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Denominational Records

Archdiocese of St. Louis (Catholic)

The Archdiocese of St. Louis includes churches in Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perry, St. Charles, St. Francois, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Warren, and Washington Counties, and the Independent City of St. Louis.

Christine Hughes compiled a "Guide to St. Louis Archdiocesan Parish Records". 

The guide provides parish by parish information regarding rites recorded for each parish
as well as the Family History Library Film # (FHL#) for use in locating the films on FamilySearch. 

 Some St. Louis area Church Records were recorded in French.  The pdf "How to Decipher Catholic Church Records Written in French" provides an overview of record types and formats and examples of church records written in French scanned from microfilm holdings in the History & Genealogy Department.

Church records are a rich source of genealogical information. Discover how you can find baptism, marriage and death records for parishes within the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri online.

Use the interactive online map created by Alicia Detelich to locate churches in the archdiocese, both open and closed.

The map also allows users to enter an address and locate churches near that address.

The Archdiocese maintains a website with a searchable index of burials in Catholic cemeteries within its boundaries. See History & Genealogy's LibGuide to St. Louis Cemeteries.

Index to Catholic Priests - St. Louis


Names in this index were compiled from the following sources:     
  • Official Catholic Directory, 1841, 1844, 1846 – 1861, 1864 – 1870 (available years)
  • St. Louis City Directories, 1870, 1872, 1874 – 1900 (available years)
Since civil records where signed by the priest, this index provides a valuable tool for crossing over from a civil marriage record to the church marriage record, which often contains more family information.

Tips for searching

Search tips
  • Names are listed in alphabetical order by surname, and entries include the parish he served with years.
  • If the church is listed only as "Jesuit," search the microfilmed records of parishes in St. Louis commonly served by the Jesuits, e.g. St. Anne, St. Ferdinand, St. Francis Xavier, and the St. Joseph, (Shrine of, German).
Characteristics of data extracted from city directories
  • Allowance should be made for the spelling variations and initials shown for some names due to common spelling and typesetting errors.
  • Dates shown for the time periods a priest served at one church may not necessarily be conclusive. Not every priest was listed every year.
  • Names of some of the churches were shortened or altered in the Directories. Most notable were the following, but not for every year listed above: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, shown as, Our Lady of Perpetual Succor. St. Cronan, shown as St. Cronin, St. Mark, shown as, St. Marc, St. Mary of Victories shown as St. Mary's, St. Teresa shown as St. Theresa, Sts. Mary and Joseph shown as St. Mary's.
  • In some directories, only the name of the church, the address, and the hours of service were listed, with the the name of the priest excluded.
  • Several churches listed only the name of the "order" serving that church, rather than the name of the priest. Notable among these churches were St. Anthony (Fathers of Franciscan Convent) and St. Alphonsus (Redemptorist Fathers). These listing were inconsistent, however, with the priest being listed one year but not the next.
  • St. Ann, in the county, disappeared from the listings in 1892.

Information for this list was extracted from local history sources. Each entry includes the name, denomination, and congregation served, and the original source where the information was found. Listings include clergy persons serving Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish congregations. Download is available in PDF Format. 

See also "Catholic Priests in St. Louis, 1841-1900" and "Clergy serving congregations originating in the Evangelical Synod of North America in St. Louis, 1834 - 2007."

The following is a guide to Catholic parish jubilee histories available on microfilm in the History and Genealogy Department. With one exception, histories concern parishes located in the eastern part of Missouri. Some publications are in German, one is in Polish, and one is in Czech.

Archdiocese of St. Louis (St. Louis, Missouri)

 

Indexed Sources:

History of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis: A Condensed History of the Catholic Church in Missouri and Saint Louis; Material Progress and General Resources and Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Prominent Citizens. St. Louis: Western Watchman Pub. Co., 1924. R 977.866 H673

Black Catholics in St. Louis

 

Indexed Sources:

Faherty, William Barnaby. The Religious Roots of Black Catholics of Saint Louis. St. Louis: St. Stanislaus Church, 1977. R 977.866 F157R