Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of America’s Heartland

As the world edges toward its second global conflict, this episode steps back to examine the toxic intellectual soil from which the 20th century’s greatest horrors grew. Monsignor traces the disturbing philosophical lineage behind National Socialism—ideas drawn not from serious scholarship but from pseudoscience, racial mythology, and fringe literature that shaped Adolf Hitler’s worldview. At the...

As the 20th century barrels toward its darkest hours, this episode opens with a haunting scene: a St. Louis priest‑chaplain whispering the Prayer to St. Michael over the hood of a jeep while German artillery thunders in the distance. From that moment, we widen the lens to confront the century Pope Leo XIII foresaw—a century in which human dignity is assaulted on every front. We trace the chain of...

In this sweeping chapter of the turbulent 1930s, the spotlight turns to Father Charles Coughlin—the fiery “radio priest” whose voice reached millions and whose political thunder rattled even the Roosevelt White House. What began as pastoral concern for unemployed auto workers in suburban Detroit soon grew into a national broadcast phenomenon, complete with fan mail that outpaced the President’s an...

As the Great Depression grinds on, the political landscape of 1936 turns strangely theatrical. With unemployment still painfully high and the New Deal reshaping American life, the midterm elections give President Roosevelt an overwhelming mandate—and unleash a wave of bold, bizarre, and sometimes dangerous ideas. From the Supreme Court’s pushback against federal overreach to the rise of rural Cath...

In the depths of the Great Depression, St. Louis Catholics mounted one of the most remarkable relief efforts in the city’s history. Monsignor and Teresa explore the extraordinary leadership of Archbishop John J. Glennon, whose Archbishop’s Emergency Charity Fund mobilized nearly $380,000 at a moment when few had anything to spare. Drawing from long‑hidden archival documents, they uncover the human...

As Franklin D. Roosevelt steps into the White House amid the worst economic collapse in American history, St. Louis braces for the impact—and the possibilities. Monsignor and Teresa trace the opening months of the New Deal, from bank holidays and emergency legislation to the sudden surge of hope that swept across the nation. They explore how federal programs like the CCC, PWA, and FDIC reshaped da...

In this gripping chapter of St. Louis Church History, Monsignor and Teresa trace the cascading crises of 1932 as the Great Depression deepens and desperation spreads across the nation. What begins as a small group of unemployed veterans in Portland swells into the 25,000‑strong “Bonus Army,” descending on Washington, D.C. to demand early payment of their promised wartime bonus. Their disciplined e...

In this sobering chapter of the story, Monsignor walks us through the cascading forces that brought the American economy to its knees in 1929. From overproduction on farms and in factories to the fragile international debt cycle left behind by World War I, the stage was set long before Black Thursday sent Wall Street into freefall. As the stock market collapsed and banks failed, St. Louis families...

In this episode, Monsignor and Teresa step into the political firestorm of 1928, when Catholic candidate Al Smith faced a tidal wave of anti‑Catholic prejudice, cultural suspicion, and the full force of the Ku Klux Klan. Monsignor traces Smith’s rise from Brooklyn’s streets to the New York governor’s mansion, his doomed presidential bid against the wildly popular Herbert Hoover, and the deep anxie...

In this episode, Monsignor takes us into the formative years of Catholic secondary education in St. Louis—a story far richer and more complex than most realize. At the turn of the 20th century, high school was still a rarity, and Catholic options for boys were almost nonexistent. We follow Archbishop Glennon’s ambitious push to change that landscape, the creation of the first archdiocesan high sch...

In this episode, Monsignor takes us into the early 1920s, a decade when the Catholic Church in St. Louis found itself navigating a rapidly changing America. The Knights of Columbus emerge as major players on the world stage—honored in Rome, funding schools, defending religious liberty, and standing firm against the rising hostility of the Ku Klux Klan. At the same time, the automobile revolution r...

In this episode, Monsignor and Teresa continue their sweeping tour of early‑20th‑century parish building, tracing how Archbishop Glennon’s era saw an explosion of new Catholic communities across St. Louis. They explore the founding of All Souls in Overland, St. Adalbert for the Polish community, St. Rita in Vinita Park, St. John the Baptist in South City, and St. Luke’s in Richmond Heights—each sh...

In this episode, Monsignor and Teresa conclude their sweeping tour of early‑20th‑century parish foundations by spotlighting two historic city parishes—St. Philip Neri in Walnut Park and St. Mary Magdalene on Kingshighway—before turning to the monumental projects that reshaped Catholic life in St. Louis: the construction of the Cathedral Basilica and the founding of Kenrick Seminary. Monsignor trac...

In this powerful opening to Chapter 5, Monsignor and Teresa step into the turbulent 1920s—a decade marked by upheaval, conflict, and rapid social change in St. Louis. The episode opens with two vivid scenes: a chaotic Prohibition‑era raid at the Chase Hotel and a deadly gang shooting that claimed an innocent life, illustrating how bootlegging and organized crime reshaped the city’s streets. Monsig...

In this continuation of the “Turbulent Twenties,” Monsignor and Teresa explore how Prohibition, racial tension, and the rise of organized crime collided in St. Louis. The episode opens with vivid accounts of a chaotic New Year’s Eve raid at the Chase Hotel and a deadly gang shooting that claimed an innocent bystander—scenes that reveal how quickly the city was changing under the pressures of bootl...

In this episode, Monsignor and Teresa continue their deep dive into the turbulent 1920s, turning their focus to the rise of St. Louis gang culture during Prohibition. Monsignor traces the intertwined stories of Tom Egan, Snake Kenny, and the rival Hogan and Egan gangs—men whose lives moved between politics, saloons, and violent street power. Alongside these underworld battles, he highlights the re...

In this episode, Monsignor and Teresa step into one of the most dynamic bursts of Catholic growth in St. Louis history. Between 1904 and 1910—barely six years—the Archdiocese founded twelve new parishes, a sign of a city and county rapidly expanding, shifting, and redefining itself at the dawn of the 20th century. Monsignor guides listeners through this remarkable wave of parish-building, beginnin...

Monsignor and Teresa continue their journey through the expanding Catholic landscape of early‑20th‑century St. Louis, turning their attention to the first wave of new parishes founded after 1900. With Archbishop Kain’s final years as the backdrop, they explore four emerging communities—two that still thrive today and two that have since closed—each shaped by shifting neighborhoods, immigrant popul...

This episode continues our journey through the Catholic roots of the St. Louis region, moving beyond the county line to explore the historic rural parishes that shaped Catholic life in the 18th and 19th centuries. Monsignor and Teresa trace a wide arc—from the banks of the Mississippi to the rolling farmland of St. Charles County—revealing how faith communities took root long before suburban growt...

This episode continues our sweeping tour of the historic Catholic parishes that shaped St. Louis County long before suburban life took root. Monsignor and Teresa pick up where they left off—moving south and west from Clayton—and uncover the stories behind some of the region’s oldest faith communities. They explore the deep roots of St. Peter in Kirkwood, founded in the 1830s and shepherded by past...

In this episode, Monsignor and Teresa open Chapter Four—Bricks and Mortar—and turn their attention to the remarkable expansion of Catholic life beyond the city limits. As St. Louis surges past 700,000 residents in the early 20th century, the county begins its own quiet transformation, fueled by streetcars, new roads, and the growing desire for space, fresh air, and parish life closer to home. Mons...

As the First World War draws to a close, Monsignor and Teresa trace how the conflict reshaped both the nation and the Church. President Wilson’s sweeping progressive vision transforms American life, mobilizing not just an army but an entire society—and leaving structures that will endure long after the armistice. Within the Church, Archbishop Glennon and Catholic leaders mirror that same impulse,...

This episode follows the Archdiocese of St. Louis into the First World War, tracing how Missouri’s soldiers—and especially its priests—answered the call once the United States entered the conflict in 1917. Monsignor and Teresa explore the scale of mobilization, from the 750,000 Missourians who registered for the draft to the doctors, nurses, and engineers trained in St. Louis and at nearby Scott F...

This episode follows the tense months between Woodrow Wilson’s 1916 re election and the moment the United States finally entered World War I, tracing how global events, political pressures, and a series of German missteps pushed the nation past the point of neutrality. Monsignor and Teresa begin with the fierce debate over military preparedness, as progressives resisted expansion while Wilson—caug...

This episode explores the political and cultural crosscurrents that swept through St. Louis as World War I erupted in Europe—especially the surprising alliance between German‑ and Irish‑American Catholics who worked together to keep the United States out of the conflict. Monsignor and Teresa begin with a brief detour into the world of German Jewish immigrants, whose early success and internal deba...