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

This episode traces the rise of St. Louis’s ethnic parishes in the early 20th century, beginning with the Polish community and the long, complicated history of St. Stanislaus Kostka. Monsignor and Teresa follow the Poles from their early days worshipping in borrowed basements—where their powerful congregational singing literally drowned out the German choir upstairs—to the founding of their own pa...

This episode opens with a striking moment in 1916, when Archbishop Glennon celebrates a Requiem Mass for Emperor Franz Joseph and has the announcement repeated in seven languages—German, Hungarian, Bohemian, Slovak, Croatian, and Ruthenian—revealing the extraordinary linguistic and cultural diversity of early‑20th‑century St. Louis. Monsignor and Teresa use this moment to introduce the many immigr...

This episode continues the story of St. Louis’s remarkable charitable awakening at the turn of the 20th century, beginning with the expanding work of Father Timothy Dempsey. Monsignor and Teresa trace how Dempsey, already sheltering hundreds of homeless men, turned his attention to the equally vulnerable women arriving in the city for factory work. His solution was the St. Patrick’s Home for Worki...

This episode continues the exploration of St. Louis’s immigrant poverty and introduces two of the city’s most remarkable Catholic champions: Father Timothy Dempsey and Father Peter Dunn. Monsignor and Teresa begin by noting the parallel charitable efforts among Jewish and African American communities before turning to the dire conditions faced by thousands of men living in downtown flophouses. It...

This episode turns to the stark realities of St. Louis’s poorest neighborhoods at the turn of the 20th century. Monsignor and Teresa follow the work of journalist photographer Jacob Riis, invited by the Civic Improvement League to document the city’s tenements. His findings reveal overcrowded two room flats packed with a dozen or more laborers, windowless first floor rooms, backyard alleys filled...

This episode contrasts the two worlds of St. Louis at the dawn of the 20th century—the prosperous elite shaping the city’s future and the impoverished families struggling to survive in its neglected neighborhoods. Monsignor and Teresa begin with the city’s post–World’s Fair boom, where skilled artisans, stable banks, and expanding industries fueled westward growth and filled the Central West End w...

This episode explores the 1904 World’s Fair through the eyes of Archbishop John Joseph Glennon, who found himself thrust into its orbit almost immediately upon arriving in St. Louis. Monsignor and Teresa trace Glennon’s uneasy relationship with the fair’s organizers, beginning with his firm refusal to participate in an ecumenical congress and continuing through the awkward end run that brought Pap...

This episode continues the story of turn of the century St. Louis, where Archbishop Glennon steps into leadership just as the city confronts its own political and social turmoil. Monsignor and Teresa trace the aftermath of the “boodle” scandals, highlighting reformers like Mayor Rolla Wells and circuit attorney Joseph Folk, whose investigations exposed the deep ties between corrupt aldermen, busin...

This episode follows Archbishop‑elect John Joseph Glennon as he steps into leadership amid the final decline of Archbishop John Joseph Kain. Monsignor and Teresa trace Glennon’s early months in St. Louis—from representing the archdiocese at the World’s Fair ceremonies to reorganizing diocesan administration after Kain’s death in October 1903. As Glennon settles into his new role, the narrative wid...

This episode follows the early priesthood of John Joseph Glennon, revealing how unexpected trials in Kansas City shaped the future leader of St. Louis. Monsignor and Teresa trace Glennon’s rocky start at St. Patrick’s—where his energetic repairs and financial stewardship were met with hostility from his returning pastor—leading Bishop Hogan to grant him a rare leave for study in Europe. Upon his r...

This episode opens Book Three with the arrival of 1903—a turning point for both St. Louis and its Church. Monsignor and Teresa set the stage by exploring the world into which Archbishop‑to‑be John Joseph Glennon would soon step: a bustling city preparing for the World’s Fair, captivated by the arrival of the naval Monitor Arkansas, and shaped by ethnic tensions, immigration debates, and rapid urba...

This episode brings Volume 2 to a close with the final chapter of Archbishop John Joseph Kain’s short and turbulent episcopacy. Monsignor and Teresa trace Archbishop Kain’s declining health, his desperate attempts to secure an auxiliary, and his final months spent seeking relief from the burdens of office—culminating in his death in October 1903 at just sixty‑two years old. The narrative highlight...

This episode follows Archbishop John Joseph Kain into the most turbulent years of his short episcopacy in St. Louis, highlighting both the rapid growth of rural parishes and the internal challenges that soon engulfed his administration. Monsignor and Teresa explore the founding of communities such as Centralia, New Haven, Canton, and White Church—often built through heroic priestly persistence and...

This episode follows Archbishop John Joseph Kain through the early years of his leadership as St. Louis continues to grow rapidly with new parishes in both rural Missouri and the city’s expanding neighborhoods. Monsignor and Teresa highlight the founding of St. Barbara’s and several mission parishes, showing how priests built communities from scratch—often before a resident pastor could be assigne...

This episode explores the early years of Archbishop John Joseph Kain’s leadership as he steps from the small, mission‑territory Diocese of Wheeling into the complex, sprawling Archdiocese of St. Louis. Monsignor and Teresa trace Kain’s transition into a community with hundreds of priests, parishes, missions, and chapels—an overwhelming contrast to his former post—and the sorrowful backdrop of Arch...

This episode examines the painful final years of Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick’s long episcopacy and the troubled transition that followed his golden jubilee. Monsignor and Teresa recount the failed effort to secure Father Philip Brady as co‑adjutor, the resulting fracture among the clergy, and the personal toll it took on both men. As Kenrick’s health declined, Rome intervened by appointing Bi...

This episode centers on the extraordinary fiftieth anniversary of Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick’s leadership in St. Louis, a milestone rarely seen in American Church history. Monsignor and Teresa recount how the jubilee celebrations became a flashpoint in the wider debate over immigration, Americanization, and cultural identity, with Monsignor Francis Goller delivering a powerful Latin address...

This episode takes a closer look at Monsignor Francis Salinas Goller, the long‑serving pastor of St. Peter and Paul in Soulard and one of the most influential priests in nineteenth‑century St. Louis. Monsignor and Teresa explore Goller’s decisive role at the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, where his passionate advocacy for Catholic schools helped shape American parish life for generations. The...

This episode examines the late‑nineteenth‑century debate over immigration, language, and Catholic identity through the controversy known as the Lucerne Memorial or “Gahensleyism.” Monsignor and Teresa explore how proposals for national parishes and language‑based clergy alarmed American bishops who feared the fragmentation of the Church and the weakening of American civic unity. The discussion hig...

This episode explores the rising tension between immigrant Catholic communities and American‑born bishops who sought rapid assimilation in the late nineteenth century. Monsignor and Teresa examine how memories of anti‑Catholic violence and nativist attacks shaped the bishops’ determination to “Americanize” newcomers before xenophobia could resurface. The discussion focuses on growing suspicions to...

This episode continues the story of St. Louis as a cradle of bishops by following its clergy into the devastation left by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Monsignor and Teresa recount how Bishop Thomas Foley—followed by Archbishop Patrick Feehan, both ordained in St. Louis—led Chicago’s Catholic community through an extraordinary period of rebuilding and expansion. The discussion highlights the sur...

This episode examines the surge of parish foundations in the 1880s and the cultural tensions that accompanied a massive wave of European Catholic immigration. Monsignor and Teresa trace how German, Irish, Polish, and English‑speaking Catholics built churches and schools—often without resident priests for decades—revealing both deep faith and extraordinary sacrifice. The discussion explores how lan...

This episode explores St. Louis’s extraordinary role as a formative center for Catholic leadership in the American heartland. Monsignor and Teresa trace how priests formed in St. Louis went on to shape dioceses across the Midwest, focusing on Dubuque and Chicago as prime examples of missionary growth, institutional building, and pastoral resilience. The discussion highlights figures such as Bishop...

This episode surveys the vibrant and often overlooked developments of 1870s St. Louis, from the creation of Forest Park and Tower Grove Park to early experiments with air cooling and the dramatic debut of the telephone. Monsignor and Teresa explore how civic pride, technological innovation, and public leisure reshaped the city’s landscape during a decade often dismissed as uneventful. The conversa...

This episode explores the aftermath of the Great Strike of 1877 as socialist politics in St. Louis shift from the streets into the classroom. Monsignor and Teresa examine the Working Men’s Party’s push for control of the public school system, debates over high schools, kindergartens, free textbooks, and the growing conflict with Catholic education. At the center of the story is Father James Henry,...