History & the Story of St. Louis IX
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An Extraordinary History
The history of the Parish of Saint Louis – known fondly as the “Old” Cathedral – and the early history of the City of St. Louis are inextricably bound. Over the course of the last 180 years, they have borne witness to many important events and forever galvanize the Old Cathedral’s place among the most historically significant in our community.
The Old Cathedral is unique, both in St. Louis and across America. It couples a museum that contains many artifacts from the early days of the Catholic Church in St. Louis and local historical information of an active parish community. The parish has survived waves of cholera, fire, arson attempts, urban development that began with the westward migration of thousands of Americans, the Civil War and World War I and II.
Click on the photo gallery to learn more!
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In its early years, the Old Cathedral was the only church of any denomination for local settlers until about 1816. It is truly the “Mother Church” of St. Louis, the first permanent church in St. Louis, and the 1834 church was the first Cathedral west of the Mississippi River.
The Old Cathedral signifies the beginning of Catholicism in the Colonial West, spreading faith-based values to all cultures across a developing America.
The Cathedral Block, as designated by Auguste Chouteau in 1764, was among the three largest and most important central blocks in town. The others were the Public Square and Company Block that extended to the edge of the Mississippi River. Residents of St. Louis surrounded these three blocks with their plots of land. The Old Cathedral became the heart of life in the city and was viewed by many as the centerpiece of the city. The current Basilica and its predecessor churches were also the hub of civic activity. It was here that town
residents came for spiritual nourishment, counseling, and to learn. Saint Louis University was born on the church block, arguably from the education citizens received at the Old Cathedral.
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From 1834-1843, seven Sunday Masses were held to accommodate the growing population of the area, with the vernacular portion spoken in the various languages of the inhabitants, including French, German and English. Recognizing its origins, all church records were kept in French until the late 1830s. Because the Old Cathedral was the only church in St. Louis, a crypt was opened to hold the large volume of worshippers in the early years. Many native Americans – including the four Nez Perce chiefs of 1831 – traveled by river from the Rocky Mountains to learn about the Christian faith in St. Louis.
The Old Cathedral has witnessed many early incidents of evangelization, and it is where three of William Clark’s children were baptized. Sacagawea’s son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, was also baptized in the 1776 log church that once stood near the current site of the Old Cathedral.
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Despite its unique role in the history of the riverfront and of the founding of St. Louis, the Old Cathedral was almost lost along with nearby neighborhoods along the Mississippi River. By 1933, some forty blocks of the downtown riverfront surrounding the Old Cathedral had fallen into decay. A plan for developing a national memorial on the riverfront was presented to Mayor Bernard F. Dickmann, who had been married in
the Old Cathedral.In December 1933, Mayor Dickmann called a meeting of civic leaders in the Jefferson Hotel. From this meeting was born the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial that surrounds the Old Cathedral today. President Franklin Roosevelt authorized the US Department of the Interior to acquire the tract of the original city settlement between Poplar Street, and the Eads Bridge west to Third Street.
The only building to be saved and its land not claimed for the park, was the Parish of St. Louis, the Old Cathedral. The Expansion Memorial commemorates Thomas Jefferson and the pioneers who broke open the American West. The Old Cathedral sits on the grounds of the memorial park as a reminder of the expansion of all faiths throughout these territories and the people whose lives were led in witness to their spiritual values in Colonial America.
For that, Pope John XXIII designated the Old Cathedral as the “Basilica of Saint Louis, The King” in 1961. A historically significant sacred space by papal decree, it remains an active place of worship. It is still owned by the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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The Story of St. Louis IX, King of France
August 25 is the feast day of Saint Louis IX, King of France, patron saint of our parish and this city and county. Here is his life story...
At his coronation as King of France, Louis bound himself by oath to behave as God’s anointed, as the father of his people and feudal lord of the King of Peace. Other kings had done the same, of course. Louis was different in that he actually interpreted his kingly duties in the light of faith. After the violence of two previous reigns, he brought peace and justice to France.
He was crowned king at 12, at his father’s death. His mother, Blanche of Castile, ruled during his minority. When he was 19 and his bride 12, he married to Marguerite of Provence. It was a loving marriage, though was not without challenge. They had 10 children.
Louis “took the cross” for a Crusade when he was 30. His army took Damietta on the Nile but not long after, weakened by dysentery and without support, they were surrounded and captured. Louis obtained the release of the army by giving up the city of Damietta in addition to paying a ransom. He stayed in Syria four years.
He deserves credit for extending justice in civil administration. He drew up regulations for his officials which became the first of a series of reform laws. He replaced trial by battle with a form of examination of witnesses and encouraged the beginning of using written records in court.
Louis was always respectful of the papacy, but defended royal interests against the popes and refused to acknowledge Innocent IV’s sentence against Emperor Frederick II.
He was devoted to his people, founding hospitals, visiting the sick and, like his patron Saint Francis, caring even for people with leprosy. (He is one of the patrons of the Secular Franciscan Order.) Louis united France—lords and townsfolk, peasants and priests and knights—by the force of his personality and holiness. For many years the nation was at peace.
Every day Louis had 13 special guests from among the poor to eat with him, and a large number of the poor were served meals near his palace. During Advent and Lent, all who presented themselves were given a meal, and Louis often served them in person. He kept lists of needy people, whom he regularly relieved in every province of his dominion.
Disturbed by new Muslim advances in Syria, he led another crusade in 1267, at the age of 41. His crusade was diverted to Tunis for his brother’s sake. The army was decimated by disease within a month, and Louis himself died on foreign soil at the age of 44. He was canonized 27 years later.
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