Saint James the Greater

Catholic life in Hopewell can be traced to 1887, when Bishop John J. Keane, the fifth Bishop of Richmond, purchased property at City Point for a Catholic church. A chapel was built the following year to serve Catholic seamen and their families stationed in the area. The chapel became a mission of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Petersburg. When the United States Navy withdrew from City Point in 1903, much of the Catholic population departed and the chapel was eventually sold.

Hopewell experienced tremendous growth beginning in 1914 with the establishment of the DuPont plant and the arrival of thousands of workers. As the Catholic population grew, a small chapel was established on Broadway. In 1916, property at City Point Road and Sixth Avenue was purchased for a permanent church. The cornerstone was laid that July, and Saint James Catholic Church was dedicated on October 15, 1916. In 1918, Saint James became an independent parish, with Father John J. Massey serving as its first resident pastor.

The parish continued to grow in the decades that followed. Under Father James P. Gacquin, St. James established parish organizations and Saint James School, along with a convent. After the original church suffered structural damage in a storm, a new church was constructed. During construction, parishioners celebrated Mass at Hopewell's Beacon Theater. The new Saint James church opened on March 1, 1951.

Over the years, the church and parish facilities underwent several renovations as St. James continued serving the Catholic community of Hopewell. The parish celebrated 100 years of service in 2016, followed by a major sanctuary renovation. The newly renovated worship space was first used for Mass on Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017.

Today, St. James the Greater continues the mission begun by those first Catholics at City Point more than a century ago. Our parish family continues to grow and change along with the community it serves, including a vibrant and growing Spanish-speaking community. United as one Catholic family, we honor the generations who built St. James while looking forward in faith to the generations still to come.