Historic African American Parish in St. Louis, U.S., Receives Grant to Restore Stained Glass

“[These] 120-year-old iconic works of art have succumbed to the environment and need to be cleaned, repaired, and restored to continue to shed light on this active, Black congregation.”

Monica Huddleston, a member of the St. Alphonsus parish council since 1990, told CNA that the parish community is very excited and that the grant will “go a long, long way toward the capital campaign we have going on.” She said a study by an engineering firm in 2022 revealed that the stained-glass windows and “a couple of other big-ticket items” needed to be done “ASAP.” 

The parish itself dates to 1867, and the church building, built of quarry stone, was dedicated in 1872. 

Father Augustus Tolton, who was born into slavery in Missouri and later became the first African American Catholic priest, visited the parish and celebrated Mass there in 1887, having been ordained only the previous year. Tolton’s sainthood cause is open and currently he has the title of “venerable.”

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According to the Archdiocese of St. Louis, the parish had undergone many years of declining membership until Father Maurice Nutt, an African American Redemptorist priest ordained in 1989, was made pastor in 1993. His preaching and an African American style of worship and music helped to swell the parish membership to over 1,500 households in just a few years. Nutt left the parish in 2002 and is now the diocesan promoter of Sister Thea Bowman’s cause for canonization in New Orleans. 

The parish’s membership declined after Nutt’s departure. In addition, a 2007 fire in the church’s roof — which did not damage the stained glass — necessitated two years of celebration of Sunday Mass in the church gymnasium. Though still the largest primarily African American parish in the archdiocese, parish membership has declined to about 600 households, the archdiocese says. 

The parish attracts worshippers from throughout the city and county. The area immediately surrounding the parish is low income, approximately 82% African American, and only 2% Catholic, one of the lowest percentages in the archdiocese. 

The parish still has additional fundraising to do before the project can start, as the complete restoration of the interior and exterior of all sanctuary windows will cost an estimated $1.5 million, the grant application says. The windows are the biggest portion of the campaign, accounting for about $800,000, Huddleston said.

Jonah McKeown is a staff writer and assistant podcast producer for Catholic News Agency. He holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and in the past has worked as a writer, as a producer for public radio, and as a videographer.