3628 Lindell Blvd. (at Grand)
St. Louis, Missouri 63108
www.slu.edu/departments/church

When St. Louis University moved to Grand Avenue from 9th and Washington, the college church came along. Both were designed by Thomas Wayring Walsh, who died before they were finished. The church, started in 1884, was modified by Henry Switzer of Chicago, and completed in 1898. The stone spire was added in 1914. The style of St. Francis Xavier is English Gothic of the thirteenth century; typically English are the thick walls and the repeated moldings.

The church has recently undergone dramatic changes, following suggestions of the Second Vatican Council. The baptismal font was redesigned and relocated, four of the seven altars were eliminated, and the large altar platform was erected in the center of the crossing. This work, along with many less visible changes, was designed by Kurt Landberg, who also renovated Second Presbyterian Church in the Central West End and Christ Church Cathedral downtown. The lighting at the sides of the room is subdued to bring out the stained glass, which was made by Emil Frei Studios in the 1930s.

The Chamber Chorus performed Herbert Howells' Requiem here on April 26, 1992; some movements of this are heard on the group's second compact disc Vox Pop. (The CD was actually recorded from a subsequent performance at St. Alphonsus Church.)

Notes by Esley Hamilton and Philip Barnes