Religious Orders Serving St. Louis

One hundred years ago, the Spirit manifested itself to three women of faith, prophetic vision, and courage—Sister Solana Leczna, Sister Ernestine Matz, and Sister Hilaria Matz, members of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate of Joliet, Illinois.  Responding to the needs of Polish immigrants, these three Sisters separated from the Joliet Franciscans to remain at St. Stanislaus Kostka in St. Louis, a parish consisting of 2300 parishioners with over 600 children in the school where the Sisters taught.  In the early twentieth century, the vision of the Sisters broadened beyond only Polish-speaking parishes to include staffing other schools in predominantly rural parishes in Missouri and Illinois. 

The Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whose generalate is in Rome, have as their particular mission in the Church reparation to the Heart of Jesus, centered in the Eucharist, and as characteristic expression, worship of adoration to Christ in the Eucharist and education in service of the Gospel, principally for the poor, by means of formation of children and youth in Educational Centers, hospitality to those coming to pray in Houses of Spirituality, and pastoral involvement with various groups of young people and adults.

The Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters were founded on Dec. 8, 1896 in Steyl, Holland by St. Arnold Janssen and his faithful collaborator, Mother Mary Michael.  Mother Mary Michael’s first foundation was in Philadelphia, PA in 1915. God blessed the new foundation abundantly, and soon American candidates were applying for admission. As the Congregation continued to grow, Mother Mary Michael founded convents in the Philippines, Germany, and the Netherlands. She was also looking to make a second foundation in the United States. At this time, the Lord also awakened in the heart of Mrs. Theresa Kulage, a wealthy St. Louis widow, the desire to establish a convent of perpetual adoration in her native city. Mrs. Kulage learned of the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters through the Society of the Divine Word and traveled to Philadelphia to meet the Sisters personally. She approached Archbishop John Glennon and offered to found an adoration convent in St. Louis. In October of 1924, Archbishop Glennon wrote to the superior in Philadelphia inviting the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters into his diocese. 

The Mount Grace Chapel is open daily from 5:30am until 6:25pm for Prayers, 7am Mass, and Eucharistic Adoration.

All are also invited to the annual Novena of Masses and Family Consecration to the Sacred Heart, held in June.

1438 East Warne Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63107

Hospital Sisters of Saint Francis are women who have dedicated their lives to and for the love of Christ Jesus, and to their brothers and sisters in Christ. Public vows made to God, through the church and community, are the manifestation of a life of simplicity and service to the sick and poor.

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is a society of apostolic life of pontifical right whose goal is the honor of God and the sanctification of priests in the service of the Church and souls. Its specific aim is missionary: to spread the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ in all spheres of human life. Our work is carried out under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception, to whom The Institute is consecrated.  

The Society of Jesus is an order of Roman Catholic priests and brothers founded nearly 500 years ago by St. Ignatius Loyola. With more than 15,000 priests, scholastics and brothers worldwide, it is the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church.

The Jesuits USA Central and Southern (UCS) Province is one administrative body within the international Society of Jesus. The UCS Province is comprised of approximately 325 men serving in 13 states, Puerto Rico and Belize. It is based in St. Louis where more than 130 Jesuits reside.

The Society of Mary (Marianists), an international Catholic religious order of brothers and priests, was founded in 1817 in France by Blessed William Joseph Chaminade. The Society of Mary, together with a religious order of women, the Daughters of Mary Immaculate, and numerous affiliated lay groups, form the Marianist family.

In 1898, the Marianists opened their first school in the St. Louis Archdiocese.  

We commit ourselves to the proclamation of the reign of God through a ministry for justice wherever the need presents itself at the time.

Our Community: The missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette are deeply rooted in the apparition of Our Lady of La Salette which occurred near the hamlet of La Salette in southeastern France on Sept. 19, 1846. The missionaries were founded in 1852 by Bp. Philbert de Bruillard, bishop of Grenoble, France, and presently serve in some 25 countries.

Our Province: The Province of Mary, Mother of the Americas, was founded in 2000ad and is one of several provinces in the congregation. The members of this province serve mainly in the countries of Canada, the United States and the region of Argentina/Bolivia.

Our Mission: Our La Salette ministry of reconciliation responds to the broad vision given by Mary at La Salette as well as in response to the needs of The Church. as reconcilers, we together with the laity take seriously Mary’s mandate: “You will make (Mary’s) message known to all (her) people.”

Offering the Perpetual Mass Association since 1933, the Missionaries of the Holy Family (MSF) is a worldwide, Roman Catholic, men’s congregation of over 900 priests and brothers with a special focus on emphasizing the Holy Family as the standard of holiness for all families.

The worldwide leadership for the Missionaries of the Holy Family is the generalate, and it is located in Rome. There are 15 provinces and numerous missions. The Missionaries of the Holy Family serve in 22 countries.

They have served St. Wenceslaus Parish in St. Louis since 1960.

The most divine of divine things is to cooperate in the salvation of souls.

The spirituality of the Missionary Sisters of St. Peter Claver, inherited from their Foundress, Blessed Mary Theresa Ledochowska, is rooted in Ignatian spirituality; from there it branches into a uniquely Claverian way of following Christ.

The foundation of Passionist Nuns in the Archdiocese of St. Louis dates to February 1948. As cloistered contemplatives dedicated to the Passion of Jesus Christ, the nuns lead lives of prayer, silence and sacrifice centered on the Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, intercession for the Church and all mankind, and the preparation of altar breads for numerous parishes.

In 1212, foundress St. Clare left her home in Italy to follow in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi. She was clothed in a poor habit as a sign of her consecration to God. Several others joined her at the Church of San Damiano, just outside of Assisi, and began what was called the Poor Ladies. After St. Clare’s death in 1253, the community became known as the Poor Clares or Nuns of the Order of St. Clare.

The Poor Clare Nuns’ mission is to live the Gospel in total poverty, through a life of prayer and penance. They do so through daily prayer, readings, communing with God and silent meditation. Living in community is another critical aspect of the sisters’ charism. They share responsibilities for the upkeep of the monastery. The order in St. Louis have a specialty of making altar breads for use in the Holy Mass.  They have had a presence in the Archdiocese of St. Louis since 1959.

All are invited to pray in the Monastery of Saint Clare of the Immaculate Conception Chapel during the day.

All are welcome to attend the annual Novena, held in August, ending with the August 11 Feast Day of St. Clare of Assisi.

200 Marycrest Drive, St. Louis, MO 63129

St. Alphonsus Liguori, moral theologian and doctor of the church, founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) in Naples, Italy in 1732 as a religious congregation of the Catholic Church. The congregation was formally approved in 1749 by Pope Benedict XIV.  The original mission as set forth by St. Alphonsus was to strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ by preaching the gospel to the poor and the most abandoned, particularly to those who live on the margins of church and society.

All Redemptorists use the initials “C.Ss.R.” after their last names. These four letters are an abbreviation for cCongregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris, the latin for “Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.”

The Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma formed in 1973 “in response to the renewal called for in the Second Vatican Council,” RSMs serve as doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators in the medical field, and also teach in seminaries and schools.  A Religious Sister of Mercy is called to professional excellence while living in a religious community as the Bride of Christ.

The community has 10 convents in the United States, three in Europe:  Rome, England and Germany — and another in Sydney, Australia.  They came to St. Louis at the invitation of Archbishop Robert J. Carlson, formerly the bishop in their diocese of Saginaw, Michigan.

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Charism:  We desire to be faithful to the grace received by our founder, a grace we now share by our call to the Congregation of the Resurrection. We recognize certain truths to be especially important for our life and work as Resurrectionists because they give expression to the grace and call.

We believe that God’s love for us is merciful and unfailing. We have not earned his love. we are nothing, have nothing, and can do nothing without God. We are attracted to evil. We are sinners. Yet god continues to draw us to himself.

We believe that in his love the Father calls us to conversion: to personal resurrection in union with Jesus, to a new life filled with the power of his spirit. With Jesus we die to ourselves when we surrender our lives to the Father, renouncing anything that separates us from him. The power of the Spirit forms Christ in us, and moves us to respond with love to the Father’s great lover for us.

We believe that God calls us to live together as brothers, sharing the gifts that we have received, supporting one another, praying and working together for His glory. He has called us to be a community which is a living sign of the gospel values of justice, truth, and love.

We believe that God calls us to work together for the resurrection of society, bringing His live and love to all: through our personal witness, through the witness of our life in community, and through our community apostolates, primarily through parish work and teaching. This also requires that we build, and teach others to build, a christian community in which wall can experience the hope, joy, and peace of Christ’s resurrection.

We believe that Mary is our model for all that we are called to be and do as Resurrectionists.

The Rural Parish Workers of Christ the King are located in Fertile, MO (just south of Potosi), which has been in existence since 1942. This agency is supported by the Annual Catholic Appeal and helps provide food, clothing, utilities and spiritual needs to the people in the surrounding area.

The Institute of the Salesian Missionaries of Mary Immaculate (SMMI), the religious missionary branch, was born from the Society of the Daughters of Saint Francis de Sales, founded in Paris in 1872 by Father Henry Chaumont, a diocesan priest, and Madame Carré de Malberg, a housewife and mother. They founded this society for lay women to “live the Gospel” and spread its spirit in the world. From this lay society, in 1885, our founder founded a missionary branch, the Salesian Missionaries of Mary Immaculate.

Founded in 1833 by Blessed Theresa Gerhardinger in Bavaria, the School Sisters of Notre Dame have more than 2,500 sisters in more than 34 countries. They came to the United States in 1847 and to St. Louis not long after, educating generations of children in the St. Louis area.  Their teaching ministry continues today with schools throughout the United States, including Notre Dame High School in St. Louis.  Notre Dame sisters teach at all levels of education — elementary, secondary and post-secondary.  The sisters also host regular events at their campus, which is home to Notre Dame High School, the motherhouse with its exquisitely rehabbed St. Theresa Center Chapel, and the offices for the Central Pacific Province — among five in the U.S.

The Servants of the Paraclete is an international religious community founded by Rev. Gerald Fitzgerald S.P. in 1947 with a specific ministry to serve fellow priests and brothers who are facing particular challenges in their vocations and lives. We are located near St. Louis, Missouri, and continue to offer the St. Michael renewal program, a carefully integrated program for growth and healing, and Vianney Center, a residential faith community for priests and brothers who wish to live their vocation at its core of prayer and fraternity.