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

TSt. 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. The cornerstone was laid on November 3, 1867, and the church was dedicated in 1872, but the steeple remained unfinished for another twenty years. At 237 feet in height, it is still one of the tallest in the city, and 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 carved and gilded keystones (actually plaster). The apsidal transepts repeat the main apse on a slightly smaller scale. The marble shrine dedicated to Our Mother of Perpetual Help was erected in the south transept in 1893, and since 1922 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 of the church was renovated in 1990 to plans of Ted Wofford of Murphy, Downey, Wofford & Richman. The interior was re-painted in colors approximating the originals, but 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 St. Louis Chamber Chorus performed in the church twice, in April 1995 and 1996, and some of the repertoire from the earlier concert is recorded on the group's second compact disc, Vox Pop.

Notes by Esley Hamilton and Philip Barnes