HERE ARE LINKS to photos and information about the current status of Saint Liborius Church, which has been long closed, in north Saint Louis city. These links are from Saint Louis Patina, “A Blog detailing the beauty of St. Louis architecture and the buildup of residue-or character-that accumulates over the course of time.”
- St. Liborius, St. Louis Place
- St. Liborius, Revisited
- St. Liborius, A Desolate and Beautiful Interior
- The Fine Arts, St. Liborius
Correspondents frequently contact me about this church. While it is generally solid, the church is in a state of general disrepair, although some of the original liturgical art and furnishings remains. Locals are searching for a use of this church — but the neighborhood has few Catholics, although the area has seen some redevelopment lately. Clearly, the highest and best use of this building is as a Catholic church, but this kind of restoration would require unforeseen circumstances of the most remarkable kind.
Click here for the church’s nomination for the National Register of Historic Places, which includes a history of the church, detailed architectural descriptions, and historic photographs. Information from the Archdiocese is here, and more photos can be found at Built St. Louis.
I took this photo of the church in 2010; it was closed in 1992. The parish patron was Saint Liborius (c. 348–397), second bishop of LeMans in Gaul, and patron saint of Paderborn in Westphalia, whose intercession is invoked against colic, fever, and gallstones, and is a patron of a happy death.
It was designed by the German-American architect, J. William Schickel of New York, who is famed for his ecclesiastical works.
I keep clicking the links and they take me to a blog but the blog redirects me in like 5 seconds!
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if what someone told me was true. That St. Liborius is a consecrated church and cannot be torn dowwn? It would be a great place for the TLM.