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St. Louis churches on display in new pictorial book
(by Jennifer Alexander - June 24, 2009)
Catholic St. Louis: A Pictorial History is a collaboration between historian Fr. William Barnaby Faherty and photographer Mark Scott Abeln. In it, 40 churches are profiled with photographs and brief historical information about the building and the congregation. The introduction contains a concise history of the Catholic Church in St. Louis from 1776 to the 20th century and a section on St. Louisans who influenced Catholicism in the area.
Mark Abeln notes with regret in the preface that, given the large number of remarkable churches in the St. Louis area, making selections for inclusion in the book was a difficult task. Abeln and Faherty considered many factors in selecting the churches, including historical significance and artistic expression.
But the limited scope does not detract from the book. Rather, the choices reflect the wide variety of architectural and ornamental styles within the churches of the area. Abeln’s images present many forms of religious expression, from the Federal style Old Cathedral completed in 1834 to the modern St. Anselm designed by Gyo Obata in 1962.
Catholic St. Louis contains the beautiful photographs you expect in a pictorial history. But Abeln’s detailed images and his fresh perspective invite readers to notice things easily overlooked. Whether it is the pelican on the altar rail in All Souls or the Gateway Arch in a stained glass window at St. Raymond’s Cathedral, Abeln shows us something new. Photographs are taken at different times of day in different seasons with different lighting. They illustrate the various forms of beauty found inside and outside the churches.
Several photographs place the churches in the context of the city. There is an image of the steeple of Soulard’s Sts. Peter and Paul before a backdrop of smokestacks. A photograph taken through the front doors of St. Francis Xavier depicts the St. Louis University campus with downtown St. Louis in the distance.
In both the introduction and the profiles of the individual churches, Faherty shares some of the St. Louis history he has studied for many years. At 94, Faherty adds to the dozens of books he has written. His subjects include Henry Shaw, the Missouri Botanical Garden and the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica. He has also written novels, a book about NASA and histories of St. Louis Irish and German Catholics. Faherty has contributed much to local history and is widely admired for his unflagging energy, curiosity and wealth of knowledge.
As Abeln’s photographs reveal previously unnoticed details, Faherty’s history reveals connections between the individual churches and the history of Catholicism in St. Louis. Readers learn that Epiphany of Our Lord was commissioned in 1931 to be the first multi-national congregation. Immigrant groups tended to form one-nationality churches, resulting in the Italian St. Ambrose, German Holy Family and the Irish St. James. Epiphany was the first church to begin with a mixed congregation of 40 percent Irish ancestry, 40 percent German ancestry, 15 percent Polish and some Italian families.
Faherty also illustrates how St. Louisans shaped the world beyond the city in the section on people of influence. He writes of Emil Frei and his son who created beautiful stained glass in St. Louis and throughout the country. He also writes that the Alexian Brothers, who built a hospital on South Broadway shortly after the Civil War, pioneered treatment for alcoholism and mental illness.
History and photographs combine in Catholic St. Louis to illustrate that the story of the Catholic Church in St. Louis is intertwined with the story of the city and that the variety of religious expression has left a beautiful legacy.
• Fr. William Faherty and Mark Abeln will discuss Catholic St. Louis: A Pictorial History at 2 p.m. June 25 at the Headquarters of St. Louis County Library, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd. Call 994-3300 for more information.
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