Old St. Ferdinand’s Shrine Fact Sheet

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	Old St. Ferdinand’s Shrine DESCRIPTION: Old St. Ferdinand’s Shrine is one of the few remaining vestiges of St. Louis’ Spanish past. The church, built in 1821, is the oldest standing church in all of the Louisiana Purchase Territory. It is also thought to be the oldest Catholic Church between the Mississippi and the Rockies. The original church was built in the federal style but when it was renovated in 1880, it took on a gothic revival appearance. The church is part of a complex of buildings of unusual historical and architectural importance that includes a convent where pioneer and educator Mother Philippine Duchesne once taught Indian children. All of the buildings are listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. ADDRESS: P. O. Box 222, 1 Rue St. Francois, Florissant, MO 63032 LOCATION: Florissant, Missouri in North St. Louis County PHONE NUMBER: 314-837-2110 WEB SITE: www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/oldferdinand.htm GETTING THERE: From downtown, take I-70 West to I-170 North (Exit 238C). Take I-170 North a short distance to the North Hanley Road exit. Take Hanley Road north about two and a half miles. Hanley becomes Graham, then St. Ferdinand and then ends at Rue St. Francois. Turn left on Rue St. Francois and go one block to the Shrine. TOURS: 1-4 p.m., Sunday April through December or by appointment year round ADMISSION: Free; donations accepted. HIGHLIGHTS: A sanctuary lamp is believed to have been a gift from Penalver Cardenas, bishop of Louisiana and Florida, in 1799. It is also believed the lamp may have been used in South America before it came to St. Louis in the 1500s. Relics of St. Valentine, thought to be a gift of the King of France to Bishop Louis DuBourg, are in a wax replica of St. Valentine in front of the altar. While the oldest part of the church was built in 1821, the old altar underneath dates from 1881. The bell tower and steeple were added in 1883. They are painted a moss green, a shade extensive research indicates was the original color. Exceptionally beautiful stained glass windows dating from the 1800s flank the main part of the church. The ceiling of the church is an unusual arch design uncovered when a dropped ceiling was removed during a restoration following a fire in 1966. Because of this unusual arch, the acoustics allow normal conversation to be heard in the rear of the church. Stencils on the ceiling were copied from the original design found when tin and canvas coverings were removed. Paintings on three 1960 wood panels on either side of the altar are thought to be from the school of Reuben. During the 1966 restoration, 17 coats of varnish were removed revealing pieces of Spanish moss in an early layer leading experts to theorize the pictures came from Europe and may have been brought up the Mississippi from New Orleans by Father DeSmet or Bishop Louis Dutoung. The crystal chandeliers hanging in the sanctuary were made by Landesman Galleries and were installed during the 1966 restoration. The rectory, which was added in 1840, is on the left as you approach the complex. On the first floor is a large room that was a chapel to the Blessed Mother when it was built in 1840. In it is the confessional used by Mother Duchesne and the tabernacle from the original log church. Also on display in the convent is a statue of a guardian angel carried in the 1825 Corpus Christi procession. A replica of the original log church, built in 1790, is also on display in the rectory as is a collection of items from the early days of the village of St. Ferdinand, including silver religious items from the 1700s and a collection of dolls in nuns' habits. While Mother Duchesne is known to have had her own similar collection, this one is of a later vintage. The convent wing, built in 1819, is one of the few brick buildings of its age in Missouri and is almost in its original condition. It is considered one of the best examples in brick of the federal style of architecture in the state. The church's original 1820 pews with very narrow seats are on display in the chapel area of the convent. A closet under the stairs in the hallway of the convent was used by Mother Duchesne as a makeshift bedroom. She reportedly slept on a straw mattress with a ragged blanket in the closet to be close to the chapel. A long upstairs room in the convent was used as a dormitory. One end of the room is now furnished as a schoolroom as it might have been when Mother Duchesne taught there. The other end is set up to depict an infirmary, which was actually in another room on the second floor. The third floor attic was the Novitiate and the linen room. A school in the complex was built in 1888. It is rented for special occasions. Adjacent to the Shrine is a passive park maintained by the city of Florissant. ANNUAL SPECIAL EVENTS: A number of special events are held at the Shrine throughout the year including a historical encampment of the St. Ferdinand de Fleurissant Territory in April, the Valley of the Flowers Festival in May, the Florissant Old Town Festival in October, a feast day mass for Sister Rose Philippine Duchesne in November and a Christmas concert in December. HISTORY: The Shrine is at the site of one of the earliest European settlements west of the Mississippi. Although Spain controlled the area, early settlers here were French farmers and fur trappers attracted to the fertile banks of nearby Coldwater Creek. The French called the valley “Fleurissant” which means “flowering” or “flourishing” while the Spanish called the tiny settlement “St. Ferdinand.” While it is not known when the first settlers came to the area, it is believed that the village was settled about the same time St. Louis was (1764). The king of Spain actually granted the village the site where the old church was built. The settlement was typical of French settlements at the time with a commons and common fields where the villagers did their farming. Formal civil government came to the area in 1786 when Francois Dunegant served as civil and military commandant. A census held the next year indicated there were 40 people and seven plantations, according to Spanish archives. The St. Ferdinand parish was established in 1789. For a number of years a log church served the community until the original portion of the existing church was constructed in 1821. The convent was built in 1819, and Mass was said in its chapel for the first time on Christmas Eve of that year. St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, a member of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, an order which had been founded in 1800 in France, lived in the convent from 1819 to 1827 and from 1834 to 1840. Mother Duchesne came to the Florissant area from France and provided in her writing some of the best descriptions of early life in Missouri. In 1825 she established a school for Indian girls and later, when she moved to St. Louis, she ran a school for the children of wealthy St. Louisans. The school she founded in St. Charles, Missouri in 1818 was the first free school west of the Mississippi. The Catholic Church beatified Mother Duchesne in 1940 as the fourth saint in the United States. She was canonized a saint July 3, 1988. The cornerstone for the Church, a gift of Mother Duchesne, was laid in February of 1821. In August of that year, Mary Ann Layton became the first American to become a Religious of the Sacred Heart when she made her vows at the convent. In June of 1823 the church was served by the Jesuits who established a seminary at the Bishop’s Farm, now St. Stanislavs. Four years later Father Peter DeSmet, later known as "Black Robe" to the Indians he served through his missionary work, was ordained at St. Ferdinand. He would later turn St. Louis into the "missionary gateway to the West." In 1846 the Religious of Sacred Heart left St. Ferdinand and the following year the Sisters of Loretto were appointed to the parish. In 1880, the same year that the church was enlarged and a bell tower and altar was built, the nuns opened New Loretto Academy, a four-story brick building. In 1888 a parish school was built to educate the children of the growing parish. The school served the community for many years but in 1957 when the parish population dwindled, St. Ferdinand ceased to be a parish church and the diocese talked of tearing it down. Two years later, the Friends of Old St. Ferdinand Shrine was formed to save the church and the adjacent buildings. The group raised enough funds to purchase the complex a few years later. In 1960 the St. Louis Archdiocese designated St. Ferdinand as a Shrine and in 1979 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Friends of Old St. Ferdinand, Inc. purchased the shrine complex and own, maintain, preserve and protect this valuable jewel. A fire in 1966 caused extensive damage to the rectory but a restoration was undertaken immediately. Another fire in 1976 destroyed a brick building at the rear of the church, which was the last of those erected by the Sisters of Loretto. The Shrine is operated and maintained by the Friends of Old St. Ferdinand, a non-profit agency. HANDICAPPED ACCESS: The Church, the rectory and the convent are first-floor handicapped accessible. WHERE TO GET LUNCH: There are several restaurants in the historic Florissant neighborhood including Hendel's Market Café, a restaurant in a former grocery store built around 1873; Valley Bistro Café & Winegarden, a cozy restaurant with outdoor seating available; City Diner, a local restaurant with American cuisine and Kris-Ellen's Café, a restaurant which serves lunch only. WHAT'S NEARBY: The St. Stanislavs Museum is now located on the second floor schoolhouse of Old St. Ferdinand. Also in the Florissant Historic District are other buildings on the National Register of Historic Places although most of them are private residences or businesses. Nearby are Taille de Noyer, one of St. Louis' oldest homes and the former hunting lodge of John Mullanphy, an early St. Louis philanthropist; the John B. Myers House and Barn, an 1860's Palladian-style house which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Lambert- St. Louis International Airport and Bigfoot 4 X 4. Inc., home of the original monster truck with the world's largest collection of Bigfoot memorabilia. PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACT: Bill Bray, President/Chairman Friends of Old St. Ferdinand, Inc., 314-837-2110, billb052946@sbcglobal.net
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