Yulee, Fla. – Bishop Felipe J. Estévez of the Diocese of St. Augustine will join the faith community of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Mission in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new church on Saturday, May 16 at 11 a.m. The ceremony will be held on the church’s property located at A1A and Gene Lasserre Blvd.

St. Francis of Assisi, officially established on May 14, 2014, began as a mission of St. Michael Catholic Church in Fernandina Beach. The first Mass was celebrated in Yulee on August 11, 2007 at the Yulee United Methodist Church. The mission is designated a “quasi-parish” without territorial boundaries and will serve the faithful in the general area of Nassau County west of the Intracoastal Waterway and east of I-95.

The Yulee United Methodist Church generously rents space to the mission for the celebration of Mass on Saturdays at 4 p.m. and most recently Sundays at 8 a.m. The average attendance in 2007 was 69. Today it averages 200 people. According to a new census taken by St. Michael Parish, 135 families are registered at St. Francis of Assisi.

On March 1 this year, Bishop Estévez appointed Father Daniel Guindon as administrator of St. Francis of Assisi Mission.

Construction on the 12,000 square-foot church will begin in June and is expected to be completed in February 2016. The church will have seating for about 350 people at a cost of $2.2 million. The architect is Jose Miranda of Fernandina Beach. A contractor will be selected next week.

The public is invited to attend this momentous occasion. A reception will follow the ceremony at the Yulee United Methodist Church at 86003 Christian Way.

Editorial Note: In the Catholic Church a quasi-parish is a community of the faithful which is not yet established as a parish. The intention is that this mission will be erected into a parish when it is practical to do so.