Rome of the West: Photos of Saint Anthony Church, in Glennon, Missouri

HERE ARE PHOTOS of Saint Anthony Church, located in the southeastern Missouri town of Glennon, in Bollinger County. The church is a mission of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, and is 140 highway miles south of downtown Saint Louis.

Saint Anthony Roman Catholic Church, in Glennon, Missouri, USA - exterior

The current church, dating from 1969, is low and built of brick. Perhaps we can discover a possible reason for this design in a photo below…

Saint Anthony Roman Catholic Church, in Glennon, Missouri, USA - statue of Saint Anthony

Statue of Saint Anthony of Padua (15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231), a Portuguese priest of the Order of Friars Minor (the Franciscans), depicted here holding the Christ Child in one hand and bread in the other. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia:

“He possessed in an eminent degree all the good qualities that characterize an eloquent preacher: a loud and clear voice, a winning countenance, wonderful memory, and profound learning, to which were added from on high the spirit of prophecy and an extraordinary gift of miracles. With the zeal of an apostle he undertook to reform the morality of his time by combating in an especial manner the vices of luxury, avarice, and tyranny. The fruit of his sermons was, therefore, as admirable as his eloquence itself. No less fervent was he in the extinction of heresy, notably that of the Cathares and the Patarines, which infested the centre and north of Italy…

“The zeal with which St. Anthony fought against heresy, and the great and numerous conversions he made rendered him worthy of the glorious title of Malleus hereticorum (Hammer of the Heretics). Though his preaching was always seasoned with the salt of discretion, nevertheless he spoke openly to all, to the rich as to the poor, to the people as well as those in authority. In a synod at Bourges in the presence of many prelates, he reproved the Archbishop, Simon de Sully, so severely, that he induced him to sincere amendment.”

Anthony is the second-fastest canonized Saint in history and is a Doctor of the Church.

Despite being Catholic for over 10 years, I still have very much of a Protestant sensibility. Saint Anthony is commonly prayed to for finding lost items; while I do not reject the practice of asking for the intercession of Saints in all good things (see Rev. 5:8), I still have a lingering fear that this particular lowly task might be beneath such a great Saint known for his preaching. Now, I had spent days searching for a tax receipt, and in my great frustration, I finally overcame my prejudice, and offered up to Saint Anthony a quick prayer for intercession. Within seconds, I found the receipt in the first place I looked. Deo gratias.

Saint Anthony Roman Catholic Church, in Glennon, Missouri, USA - plaque

This plaque is found outside of the front door:

ST. ANTHONY’S CHURCH
WAS BUILT IN 1905
DESTROYED BY TORNADO IN 1917

ST. ANTHONY’S CHURCH
WAS BUILT IN 1917
DESTROYED BY FIRE IN 1969

ST. ANTHONY’S CHURCH
WAS BUILT IN 1969
AND DEDICATED AUG. 1970

A history of the devastating 1917 tornado can be found here.

Saint Anthony Roman Catholic Church, in Glennon, Missouri, USA - painting of old church

A painting of the first church, found in the narthex. This design is typical of many country churches in this region.

The community of Glennon was named after Archbishop John Joseph Glennon, and was originally in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. Another Catholic settlement in Missouri is named Glennonville, after the same Cardinal.

If all the polar icecaps in the world were to melt, Glennon would be oceanfront property. It sits on the very edge of the Ozark plateau, right at the head of the vast, low-lying Mississippi Alluvial Plain, which extends hundreds of miles southward to the Gulf of Mexico.

Saint Anthony Roman Catholic Church, in Glennon, Missouri, USA - nave

This is a small church, typical of its time; I like the decoration.

Normally, I take photos of the nave along the central aisle, but the lighting fixtures above the aisle got in the way of the Crucifix, leading me to take a photo at an angle. Perhaps I neglected to photograph Saint Joseph here?

These photos are best viewed at larger resolution, which you can see by clicking on the photos.