• A Brief History of St. Mary of Victories Parish
• St. Mary of Victories Parish Records
• 1885 map showing location of St. Mary of Victories parish relative to downtown

A Brief History of St. Mary of Victories Parish (written in 1875)

"St Mary's Church (German)
on the corner of Third and Mulberry Streets, is the oldest German Roman Catholic church in St. Louis, or, probably, in the West. The corner stone of this edifice was laid July 25, 1843, by Bishop Andrew Blane, of New Orleans. On the 15th of October, 1844, the building was consecrated to divine worship, the Rev. John Simon, afterward bishop of Buffalo, New York, with the permission of the bishop, officiating. It is a handsome brick building, substantial in its outward appearance, Roman in its style of architecture, and beautifully decorated and frescoed on the interior. Rev. William Faeber is pastor, and Rev. William Pigge, assistant. For the archiepiscopal chancery are Very Rev. H Muehlsiepen, V.G., and Rev. H. Van der Lauder, chancellor.

St. Mary's Parochial Schools are adjoining the church. They are substantial brick buildings, which date back to 1855. About 600 children are in attendance, under the instruction of sisters of Notre Dame and one securlar teacher."

This 2-paragraph history was a direct quote from page 122 of Pictorial St. Louis 1875 which was originally published by Camille N. Dry in 1875 and reprinted by McGraw-Young Publishing in 1997. The illustration above of the parish church came from the same book, plate 8.
Pictorial St Louis can also be viewed online

top of page

St. Mary of Victories Parish records on microfilm
are available at the St. Louis County Library Headquarters* and include:

baptisms starting in 1844
marriages starting in 1844
death records - aren't available on microfilm before 1940, according to the guide referred to directly below. (It is possible, however, that they are available in some form other than microfilm at the archdiocesan archives.)

Iinformation about parish records on microfilm at the St. Louis County Library can be found in the book Guide to St. Louis Catholic Archdiocesan Parish Records compiled by Christine Human Hughes and published in 2001 by Friends of the St. Louis County Library. Copies are for sale at the library in the Special Collections department. (St. Mary of Victories parish is on p.256 of this book.) 

*I've been told that St. Louis parish records are also available on microfilm at the archdiocesan archives at Kenrick Seminary and through  LDS Family History Centers.

top of page