Name: St. Francis Xavier College Church
Year: 1884
Architectural Firm/Architect: Architects: Thomas W. Walsh and Henry Switzer
Alterations: Tower added in 1914
Designation: City Landmark
Neighborhood: 37
History:
St. Francis Xavier parish was organized in 1841 and its first church at Ninth Street and Lucas Avenue, adjoining St. Louis University, was consecrated in 1843. When the University moved to its present campus in 1888, a new St. Francis Xavier Church was erected on the corner of Grand and Lindell. Originally, the church was designed by Walsh, who died before the work was completed, and was completed by Switzer. It was modeled after St. Colman's Cathedral in Cobh, Ireland. The church was dedicated in 1898. In 1914 the tower was added to accomodate its bells, which were cast in Spain in 1789. St. Francis is noted for its marble altars and an unusually fine vaulted ceiling. The nave colonnade is of Missouri granite, with columns rising in a single pier from base to ornamented capitals. In the vestibule is a marble tablet by P. Fanning, with an inscribed prayer for deliverance from a cholera epidemic in 1832.
The stained glass windows were designed by Emil Frei and installed in 1937. Frei considered the windows in apse to be his masterpiece, and they are the closest approximation to the windows of Chartres Cathedral in the United States. The exterior of the church was cleaned in 1984, and the interior was remodeled in 1989-1990. Several of the side altars were removed, as was the organ
people
• structures • events
• sources • home
about
historic preservation• new entries• 4 kids only• map it!
This
site was made possible by: the City of St. Louis Planning and Urban Design Agency and
the City of St. Louis Community
Information Network.
This site was funded in part by Federal funds administered by the Missouri State Historical Preservation
Office, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, The National Park Service, and the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Version 1.0