This church is in the Late Gothic Revival style, which is simpler than the Gothic of the 19th century.
The parish dates from 1914; the church from 1928.
St. Luke's Church
Joseph A. McMahon
✠ Pastor ✠
Anno domini mcmxxviii
I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; and the place where thy glory dwelleth. — Psalm 26 (25)
The first Mass of the Latin Liturgy Association was held in this church in 1975.
Saints Mark, Philip, and Simon, on the reredos.
The tabernacle.
Mosaic icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help.
Altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Saint Luke's gospel is where we get the beautiful Canticle of Mary, the Magnificat.
Saint Joseph.
The first station of the cross: Consider how Jesus Christ, after being scourged and crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilate to die on the cross.
The plaster walls have a unique hand-made pattern, which includes crosses, Alpha, and Omega. I understand that it is difficult to find experienced plasterers who could do something like this.
The stained glass windows have descriptive plaques.
Catholic churches have traditionally taken much symbolism from the Jewish Temple, and from the priestly sacrifices that were once offered there.
The baptistery is located to the left of the main door. Note how the morning sunlight reflects off of the bronze font cover, forming a crown with eight stars on the wall to the left.
The baptismal font.
Door leading into the narthex. These doors are covered in red leather, attached with brass tacks.
The narthex.
A window in the narthex, surrounded with hand-made plasterwork.
MASS SCHEDULE
Saturday: 5 pm (Vigil)
Sunday: 8 am, 10 am
Monday-Friday: 8 am
RECONCILIATION
Saturday: 4 pm — 4:45 pm
A well-fed tabby patrols the perimeter of the church.
A history of the parish, from the parish's school website:
Soon after the 1904 World’s Fair, the area of Richmond Heights began to develop. Salvaging bricks and lumber from the World’s Fair, homes were constructed and a zealous group of fervent Catholics were eager to form a worshipping community. The Rev. Joseph Collins was given the task by Archbishop John Glennon to evaluate the possibility of establishing a parish. Father Collins found a strong desire in this growing community for a Church and their desires were fulfilled when this small Catholic community gathered together to celebrate Eucharist on October 11, 1914.The church's choir has its own website: http://stlukeparishonline.org
Address:
7230 Dale Avenue
Richmond Heights, Missouri 63117
Absolutely gorgeous. LOVE the baptistery. This is how a Church really should look IMO.
ReplyDeleteSt Louis sounds like a place to be.
ReplyDelete¡What a beautiful architecture! I wonder how long it will last.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if Saint Louis is really the place to be...too many young people flee it for the supposed excitement of the big cities on the coasts. However, we also get big-city folk who come here, and much to their surprise, never leave. This is not a beautiful city, and it certainly has its problems, but it also has its bright spots.
ReplyDeleteI think the churches could potentially last centuries. But we do have severe weather, as well as a high risk of tornado destruction, and also risk of earthquakes that have a good change of causing damage.
But the biggest enemy of these churches is man: iconoclasts, heretics, apostates, barbarians, infidels, a change in fashion, financial ruin, or just neglected maintenance could easily cause the destruction of these magnificent buildings. But if needed, we can always hold Mass in the catacombs!
Hi there; not a regular reader, but just stopping by. I grew up at St. Luke's parish, went to grade school there, and it was great to see this in your blog. Seeing those pictures again... it of course reminds me of St. Louis' words "I think often of the Church of my baptism..." Also, I might point out that coincidentally, my uncle, Fr. Steve Bauer, was pastor there for a few years--it was his idea to have the descriptions of the stained glass window printed and hung. I was in the seminary for awhile myself and served Mass with Archbishop Burke in the Church once. He told me he thought the place was beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI was dismayed to learn that the parish's school, my alma mater, will close at the end of this year. Apparently there are some festivities planned for next weekend. As you know, due to "the St. Louis heresy" (i.e. "A Roman Catholic Parish consists of a soccer field, a grade school, and maybe some other building where people go on Sunday"), when the school closes, the parish closing isn't far behind. I'd hate to think of St. Luke's not existing anymore, but obviously by not living in the parish myself, I'm not doing much to save it.
RE: D.Mike's comment 'when the school closes, the parish closing isn't far behind.' While I agree that it is sad that St. Luke School close at the end of the 2006-2007 School year, I think it's a big leap to assume that the parish closing is imminent. It is a tremendous testament to the vision and cooperation of the Pastor, Parish Council, School Board and Finance Committee that they were able to look at the big picture and determine what was/is best for the future of the PARISH. The fact is the parish is thriving. Weekly attendance is up, young families are moving into the parish. The beauty of the church as well as the beauty of the liturgies and fine music attract people from all over the diocese. St. Luke is blessed to have a magnificent space for worship, a pastor who cares deeply about the liturgy and a fantastic choir which has travelled aboard to perform and serves to lead the sung prayer of the parish community. St. Luke Parish continues to look proudly to the future.
ReplyDeleteNote to Mark Abeln -- great blog site -- keep up the good work!
I think that St. Louis IS the place to be. Although some have fled from the city, others of us are moving in. I myself grew up outside the city, but now love living closer to the city center. Having lived in other big cities, St. Louis is a beautiful city with many exciting opportunities. Also within St. Louis there are many thriving parishes.
ReplyDeleteAs a member of St. Luke’s parish I congratulate the parish on being able to make the sad and difficult decision to close the school. As with many parishes, the cost of running a school was negatively impacting the parish as a whole. The parish is vibrant and growing. Younger people and families are moving into the area. A parish is a made up of many parts not just one (a school). St. Luke’s is a vibrant parish community. We have a pastor who active in the parish, a sports program, men’s guild, trivia night, golf tournament, scouts, choir and women’s guild to name just a few parish groups which are all testaments to the life of the parish. If in the future a school is something that the parish community wants and needs, the history of St. Luke’s school will be a great legacy upon which to build.
By not living or participating in a parish one should also not comment on its life. We look forward to a blessed future.
Hi Mark Abeln,
ReplyDeleteI was googling the above mentioned Parish(my personal
Parish),when I found
your web site. The photos of St Luke,as well as the other
Churches that I
viewed,are awesome. Perhaps the photos of the Rock
Church,might assist them,
in rebuilding that beautiful Church.
Below,you will find to links,to my history pages of St
Luke,Richmond Hgts.
I graduated from St Luke Parish in 1967; since 1987,I have
lived in Epiphany
Parish(on Hancock/Ivanhoe) is a home. On the side of that
home,is a brick
wall "Abeln Brickwork"
In 2002,I rejoined St Luke Parish. Best,Kevin
Kelly,Lindenwood.
I hope this e-mail is posted to your St Luke page on the
Internet.And a Link
is made,to the below referenced pps. KTK
http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=hipointe&id=I4340
http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=hipointe&id=I4455
I love St. Luke's. It is one of the few simple yet inspiring Churches, period, much less in St. Louis with it's abundance of mini-cathedrals.
ReplyDeleteI also taught at St. Luke's school and, although it was a financial hardship, loved my time there.
I am a little alarmed to hear comments above that schools are a burden for a lively parish with young families. I have come to accept that modern families are not willing or really able, I guess, to make the kind of sacrifices people made when I was a child. I still marvel that I knew more in Catholic grade school than my students will know today graduating from high school.
My fondest memories in this great Church are from the many masses the students celebrated here. The pastor at the time, Rick Stoltz, and our principal (Mike from above's dad) understood Worship and arts and music and prayer were crucial to the formation of future leaders of the Church and society.
I also think of the many great Sisters of Saint Joseph who dedicated their lives to teaching and Worshiping here over the years.
peace
I graduated from St. Lukes in 2004. I had gone there from preschool all the way up. I am very happy for what the school did for me but sad about the closing. The memories will last forever.
ReplyDeletezach.
My Great-Grandparents attended St Lukes and my Grandparents were married there in 1940. Although I'm a Californian (San Francisco), I moved to St Louis to avoid high rents, the cost of living was wayyyyy too prohibitive along with the crime. I now live in Maplewood and am so content with the neighborhood, I don't know why anyone would want to leave.
ReplyDelete