The first Catholics in the Virginia Peninsula were two Dominican friars, accompanied by 37 Spanish and Portuguese troops and guided by a converted Algonquian, in August 1566.
Ten Spanish Jesuits founded St. Mary's Mission, known more commonly as the Ajacán Mission, in 1570.
One posited location for where they disembarked is present-day College Creek.
The entire encampment of Spanish missionaries and Native American converts was massacred by members of the Powhatan people in 1571 with the exception of a single convert boy, who was rescued by Spanish forces from Florida the next year.

In September 1923, Mexican immigrant and professor Carlos Eduardo Castañeda arrived at the College of William and Mary to teach Spanish.
As the faculty leader of the Gibbons Club, formed on 11 December 1923, he and thirty students agitated for a priest from Newport News to come to Williamsburg in order to fulfill their Sunday Mass obligations.
In 1929, $25,000 was given by Margaret Burns to the Diocese of Richmond for "mission churches in Virginia," with the money going towards two lots purchased with the support of College President J. A. C. Chandler.

In 1932, the Catholic College Chapel was constructed to meet the growing needs of the Catholic students and staff at the College.
The chapel was dedicated to Benedictine monk St. Bede the Venerable in October 1932.
In 1939, the chapel was dedicated as a parish.
On 1 February 1942, Saint Bede's first pastor Fr.
Thomas Walsh dedicated the parish to Our Lady of Walsingham.
The church was blessed in 1942.

The parish purchased a building originally constructed as a fraternity home adjacent to the original location of Saint Bede, 601 College Terrace, for use as housing by the USO, in which thousands of soldiers and families stayed.
On 16 September 1947, the Sisters of Mercy opened Walsingham Academy, a private Catholic school, in this building.
After the school's move, the building served as a rectory and is now a privately-owned home.

In 2003, the parish opened a church off of Ironbound Road in Williamsburg, about 1.5 miles from the original chapel.
While the title of Saint Bede Catholic Church passed to this new structure, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham remained a part of and is managed by the parish.

The ordination of Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia Bishop Susan Haynes was originally scheduled to take place on 1 February 2020 in Saint Bede.
Petitions seeking for Catholic Bishop Barry Knestout to rescind the invitation towards the Episcopalians resulted in international coverage of the controversy.
On 17 January 2020, the Episcopal Diocese announced they were moving the ordination to a different church in Williamsburg, citing that the event was "causing dismay and distress" in the Saint Bede community and invoking the warning of St. Paul against "pursuing behavior that might cause problems for others within their community."

Like other parishes in the Diocese of Richmond and around the world, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced the cessation of public Masses and the cancellation of other parish activities on 15 March 2020.
The first Catholics in the Virginia Peninsula were two Dominican friars, accompanied by 37 Spanish and Portuguese troops and guided by a converted Algonquian, in August 1566. Ten Spanish Jesuits founded St. Mary's Mission, known more commonly as the Ajacán Mission, in 1570. One posited location for where they disembarked is present-day College Creek. The entire encampment of Spanish missionaries and Native American converts was massacred by members of the Powhatan people in 1571 with the exception of a single convert boy, who was rescued by Spanish forces from Florida the next year.
In September 1923, Mexican immigrant and professor Carlos Eduardo Castañeda arrived at the College of William and Mary to teach Spanish. As the faculty leader of the Gibbons Club, formed on 11 December 1923, he and thirty students agitated for a priest from Newport News to come to Williamsburg in order to fulfill their Sunday Mass obligations. In 1929, $25,000 was given by Margaret Burns to the Diocese of Richmond for "mission churches in Virginia," with the money going towards two lots purchased with the support of College President J. A. C. Chandler.
In 1932, the Catholic College Chapel was constructed to meet the growing needs of the Catholic students and staff at the College. The chapel was dedicated to Benedictine monk St. Bede the Venerable in October 1932. In 1939, the chapel was dedicated as a parish. On 1 February 1942, Saint Bede's first pastor Fr. Thomas Walsh dedicated the parish to Our Lady of Walsingham. The church was blessed in 1942.
The parish purchased a building originally constructed as a fraternity home adjacent to the original location of Saint Bede, 601 College Terrace, for use as housing by the USO, in which thousands of soldiers and families stayed. On 16 September 1947, the Sisters of Mercy opened Walsingham Academy, a private Catholic school, in this building. After the school's move, the building served as a rectory and is now a privately-owned home.
In 2003, the parish opened a church off of Ironbound Road in Williamsburg, about 1.5 miles from the original chapel. While the title of Saint Bede Catholic Church passed to this new structure, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham remained a part of and is managed by the parish.
The ordination of Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia Bishop Susan Haynes was originally scheduled to take place on 1 February 2020 in Saint Bede. Petitions seeking for Catholic Bishop Barry Knestout to rescind the invitation towards the Episcopalians resulted in international coverage of the controversy. On 17 January 2020, the Episcopal Diocese announced they were moving the ordination to a different church in Williamsburg, citing that the event was "causing dismay and distress" in the Saint Bede community and invoking the warning of St. Paul against "pursuing behavior that might cause problems for others within their community."
Like other parishes in the Diocese of Richmond and around the world, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced the cessation of public Masses and the cancellation of other parish activities on 15 March 2020.
Saint Bede Catholic Church (Williamsburg, Virginia)