States {{Virginia-RC-church-stub