St. Alphonsus
Church

1118 North Grand Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri 63106
www.stalphonsusrock.org

St. Alphonsus Church has been known as the Rock Church since its early days because of its rock-faced stone construction. Named for St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), the Italian founder of the Redemptorist order, it was designed by the Rev. Louis Dold, a member of the order, with help from Thomas Waryng Walsh. The cornerstone was laid on November 3, 1867, and the church was dedicated in 1872. The steeple remained unfinished for another twenty years, finally being completed in 1894 by Joseph Conradi. At 237 feet in height, it is still one of the tallest in the city, and it creates a remarkable dialogue with the spire of St. Francis Xavier a few blocks to the south. The church was not originally a parish church but became one in 1881.

The Gothic style of the church is of the type called Decorated by the English and Rayonnant by the French. Copper dormers on the roof light the clerestory windows over the side aisles. The rib vaulting in both nave and aisles is highlighted by a line of gilded plaster keystones. The apsidal transepts repeat the main apse on a slightly smaller scale. The marble altars were supplied in 1889 by Peter Theis of New York. Conradi, who was also a sculptor, supplied the altar railing and the marble shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the south transept, erected in 1893. Since 1922 it has been the focus of regular novena devotions, which in their heyday drew as many as eighteen thousand people.

With a few exceptions, the stained glass windows in the church were made as a set by Franz Mayer of Munich and installed in 1902. The twenty large windows depict the lives of Mary and Jesus, while the five over the altar show the life of Alphonsus Liguori. This cycle of windows remains one of the most important works in this country by the still-active German company.

The interior was renovated in 1990 to plans of Ted Wofford of Murphy, Downey, Wofford & Richman. The floor of the front part of the church was raised and the altar moved to the crossing. The striking new altar and lectern, along with the font and other chancel furnishings, were created by Jerzy Kenar of Chicago, using walnut and linden woods. The church was damaged by fire on August 16, 2007, after it was struck by lightning, but the subsequent repairs have left the windows cleaner and brighter than they have been in years.

The St. Louis Chamber Chorus performed in the church twice, in April 1995 and 1996.


Notes by Esley Hamilton and Philip Barnes