In 1881 the first Catholic family had moved to Daytona Beach and celebrated their first mass in March of 1882 just a few blocks from where the church stands today. For about 3 years masses were held in Daytona twice a year until St. Teresa's in Titusville founded a mission nearby.
  
The floor plan within the church is an exact replica of the St. Teresa's church in Titusville just smaller scaled. The first mass to be held in the building was in 1927 with its Spanish Rectitude and tiled roofs. 

Their are these curved pillars in the front of the church by the big wood doors and are based on the Bernini columns on the high altar in St. Peter's of Rome. The  cypress wood doors are designed to look like they come from the dark age are actually replicas of a pair in Valencia Spain.  The Statue of St. Paul over the door is a block of stone forming the keystone of the building weighing around five tons.

The church is really a beautiful site being its one of the largest in Daytona we really wanted to investigate it. The hurricane did a number on this place so the steeple or part of it sits in the parking lot. Although its probably not the oldest parish it has alot of history and with history comes a nice ghost story or two.

© By

Rick-AngelOfThyNight



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