History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 145

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358

USA > Missouri > St Louis County > St Louis City > History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men > Part 145

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month, when it meets at seven o'clock and proceeds in a body to St. Xavier's Church to partake of the Communion. Frequent social gatherings are held at stated times. Sodality Hall, on the southeast corner of Ninth Street and Christy Avenue, was ereeted by St. Louis University in 1855, and besides rooms for meetings, contains a library of two thousand volumes and a reading-room supplied with local and Catholie periodieals. In 1880 a new class of members, known as the Veteran Corps, was organized within the sodal- ity, its objeet being to recall sueh of its earlier mem- bers as had withdrawn from aetive fellowship. Fif- teen years' membership constitutes eligibility to the corps, and it has now about two hundred names on its roll. The total present aetive and honorary member- ship of the sodality numbers six hundred and thirty- four, and its officers are a spiritual director, prefeets (first and second), secretary, treasurer, librarian, and twelve consultors, all of whom form the eouneil of the sodality.

ST. JOSEPH'S SODALITY, for married men, was or- ganized by Father O'Neil about fifteen years ago. It meets in Sodality Hall at two o'eloek on Sunday afternoons.

THE YOUNG LADIES' SODALITY of the Blessed Virgin Mary was organized by Rev. A. Damen, S.J., Aug. 15, 1848, with twenty-eight members. Sinee then fifteen hundred names have been enrolled, and the present aetive membership numbers five hundred. On the first Sunday of every month the members approach the Holy Communion in a body, their average attendance being three hundred and fifty. On other Sundays they meet to recite the offices of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with an average attendance of three hundred. The sodality oeeupies one story of Sodal- ity Hall, and possesses a fine library of over eighteen hundred volumes. It also has a burial lot in Calvary Cemetery. A Mutual Benevolent Association, which is very flourishing and productive of great good, is sustained by its members. Rev. F. J. Boudreaux is the present director.

ST. ANNE'S SODALITY for married women was organized under the title of the Immaculate Coneep- tion Sodality, Dee. 8, 1875, by Rev. P. J. Ward, S.J., who was chosen at the time, and has sinee remained its spiritual director. St. Anne was selected as sec- ondary patron, hence the name afterwards adopted. The officers at first consisted of prefect, first and see- ond assistants, secretary, saeristan, treasurer, and twelve consultors; but the growth of the sodality rendering others necessary, there are now in addition to the above three assistant secretaries, an assistant saeristan, assistant treasurer, two medal-bearers, and

six regulators. These officers are elected by the vote of the whole sodality at the annual meeting in April. The regular meeting takes place every Sunday after- noon (except the third Sunday) for reciting the offices of the Blessed Virgin and instruction. On every third Sunday the sodality attends the Holy Commu- nion. An annual retreat of one week is also given, and all who attend it are admitted to membership, dis- pensing with the three months' probation usually required of postulants. The retreat is closed by mass and Communion, followed by the aet of consecration for postulates, and its renewal for old members, with closing instruction and benediction. High masses of requiem for deceased members are said both during retreat and as soon as possible after the death of any member. The average monthly number of eommu- nieants during the past year has been three hundred and five. The sodality began in 1875 with ninety- six members, and on the 1st of January, 1882, num- bered five hundred and sixty-five members. Several, however, have sinee been dropped for non-attendance, leaving the actual membership four hundred and fifty. Sinee the beginning there have been twenty-seven deaths.

St. Joseph's Church, at the northeast corner of Eleventh and Biddle Streets, Rev. Lambert Etten, S.J., pastor, was established for the use of German Catholies by the members of the Society of Jesus attached to the St. Louis University. The congrega- tion first met for worship in 1840, in St. Aloysius Chapel, on the grounds of the university on Washing- ton Avenue, and when St. Francis Xavier Church was finished this chapel was given up to them. The ground for St. Joseph's Church was given by Mrs. Ann Biddle, and work was begun March 1, 1844. The corner-stone was laid in April, 1844, and the building, which was eighty by one hundred and twenty feet, was finished and dedicated Aug. 2, 1846. The building was in the Ionie style of architecture, and was surmounted by a spire one hundred and fifty feet in height. The interior was divided into a nave and two aisles, and was finished after the Corinthian order. George Purves was the architeet. The parish grew very rapidly, and under the pastorate of Father Weber, S.J., the church was greatly enlarged and improved. The corner-stone of a new building was laid in the latter part of June, 1865, and the com- pleted structure was dedicated Dec. 30, 1866. In 1880 the present front with the steeples was added, making the dimensions of the whole edifiee one hun- dred and twelve by one hundred and eighty feet. As it now stands, with its massive proportions and lofty towers, it is one of the most spacious and imposing

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HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

church edifices in the country. It will seat two thou- sand six hundred persons, but as many as four thou- sand five hundred have been contained within its walls. The exterior is in the Romanesque style of architecture, and the interior is magnificently deco- rated, the grand altar having cost ten thousand dollars. In the semi-dome are five panels, each of which con- tains colossal figures in natural colors, representing the Virgin Mary, SS. Ann and Joachim, Abraham and David, surrounded by appropriate emblems. These are again crowned by another composition, as is scen through the eye of the first dome, representing the Holy Trinity. The diffused light produced by mechanical combinations reflected on these figures has a magnificent effect.

The nave is separated from the aisles by a range of Corinthian columns of Sienna marble supporting semi-circular arches, and terminating with a semi- dome, or apse, inclosing the high altar. These col- umns and arches support a clear-story, which is perforated by windows, and separated from the arches by a crowning entablature, which forms the base sus- taining the semi-circular arches spanning the nave. The spaces or bays between the columns and walls forming the side aisles are covered by small domes, giving to each section a separate compartment. On south end of the interior is the styolate sustaining the choir and galleries. The parochial schools are located in three brick buildings, three stories high, on Eleventh Street, between Cass Avenue and O'Fallon Street, built in 1857, 1860, and 1862, and are under the charge of the Sisters de Notre Dame and of secular teachers. The buildings and ground cost about sixty thousand dollars ; and the schools are conducted by eleven teachers, and attended by nine hundred pupils. The successive pastors of the church have been Rev. Fathers J. Cotting, 1840 ; Hofbauer, 1846; Seisl, 1847; Patschowski, 1851; Joseph Weber, 1859; Tschieder, 1870 ; Fr. Hagemann, 1876; L. Etten, 1881, all of the Society of Jesus; Fathers Joseph Weber (who has been attached to the church for twenty-nine years), .F. X. Whippern, and Francis Braun, all of the Society of Jesus, are assistant pastors. The parish comprises eight hundred families and two thousand communicants, and the Sunday-school has four teachers and four hundred pupils. The congre- gation is exclusively German, and has connected with it a Young Men's Sodality of two hundred members ; Young Ladies' Sodality, two hundred and thirty mem- bers ; Married Men's Sodality, organized 1881, one hundred and twenty members; St. Joseph's Benevo- lent Society, two thousand members ; St. Vincent de Paul Society, and others.

St. Mary of Victories, another German Church, was organized by the Rev. Peter Fischer, its first pas- tor, in 1843, its original members being a portion of the Cathedral congregation. The deed of the church property bcars the date of Feb. 8, 1843. The cor- ner-stone of the present church, which is located at the northeast corner of Third and Mulberry Streets, was laid June 25, 1843, and the building was blessed on the 15th of September, 1844. In 1859-60 an addition to the church on the east side, increasing it more than one-half its former size, and the tower were built, and on the 13th of May, 1860, the church was consecrated. Archbishop Kenrick officiated, assisted by Rev. R. Niederkorn, S.J., of St. Joseph's Church ; Rev. Dr. Salzman, of Milwaukee ; Rev. Mr. Golter, of the Church of SS. Peter and Paul ; and Rev. Mr. Ziegler, Fathers De Smet, S. J. Bannon, and others. The second pastor was Very Rev. Joseph Melcher, V. G., 1847 to 1868 ; the third, Very Rev. Henry Muhlsiepen, V. G., March to August, 1868; the fourth and present pastor, Rev. William Faerber, S.J., was appointed August, 1868. The church owns the west half of the block on which it stands (ex- cept twenty-two feet on the northwest corner), or two hundred and twenty-five by one hundred and fifty feet. The parochial school, a two-story brick building, eighty- two by seventy-six feet, adjoins the church on the north. It was established in 1855, and is under the charge of one secular teacher and five Sisters of Notre Dame. It is attended by four hundred pupils. About two thousand persons (adults and children) are con- nected with this congregation. The Sisters of Notre Dame, of whom there are several in the city, in charge of different parish schools, have a small con- vent or residence at 742 South Third Street, on a part of the church lot.

St. Patrick's Church .- The corner-stone of St. Patrick's Church, situated at the northwest corner of Sixth and Biddle Streets, was laid in 1843, and the building was dedicated in 1845. It is a Gothic brick structure, seventy-five by one hundred and twenty feet, with a spire one hundred and nincty feet high, and its interior is highly decorated. The main altar, of Italian marble and highly artistic workman- ship, is one of the costliest and handsomest in America. The parochial schools are located on the west side of Seventh Street, between Biddle and Carr, on a lot one hundred and twenty by one hun- dred and twenty-seven and a half fcet. The building is a large three-story brick structure, the corner-stone of which was laid Oct. 29, 1871. The cost of erec- tion was seventy-five thousand dollars. The schools are conducted by the Christian Brothers and Sisters

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of St. Joseph. This parish is the largest in the eity, and contains nineteen hundred families, fully eight thousand people attending the different Sunday serviees. The successive pastors have been Revs. Fathers Lutz, Hamilton, William Wheeler, P. A. Ward, John Higginbotham, William Wheeler (again), James Fox, James J. Areher, James McCaffrey, as- sisted by Fathers Healy and J. R. Hayes.

Father Wheeler, who is conspicuously identified with the history of St. Patrick's parish, died at Munich, Bavaria, Feb. 27, 1870. Father Wheeler was born a short distance from Dublin, Ireland. His father was an Englishman, a convert to Catholicism, and his mother of Irish parentage. He came to this country about the year 1845, with a band of students, and landing in New York, repaired to St. Louis, where he was subsequently ordained. The first min- isterial eharge of Father Wheeler was in connection with St. Patrick's Church, and with the exception of a few brief interruptions, he was identified with this parish for twenty-two years. He first discharged the duties of assistant, and then became pastor of the ehureh. During the interruptions alluded to in his connection with St. Patrick's Church he officiated at the Cathedral for a short time, and subsequently actcd as pastor of St. Michael's Church. These, however, werc but episodes in his career, which was mainly associated with St. Patrick's parish. Previous to his connection with the Cathedral he visited Europe, in company with Father Higginbotham, who, however, did not return with him.

In November, 1870, Father Wheeler again left for Europe to attend the Council of the Vatiean. His position in that body was that of theologian for Bishop Fechan, of Nashville, whom he accompanied to Rome. He left St. Louis about the 1st of February, and in a letter to Father Ryan stated that he proposed mak- ing a short tour through Germany and other portions of Continental Europe, and expected to return to St. Louis about the 1st of May. Previous to his de- parture for Rome his parishioners gave him a ban- quet, and otherwise expressed their respeet and esteem. Father Wheeler was a hard-working and devoted di- vine, and during the cholera epidemie of 1849 he labored eeaselessly in his ministrations among the siek and dying. He was between fifty-five and sixty years of age.1

1 A meeting of the Catholic societies was held in St. Patrick's school-house adjoining the church June 18, 1870, to arrange for the celebration on the following Sunday of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the coronation of Pope Pius IX. D. Donovan was president of the meeting, M. H. Phelan was secretary, and the following societies were represented : Holy Trinity Parish

St. Vincent de Paul's Church, for both German- and English-speaking congregations, is situated at the southwest corner of Dceatur Street and Park Avenue, and the pastor is Rev. James McGill, C.M. The parish was founded by Rev. John Timon, afterwards Bishop of Buffalo, N. Y., and is presided over by the priests of the Congregational Mission, established by St. Vinecnt de Paul. The building was begun in 1843, and conseerated in 1845. It is a massive brick edifice of Roman architecture, with a large cupola in the centre of the roof, and is sixty-four by one hun- dred and fifty feet. The total cost of construction was thirty thousand dollars. The congregation is composed of English and Germans, and separate masses are said for each. Both languages are taught in the parochial schools, of which that for boys, under the charge of the Christian Brothers, is held in a brick building, corner of Park Avenue, adjoining the church, which was erected in 1859 for fourteen thousand dollars, and has over five hundred pupils. The girls' school is situated on the north west corner of Marion and Eighth Streets (one block east of the church), and is conducted by the Sisters of St. Joseph, who reside in the building. Father James MeGill is Superior and pastor of the English-speaking portion of the congregation, and Rev. J. G. Uhland, C.M., is pastor of the Germans; Rev. D. W. Kenriek and A. P. Kreuz, C.M., are assistants. The parochial residenee is just south of the church. About six thousand per- sons attend worship regularly at St. Vincent de Paul's.

Church of SS. Peter and Paul .- The congre- gation of SS. Peter and Paul was organized in 1848 by its first pastor, Rev. Simon Sigrist. Its first church was a frame building on the site of the present church, at the corner of Allen Avenue and Seventh and Eighth Streets, and the sccond, situated on the same lot, was of brick, with a seating eapacity of seven hundred. Its corner-stone was laid Oct. 1, 1851, and the building was dedicated in October, 1854. On the 17th of June, 1873, the demolition of the structure was begun, and on the 12th of April, 1874, was laid the corner-stone of the present edifiee, which was eonseerated Dee. 12, 1875. It fronts eighty-three feet on Eighth Street, and extends two hundred and four feet from Seventh to Eighth, the entire depth of the bloek, with a transept ninety feet

Benevolent Society, Young Men's Sodality of the College, St. Joseph Sodality of St. Xavier Church, Shamrock Benevolent Society, Father Mathew Young Men's Total Abstinence and Benevolent Society, Roman Catholic Total Abstinence and Be- nevolent Society, Hibernian Benevolent Society, United Sons of Erin Benevolent Society, St. Bridget's Young Men's Sodality, and St. Aloysius' Society of the Annunciation Church.

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in length. It is of uncut Grafton limestone, of the fourteenth century Gothic stylc, and is one of tlie most beautiful and imposing churches in the city. The structure is surmounted by a steeple three hun- dred and fourteen feet high. The building is con- structed in the most substantial manner, and with studied care to secure the best effects of interior deco- ration. The church is well lighted with stained-glass windows, and the three altars are exceedingly beau- tiful, the altar to St. Mary having figures of the Virgin, St. Catherine, and St. Elizabeth. The altar of St. Joseph has also figures of St. Boniface and St. Francis de Sales. The church will seat three thou- sand people, and cost two hundred thousand dollars. It was built without assistance from any fair, picnic, dance, or other festival, although the congregation (all Germans) was almost exclusively of the working classes. The consecration services were conducted by the Right Rev. Bishop P. J. Ryan, D.D., assisted by Rev. Father Groembaum, deacon ; Rev. William Klci- bibghaus, sub-deacon; Rev. H. Groll, assistant deacon ; Very Rev. H. Muhlsiepen, V. G., master of ceremo- nies; also Rev. Father Ruesse, Rev. C. Wahpclhorst, Rev. H. Vandersauten, chancellor; Rev. William Faiber, of St. Mary's; and Rev. H. Krabler, C.M. Pontificial high mass was conducted by the Right Rev. Bishop Heiss, D.D., of La Crosse, Wis., assisted by Very Rev. H. Muhlsiepen, V.G., archdeacon ; Rev. Father Hoeynck, of St. Liborius, deacon; Rev. Father Schilling, of Lowell, sub-deacon ; Very Rev. C. Wahpelhorst, master of ceremonies. A sermon in English was delivered by the Right Rev. Bishop Fitz- gerald, D.D., of Little Rock, and one in German by the Right Rev. Bishop Krautbauer, D.D., of Green Bay, Wis.

Pastor Sigrist was succeeded by Rev. Francis Goller on Jan. 1, 1858, and since 1870 he has had for as- sistants Rev. Fathers H. Groll, W. Klevinghaus, and F. Rucsse. The parochial school is conducted under the charge of the Sisters of Notre Dame, in a large three-story brick building adjoining the church on Eighth Street; it has sixteen teachers and twelve hundred pupils. The entire church property is valued at three hundred thousand dollars. The principal societies connected with the congregation (which numbers about one thousand familics) are the St. Paul's Benevolent Society, of six hundred members, with a cash capital of twenty thousand dollars; the Young Men's Sodality, of two hundred members; and the Young Ladies' Sodality, of three hundred mem- bers. The pastoral residence adjoins the church on South Seventh Street. The cemetery belonging to the church is situated on Gravois road.

St. Michael's Church, northeast corner of Elev- enth and Exchange Streets, Rev. Andrew Eustace, pastor, was founded by Rev. Father Hogan, after- wards Bishop of St. Joseph, Mo., and the present brick building, forty-five by ninety feet, which was built in 1855, at a cost of twenty thousand dollars, took the place of an old building that had been occu- pied by the congregation for many years previous. The parochial school is located at the northwest corner of Eleventh and Benton Streets, in a large brick build- ing erected in 1859, at a cost of thirty thousand dol- lars, which will accommodate five hundred pupils. It is conducted by the Sisters of Loretto. About four hundred families (two thousand persons) are con- nected with the congregation.

Holy Trinity (German) Church, situated at the southwest corner of Mallinckrodt and Eleventh Streets, Rev. Frederick Brinkhoff, pastor, was organized, and its first house of worship built in 1851, by Father Lorenz, its first pastor. In 1858 the church was de- molished and the present structure erected. It is a large brick structure of the Romanesque style of architecture, fifty-four by one hundred and twenty feet, and the church lot, which is one hundred and seventy feet square, also contains a fine parochial residence. The parish school, a three-story brick building sixty by fifty feet, on a lot eighty by one hundred and thirty- five feet, stands on the corner opposite to the church. It was built in 1871, the school having previously been conducted in the basement of the church. Father Devanny succceded the first pastor and preceded the present ; Rev. Paul Weis is assistant pastor. The parish comprises four hundred and fifty families, with fifteen hundred communicants; and there are seven teachers and four hundred and fifty pupils in the Sunday-school.

St. Bridget's Church .- The first St. Bridget's Church was erected in 1853, and the corner-stone of the present building, which adjoins it, and which is situated at the northeast corner of Carr Street and Jefferson Avenue, was laid by Archbishop Kenrick on the 7th of August, 1859. The building was fin- ished during the pastorate of Rev. David Lillis, its first rector, at a cost of thirty-five thousand dollars. It has a front of seventy-five feet on Jefferson Ave- nue, with a depth of one hundred and thirty-five feet, and its architecture is a mixture of the Gothic and Byzantine orders. The old church, erected in 1853, is now used as the boys' parochial school, in charge of the Christian Brothers. The parochial school for girls is situated on the northwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and Carr Street, in a handsome-brick build- ing of four stories and a basement, which contains

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twelve rooms, and is capable of accommodating seven hundred scholars. The school is in charge of the Sisters of St. Joseph. The parish contains about five thousand persons, and nearly twelve hundred children attend the Sunday-schools. The pastor of St. Brid- get's is Rev. W. Walsh, and his assistants are Revs. F. R. Gallagher and J. J. Harty.

St. John of Nepomuk (Bohemian) Church was, established in 1854 by the first pastor, Rev. Henry Lipoosky, who was succeeded by the Rev. Francis Trojan in 1856, and by the present pastor, Rev. Joseph Hessoun, in 1865. A frame building, thirty- five by seventy feet, was erected on the site of the present church (northwest corner of Soulard and Rosatti Streets), and dedicated in 1854. In the spring of 1870 the frame structure was torn down, and a church erected after plans prepared by Adol- phus Druiding, architect. The corner-stone was laid May 15, 1870, and the building was dedicated Nov. 27, 1872. It is a handsome brick structure of the Gothic order, sixty by one hundred and fourteen feet, and is capable of seating five hundred and twenty persons. The ground on which the church stands was presented to the congregation by Father Renaud, a French priest. The church now owns seven lots, and its property is valued at sixty thousand dollars. The parochial school was organized in 1866, and the school buildings (two in number) are located on Ro- satti Street near the church. Six Sisters of Notre Dame and one secular teacher have charge of the school, which numbers five hundred and twenty pupils. Connected with the church are the following societies : St. Wenceslaus Benevolent Society, with two hundred and fifty-two members; St. John of Nepomuk Benevolent Society, one hundred and four members ; St. Joseph Benevolent Society, seventy-six members ; Knights of St. John of Nepomuk, forty- six members ; St. Vincent Conference for the Poor, fifty-eight members; St. Aloysius Young Men's Be- nevolent Society, sixty-seven members ; St. Stanislaus Young Men's Society, sixty-five members ; St. Ann's Ladies' Benevolent Socicty, one hundred and seventy- five members ; St. Ludmilla's Ladics' Benevolent So- ciety, one hundred and fourteen members ; St. Mary's Young Ladies' Society, one hundred and two mem- bers; St. Agnes Young Ladies' Society, seventy mem- bers. About five hundred families are connected with the parish, and the actual membership numbers one thousand six hundred persons, but the church is attended largely by Bohemian families beyond the limits of the parish.

St. Liborius (German) Church, Nineteenth and Monroe Streets, Rev. E. Hocynek, pastor, was erected

in 1855, at a cost of fifty thousand dollars, by Rev. Stephen Schiveihoff, founder of the parish, who died in 1869, and was succeeded by the present pastor. The church is a fine Romanesque brick structurc, sixty by ninety fcct, but is becoming too small for the rapidly increasing congregation, which contemplates the building of a larger and finer edifiee. The pa- rochial sehools, which occupy a three-story briek building on Nineteenth Street near the church, erected in 1856, at a cost of ten thousand dollars, are under the charge of the Sisters of Notre Dame (who reside in the building) and of one secular teacher. Rcv. Henry Schrage is the assistant pastor. The con- gregation comprises about six hundred families and thirteen hundred communicants. Fully two thousand persons attend the regular Sunday services.

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History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 145

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898 Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts Number of Pages: 1358

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358