St. Mary's of the Barrens Catholic Church (Perryville, Missouri) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. Mary's of the Barrens Church |
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 Location in Missouri
Location in the United States
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| 37°43′36″N 89°53′03″W / 37.72667°N 89.88417°W | |
| Location | 1811 W St Joseph St Perryville, Missouri 63775 |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
| Website | [1] |
| History | |
| Founded | 1818 |
| Consecrated | 1837 |
| Architecture | |
| Groundbreaking | 1827 |
| Completed | 1837 |
| Specifications | |
| Number of spires | Originally 2, currently 1 |
| Administration | |
| Deanery | Ste. Genevieve |
| Archdiocese | Archdiocese of St. Louis |
St. Mary's of the Barrens Church is a Catholic Church and a former seminary in Perryville, Missouri. A seminary is a school that trains people to become priests.
St. Mary's has a special history. It was the first home for the American Vincentians. The Vincentians are a group of Catholic priests and brothers. Since it started in 1818, St. Mary's has been a school, a training center for Vincentians, and a place for them to live.
The whole area, including eight buildings, one site, and two structures, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. It is known as the St. Mary's of the Barrens Historic District. Today, St. Mary's is also home to the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.
Contents
History of St. Mary's Church
St. Mary's of the Barrens was founded in 1818. This was two years before Missouri became a state! It was also the very first seminary west of the Mississippi River.
The Congregation of the Mission, also known as the Vincentians, founded St. Mary's. People in Perryville needed a priest and a school for their children. So, they offered 640 acres of land to Bishop Louis William Valentine DuBourg. In return, they asked for regular priest services and a school.
In 1815, Bishop DuBourg was in Rome looking for priests. He visited the main church of the Vincentian order. He convinced them to send priests and brothers to Missouri. These groups, led by Felix de Andreis and Joseph Rosati, left for the United States in late 1815.
They stayed in Baltimore in 1816 and then moved to Bardstown, Kentucky in 1817. When Bishop DuBourg got the land in Perry County, they moved there. They started St. Mary's of the Barrens seminary in October 1818.
The Seminary School
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Father Charles de la Croix was a skilled architect. He drew the plans for both the church and the seminary building. He had recently finished building the Seminary of St. Thomas in Bardstown, Kentucky.
The plans for St. Mary's were based on the Bardstown design. The building was planned to be 60 feet long, 36 feet wide, and 2.5 stories tall. It would have a full basement.
Bishop DuBourg bought a sawmill nearby to get wood for building. Construction started in 1817. But before it was finished, Father de la Croix moved to help build other churches. Father Rosati then took over the building project.
The wooden seminary building was finished in 1834. It stood until 1913, when it was torn down during renovations. St. Mary's was the main seminary for the entire St. Louis area until 1842. After that, it only trained Vincentian seminarians.
Seminary Closures and Reopening
The seminary closed in 1863, and students moved to Philadelphia. It opened again in 1888. Many new buildings were added to the campus over time.
However, the number of students began to drop. In its last year, there were only 35 seminary students. So, the decision was made to close the seminary for good. St. Mary's of the Barrens officially closed on May 18, 1985.
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish served the local English-speaking people. It operated from 1817 until 1965. In 1965, it joined with the German-speaking St. Boniface Parish. They formed a new parish called St. Vincent's Parish. The original parish church was then renamed St. Mary's Church. This was done to honor St. Mary of the Barrens Seminary.
St. Mary's Church Building
Work on the church began in 1818, following Father de la Croix's plans. It was finished in 1820 and cost $800. But the community grew quickly, and a larger church was needed.
New plans were made in 1826 to replace the first wooden church. These plans were based on Monte Citorio, the Vincentian Motherhouse Church in Rome. Construction started in 1826. The church was meant to be a copy of the Roman church. Monte Citorio is in the Tuscan Renaissance style. This style became the model for St. Mary's of the Barrens church.
It was the first church west of the Mississippi River, not counting cathedrals, to be consecrated. It was built using stone from the Barrens property itself. Limestone was taken from the seminary lands nearby.
The first stone was laid on January 1, 1827. Digging for the foundation began on January 6, 1827. Work then stopped for several years. The original plans were too fancy and too expensive to complete.
Father Jean-Marie Odin went to Europe in 1831 to get money for the church. When he returned, Angelo Oliva was put in charge of the new construction. The new plans made the building smaller, about one-third of the original size. The church was built with limestone. It is 124 feet long and 64 feet wide. Bishop Rosati consecrated the church on October 29, 1837.
Many improvements were made between 1888 and 1893. During the 1888 renovations, the stone in the towers was found to be crumbling. This made the towers unsafe. The old cedar roof was replaced with a tin roof in 1888. A new stained glass window was added over the entry door in 1889.
In 1913, more renovations took place. The two towers at the front of the church were removed because of the crumbling stone. The inside of the church had a Tuscan design. It features high Roman arches and two domes. One dome is over the sanctuary, and one is over the center of the church. The sanctuary is 30 feet square, with a dome 45 feet high. The inside walls are decorated with murals and paintings. Seven small altars are located along the sides of the main area.
The front of the church was made longer by 40 feet. This was done by adding two side altars and an entrance area. The outside look of the church changed from Tuscan Renaissance to Romanesque style. Later additions include the Miraculous Medal Shrine in 1930. The current Angelus bell tower was built in 1980.
St. Mary's of the Barrens served as a local parish church until 1965. Then, a new parish church was built. St. Mary's became an independent "public church." This means it still holds regular church services. Today, St. Mary's Church is both a special place for Mary and a chapel for the Vincentian community.
National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal was built in 1929. It replaced an older chapel. The shrine has a dome over it. The body of Felix de Andreis, an important Vincentian, is buried beneath the shrine floor. At the shrine, special prayers called a novena are offered each month for members of the Association of the Miraculous Medal.
Sacristy of Bishop Rosati
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The Sacristy of Bishop Rosati is a very old log cabin. It is the oldest original building on the St. Mary's campus. This log building, often called Rosati's Cabin, was used as a sacristy for the first church. A sacristy is a room where priests prepare for services.
The cabin is made of logs with special V-shaped notches at the corners. It was built around 1825. To protect it, the cabin was placed on a concrete foundation in 1932. It was also put under a large arched stone cover to shield it from weather.
Grotto of Our Lady
The Grotto of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal was built during World War I. Seminarians built it on the site of the stone quarry. This quarry provided the stone for St. Mary's Church. Building started in June 1917 and finished in November 1920.
A small outdoor chapel is built into the grotto wall. It has a small altar made of fieldstone. Above the chapel, in a small space, there is a statue of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.
Retirement Home
In August 2004, the Vincentian group decided to tear down some old seminary buildings. They wanted to build a new home for retired Vincentian priests and brothers. The Apostle of Charity Residence opened in 2006. It provides a comfortable place for them to live.
Images for kids
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Interior view
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Interior with aisle
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Interior with organ
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Shrine
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St. Mary's (Assumption) Church (right) and Seminary
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St. Mary's 1913
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