Religious Orders Serving St. Louis

Founded by St. Maria de Mattias in 1834 in Italy, the mission of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ worldwide is to collaborate with Christ in His work of redemption. The sisters strive to build up the Body of Christ so that all creation can move toward “that beautiful order of things in which the great Son of God came to establish in His blood,” according to St. Maria.

In the world today, the Adorers specifically live this out by witnessing to God’s love and ministering that love to others, especially to the poor, oppressed and deprived.

The Adorers have 12 sisters in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. They serve in community leadership, parish ministry, counseling, social services and tutoring.

The Adrian Dominican Sisters, of Adrian, Michigan, are part of the worldwide Order of Preachers established in 1216 by St. Dominic. Our foremothers came from Holy Cross Convent in Regensburg, Bavaria, a Dominican monastery established in 1233 with a lineage that traces back to the first monastery for women established by St. Dominic in 1206.

The Adrian Dominican Sisters first came to the Archdiocese of St. Louis in August 1958 when one Sister began a two-year term as teacher at Marillac College. Other Sisters followed and in all, eight Sisters served in education in the Archdiocese through the present at: Aquinas Institute of Theology, Kenrick Seminary, and in the GED program of Rockwood School District.  

The Collaborative Dominican Novitiate also brought in numerous Adrian Dominican Sisters from its establishment in St. Louis in 1988. Three Adrian Dominican Sisters served as Co-directors and numerous Sisters attended as novices – many making a difference as they spent days of ministry in schools, social service agencies, and healthcare settings.

Four Adrian Dominican Sisters served in the healthcare field at the Catholic Health Association, University Hospital, the Sisters of Mercy Health System, Ranken Jordan Pediatric Rehabilitation Center, and Ranken Jordan Children’s Hospital.

Finally, four Adrian Dominican Sisters came to the Archdiocese of St. Louis to serve in parishes and social service agencies, including the St. Louis Association of Community Organizations; Emmaus Community, a residential program of personal growth and development for women religious; Boys Hope Girls Hope; and St. Cronan Parish in St. Louis.

Currently, one Adrian Dominican Sister ministers in St. Louis, but the Congregation’s legacy remains active with nine Adrian Dominican Associates, who live out the Dominican charism through active ministry in healthcare, parish ministry, and active retirement.

The Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a Congregation of religious women that claims Mother Clelia Merloni as its foundress, first arrived in St. Louis to bring the Faith to the Italian immigrants. Since those early years downtown when they were known as “Missionary Zelatrices of the Sacred Heart,” the Sisters have served in over 20 different locations in greater St. Louis.  The Apostles’ role in the great story of the Archdiocese of St. Louis began on January 24, 1913. 

Our work primarily takes the form of two apostolates: Saint Louis Priory* School and Saint Anselm Parish. Both of these long-standing apostolates are all located on the Abbey grounds. About 15 monks work in the 400-student high school, two monks run the 1000-family parish and some brothers have specific jobs within the monastery proper.

The apostolates of teaching and ministering have been a major part of English Benedictine monasticism for centuries.

Although the works are demanding, they are balanced and sustained by the prayer life. In fact, the works are inspired and fueled by faithfulness to prayer in all its forms, and before any and all work that we engage in, we are first of all monks dedicated to prayer, worship, and growth in holiness.

* When the school was founded our monastery was a priory. When we became an abbey the community decided to retain the name of The Saint Louis Priory School for the school since by this name it had achieved a considerable reputation in colleges and universities across the country.

The Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus (Carmelites DCJ) were founded in 1891 in Berlin, Germany, to blend the contemplative spirit of Carmel with the active apostolate.  Their charism is comprised of four facets – contemplation, reparation, spiritual motherhood, and mission. Their life has a deeply contemplative dimension. The life of a Carmelite is one devoted to penance, reparation, silence, and, most importantly, seeking union with God in prayer. In addition to chanting the Divine Office four times a day in community, their way of life also calls them to a half hour of silent contemplative prayer before the tabernacle in both the morning and the evening, a time to simply remain in His presence and love.

From this prayer flows their active works, which as Carmelites DCJ takes the form of being mothers who provide homes of love for the old and the young where they can be close to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and experience daily His love for them. All they do, whether in active works or in prayer, is done in a spirit of reparation and with a burning desire for the salvation of souls. 

We Sisters of Divine Providence are a community of women religious rooted in our confidence that God is provident. We participate in the mission of Jesus by responding to the needs of the time through ministry and service. We live our lives with complete trust in a provident God –guiding, loving, and caring for all creation. We believe in the reality of Providence. We believe that the movements of history in which we participate are guided by the loving power of God. We believe that God cares for all creation. We believe that we have an active role in this creative redemption because God works in us and through us.

The Congregation of Mary, Queen is a religious institute of diocesan right, with our Motherhouse located in Vietnam and our regional/provincial house located in Springfield, MO.  In 1991, the sisters began discerning the possibility of establishing a local convent in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Then, Archbishop John L. May, visited with three of the sisters in the Congregation’s Regional Council.  It was evident that St. Louis was an ideal place for establishing a new community of sisters and strengthening the Formation Program of the younger sisters. 

The Congregation of the Carmelite Religions has its hallowed origins in Bayonne, France. It is a part of the historic foundation of the Third Order apostolic of Mount Carmel established by Mother Veronica to prepare and train sisters for the Indian mission.

The Congregation believes in the proclamation of the Gospel through selfless service to the people of God. Education is our chief apostolate. The spirit of Carmel is our inspiration. We believe in a way of life that advocates uninterrupted contemplation of God even in the midst of a busy apostolate. The Lady of Mount Carmel is our Mother and Patroness and the saints of Carmel are our inspiration.

Our Motto: In His Presence We Stand and Serve.

Vincentian priests and brothers of the Western Province bring the light of the gospel to the world through personal encounters with our sisters and brothers, particularly those on the margins. Following the example of St. Vincent, we see the face of christ in the poor, lonely and forgotten. Nurtured by prayer and communal life, we fulfill our mission by caring for the least of God’s people.

In 1828, at the request of then St. Louis Bishop Joseph Rosati, four sisters set out from their Motherhouse in Emmitsburg, Maryland, in September to journey to St. Louis.  Bishop Rosati requested the sisters to take charge of a hospital.  When the sisters arrived, they found an expanding city and many in need of health care.  The sisters established the first hospital west of the Mississippi River; today, it is known as DePaul Hospital.  The sisters then began to serve in education and in needed social ministries.  Mental health, care for orphans, and schools for the needy were opened and staffed.  

“You must be Saint Paul living today.” These words from Blessed James Alberione, founder of the Daughters of St. Paul, capture the life and mission of the sisters to “live and give Christ” to the people of today.

Living a profoundly Eucharistic spirituality and immersed in the culture of communication, the Daughters of St. Paul use media—print, visual, digital, music, and more—so that every person may encounter Christ, be transformed by His love, and in turn bring Christ’s love, peace, and justice to the world. The Daughters have been present in Saint Louis since 1973 and have operated Pauline Books & Media in Crestwood since 1989, where they offer Catholic resources from their publishing house (Pauline Books & Media Publishing) and host faith formation and prayer opportunities. Saint Louis is also the home of the Daughters of St. Paul postulancy, where young women beginning their life as Daughters of St. Paul start the initial formation process.    

In 1863, during the Civil War, the Carmelites came to St. Louis from Baltimore, Md. Since that time, they have lived lives of prayer and penance following the tradition of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. The Nuns of the Carmel of St. Joseph pray the Liturgy of the Hours as a community and live a life of continual prayer in imitation of Christ’s hidden life at Nazareth and in solitary places. Some of the prayer is before the Blessed Sacrament, which is exposed daily both in the Nuns’ Chapel and in the public Chapel. 

Rising before the sun can break through the darkness of night, the Discalced Carmelite nuns wake to the sound of a loud wooden clapper and a voice calling them to communal prayer with the words, “Praise be Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary His Mother. Come to prayer sisters, come to praise the Lord!”

The cloistered nuns, wearing full-length habits and veils, make their way to a large, wood-paneled choir room to chant the Liturgy of the Hours, the universal prayer of the Church. It is a duty they will ritually perform seven times each day as they interceed to God with their prayers for mankind, giving special attention to praying for priests.

All are welcome – Daily 7:30am & Sunday 8:00am Mass, followed by Eucharistic Adoration all day, then 7:45pm Benediction.

All are also invited to the annual Solemn Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, held in July.

Carmel of St. Joseph, Chapel of the Precious Blood, 9150 Clayton Road, St. Louis, MO 63124

The Dominican Friars (Order of Preachers) established St. Dominic Priory on July 1, 1981, as the house of studies (studium) of the Province of St. Albert the Great (Central Province) and at the same time moved their school – Aquinas Institute of Theology – to St. Louis.  A “priory” is fundamentally a community of Friars who come together to pursue the end of the Order of Preachers – “preaching and the salvation of souls”; by extension the term is applied to the physical house in which the Friars reside. 

Eight centuries ago St. Dominic de Guzman founded a new religious Order whose contemplative framework was to support its active mission of preaching for the salvation of souls. Today, the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia Congregation live out this mission through a life of prayer, study and community, which nourishes a contemplative spirit and bears fruit in their teaching apostolate.

In the spirit of Saint Dominic, the community embraces the Church’s call to the New Evangelization, responding creatively to the needs of our time. The Sisters’ apostolate includes classroom teaching preschool through college; family formation programs; campus ministry and work with young people; retreats and other catechetical efforts that encourage growth in the faith and in the spiritual life.

Serving in 15 U.S. states, and in Canada, Australia, Italy, Scotland, and the Netherlands, the Sisters seek to inspire students and their families to engage and transform the culture with the saving truths of the Gospel.

Founded in 1860 in Nashville, Tennessee, the Congregation of St. Cecilia today numbers over 300 Sisters. The community is marked by joyful fidelity to the Church, devotion to Christ in the Eucharist and to his Blessed Mother, and zeal for teaching the truth.

Though tracing their history to St. Dominic’s founding of the Dominicans in 1215, the Sparkill Dominicans came to be in 1876, with sisters Alice Mary and Lucy Thorpe serving poor in New York City. They purchased property in Sparkill in 1884 and used it as a base of operations for their education ministry in the 1900s. Locally, the community ministers at East Side Heart and Home Family Center in East St. Louis.

The Dominican Sisters of Sparkill taught at numerous parish schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis — part of their mission that includes residential housing for the elderly and handicapped, missions in Pakistan and Peru, and the arts and culture.

At present, there are 40 Sparkill, Dominican Sisters and 16 associates ministering to God’s people in St. Louis.  We minister to the marginalized in many differing areas: The Family Center in East St. Louis and Queen of Peace Center and Nia Kuumba Spirituality Center in St. Louis.  We serve in Prison Ministry and in Health Ministries.  Our sisters are involved in Spiritual Direction, Prayer and Healing Ministries, and Community Service.  In the field of Education, we have sisters who are Principals, Registrar, and Teachers as well as Educators working with Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Program.  We are involved in Pastoral Care and Parish Ministers. 

The Congregation of Franciscan Brothers of the Holy Cross is a religious community of vowed men who share in the mission of Jesus by serving the needs of people and The Church in the tradition of St. Francis.  We are called by God to follow gospel values and to respond with compassionate care and ministry to all human needs.  We serve by caring for individuals with developmental disabilities, providing pastoral care, working in health care roles, and serving as teachers, secretaries, musicians, tradesmen, and in leadership roles of service.

As brothers, we live a life in community. we are dedicated to a life of prayer and service as we seek to be witnesses of Christ’s love for all in our community, in our ministries and the world.

Being strong catholics and descendents of one of the oldest Catholic nations in the world, a group of immigrants from Croatia sought to establish a parish where they could serve God as they did in their fatherland.

These pioneer Croatians in 1902, almost exclusively of the working class, pulled together to organize a national parish, according to historical accounts. With the guidance of Msgr. Davorin Krmpotic, pastor of a Croatian parish in Kansas City, Kan., their endeavors slowly were realized after they received permission from Archbishop John J. Glennon to establish the parish.

They welcomed a Croatian priest, Father Oscar Suster, and began to attend masses at St. Wenceslaus parish in South St. Louis. Then, parishioners were able to purchase a Jewish synagogue on the corner of 11th street and Chouteau avenue. Archbishop Glennon dedicated the St. Joseph Croatian Catholic Church on Sept. 25, 1904.

The Franciscan Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus began as an American mission from the Saxonian Province of Holy Cross, in Germany.  they are officially recognized as the Order of Friars Minor, a religious order, simply known as the “Franciscans.”  In 1858, they responded to an invitation from the bishop of Alton, Illinois and were entrusted with the care of the german-speaking parish of Saint Francis, in Teutopolis.  Special permission from their Franciscan superiors granted the friars reasonable travel permits, use of money and special garb.  This allowed the Franciscans to spread the gospel throughout the surrounding areas in Quincy, Illinois and Saint Louis, Missouri.  

The modern-day Franciscan Missionary Brothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus had their beginnings in this tradition when, in 1888, their order was founded in Poland. In 1922, two of the brothers visited the United States and, in 1927, the Franciscan Missionary Brothers were officially welcomed into the Archdiocese of St. Louis.  That same year, we acquired the St. Joseph’s Hill property outside Eureka, restored the buildings that had been abandoned 15 years earlier, and began accepting residents who needed continual nursing care.

Today’s Franciscan Missionary Brothers are steeped in proud and solemn traditions of the past. Their apostolic endeavors range from supporting the needs of nursing home residents, to those afflicted with hiv and other disenfranchised people––as well as as their work in maintaining and operating the Black Madonna Shrine and grottos, which welcome thousands of visitors each year. 

On November 16, 1872, Mother Mary Odilia Berger and her five companions landed on the St. Louis riverfront with a mission—a mission that remains the mission of the congregation today: “to be the presence of the loving, serving, compassionate, healing Jesus.” They set to work in the poorest neighborhoods of the city, caring for the sick and poor in their homes, people who would never be able to afford medical care.

The Franciscan Sisters of Mary continue to carry out their mission “to be the presence of the loving, serving, compassionate, healing Jesus” with their special focus on “compassionate care of creation in collaboration with others.”