St. Clare Catholic Church in Waveland, Hancock County, was established as a parish in 1919, having its first resident pastor the Reverend Michael J Costello, served
forty-three years until his death in 1962.

Prior to 1919 the Catholic community in Waveland was served from Our Lady of the Gulf Parish in Bay St. Louis. Father Louis Buteaux, first pastor of Bay St. Louis, offered an occasional weekday Mass in a Waveland home. The first Catholic Church built in Waveland was a small wooden structure located on the Beach Road, erected in 1881 by Father LeDuc, pastor of Bay St. Louis, who celebrated a monthly Sunday Mass in the new house of worship. In 1898, Father Blanc established regular weekly Sunday Mass in St. Clare, Waveland.

Bishop Janssens dedicated the little mission church of St. Clare in 1882, blessing its bell on July 15, 1883. The Catholic population at that time was 176. By 1905 the small structure was enlarged to practically double its original size and enlarged again in 1938. Once again, in 1957, Father Costello added an addition: a brick front wall and bell tower which survived the ravages of Hurricane Camille the night of August 17, 1969. In 1962, Fr. O’Brien built a new brick church, a parochial school, a two-story residence for the teaching Sisters, Dominican Nuns of the Congregation of St. Mary, New Orleans.

Currently, 2024, St. Clare Catholic Church serves a congregation of approximately 350 families.