Pass Christian

Town in Harrison County, southern Mississippi, USA, on Mississipi Sound, at the entrance to St Louis Bay, 14 km/9 mi southwest of Gulfport; population (1990) 5,600. It is a beach resort and processing centre for local oysters, shrimp, and lumber. Named in 1699, the settlement became a resort for wealthy plantation owners in the early 19th century; the first US yacht club was established in Pass Christian in 1849.

A town of strategic importance since the 18th century, in 1812 it was the scene of a naval battle fought nearby to the southwest between British and American vessels.