By Stephen P. White, The Catholic Thing - The earliest history of the Catholic Church in the United States is decidedly Marian. The first recorded Mass in what is now the United States proper was celebrated at present-day St. Augustine, Florida in 1565. The date was September 8: the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. The English-speaking colonies would have to wait almost seven decades for their first Mass, which was celebrated in what is now Maryland, in the year 1634. The date was March 25: the Feast of the Annunciation.