The history of the Catholic Church in Florida goes back to the very discovery of Florida itself. On September 8, 1565 the first European settlement and Catholic parish was established at St. Augustine. The history of the Church in Madison County goes back almost as far. From St. Augustine, the Spanish missionaries traveled forth across northern Florida preaching the Gospel and establishing chapels along what has become known as the Mission Trail. One of these chapels was that of San Pedro de Profohiriba, located in the Sampala Lake area of what is now Madison County.

Centuries passed between the abandonment of this first chapel and the building of the building of the present St. Vincent de Paul church in 1907. The following excerpts are taken from the booklet "seeing Florida With a Priest" by Patrick J. Bresnahan.

"The first mission in MADISON was also held in the fall of 1904, and the courthouse was used for the lectures and sermons and the judge's bench served as an altar..... I headquartered here for about a year, and we undertook work of building a church. All the Catholics contributed generously and some non-Catholics . Our Rt. Rev Bishop Kenny came to our assistance also, but at first we could get no one to sell us a lot. After weary waiting one man, in need of ready cash, consented to sell a piece of property to a private party, who transferred it to the Bishop afterwards, and we found ourselves the owners of a residence, a remodeled Methodist church and two large lots: so we started building."

Over the years the parish in Madison has been cared for by priests out of Tallahassee, Lake City, and Perry. The first resident Pastor came to Madison in 1965; and in September of 1968, the parish was entrusted to the care of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.