Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of America’s Heartland

This final episode of Book Four traces the extraordinary rise of Catholic healthcare in St. Louis—from the Sisters of Charity opening the first hospital west of the Alleghenies in 1828, through waves of cholera, yellow fever, smallpox, and Civil War casualties, to the founding of landmark institutions like St. John’s Mercy, DePaul, Cardinal Glennon, St. Mary’s, and St. Louis University Hospital; Monsignor Witt and Teresa explore how religious orders, courageous sisters, visionary laity, and tireless clergy built a medical network that shaped the region, saved countless lives, and still anchors St. Louis today, closing the volume with a sweeping reflection on the city’s Catholic legacy and the enduring spirit of service that defines it.

This episode traces the remarkable rise of Catholic education in St. Louis—from Bishop DuBourg’s founding of St. Louis College in 1818, to the early parish schools that educated thousands of children long before public schools were free, to the flourishing network of high schools, universities, and special‑education programs that eventually made St. Louis the nation’s leader in per‑capita Catholic school enrollment. Monsignor Witt walks listeners through the pioneering work of religious orders, the creation of institutions like Rosati‑Kain, CBC, SLUH, and St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf, and the modern efforts—such as Beyond Sunday—to keep Catholic education vibrant and accessible, revealing how deeply the Church’s commitment to learning has shaped the character and future of the region.

This episode traces the extraordinary charitable footprint the Catholic community has carved into St. Louis from its frontier beginnings to the present day, highlighting how epidemics, poverty, immigration, and social upheaval inspired generations of religious orders, priests, and laypeople to build orphanages, shelters, senior homes, and outreach ministries that became lifelines for the city’s most vulnerable. Monsignor Witt walks listeners through the founding of the nation’s first St. Vincent de Paul Society, the courageous work of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, the lifesaving refuge of Father Dempsey’s Home, the transformative mission of Our Lady’s Inn, and the vast network of Catholic Charities agencies that now serve more than 150,000 people annually—revealing a long, unbroken tradition of mercy that continues to define St. Louis’ Catholic identity.

This episode traces the earliest expressions of Catholic compassion in St. Louis, beginning with the city’s 1764 founding and the humble log‑cabin church that soon anchored its spiritual life. Monsignor Witt and Teresa explore how epidemics, frontier hardship, and rapid growth created urgent needs for orphan care, prompting religious communities like St. Rose Philippine Duchesne’s Sacred Heart sisters and the Daughters of Charity to establish the region’s first orphanages. They also follow the evolution of Catholic burial grounds—from the original churchyard to Calvary Cemetery and beyond—revealing how the Church’s commitment to burying the dead and protecting the vulnerable shaped St. Louis from its earliest days.

In this episode, Monsignor Witt explores Archbishop Raymond Burke’s pivotal role in welcoming the Association of Hebrew Catholics to St. Louis, tracing the movement’s origins in the vision of Carmelite Father Elias Friedman and its mission to preserve Jewish identity within the Catholic Church. He recounts the providential moments that shaped the AHC’s development, from Vatican support to the establishment of Miriam Press, and highlights the theological richness Jewish Catholics bring to the Church—especially through Dr. Larry Feingold’s scholarship and Hebrew liturgical celebrations. Monsignor also reflects on the group’s global reach, its local impact, and the remarkable signs of divine favor that accompanied its arrival in St. Louis, setting the stage for the final major initiative of Archbishop Burke’s tenure: the renewal of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.

This episode traces how Mother Angelica’s fiery courage and unwavering trust in Providence helped ignite a Catholic media revolution that eventually reached St. Louis, inspiring the birth of Covenant Network and transforming Catholic evangelization across the Midwest. Drawing from Raymond Arroyo’s vivid biography, the conversation follows Mother Angelica’s battles with bishops, her bold defense of orthodoxy, and her determination to build EWTN despite impossible odds—before shifting to the local story of how Tony and Teresa Holman, guided by prayer, cassette tapes, and a providentially affordable AM station, launched WRYT and expanded Catholic radio into dozens of communities. With tornadoes, unexpected donors, devoted collaborators, and a growing audience hungry for truth, the episode shows how one cloistered nun’s mission became a lifeline for countless souls, proving that when ordinary people step out in faith, God multiplies their efforts far beyond anything they imagined.

In this episode, Monsignor Witt and Teresa trace the remarkable rise of Mother Angelica—from a determined Poor Clare nun promising God a monastery if she could walk again, to the fiery, faith‑driven founder of EWTN whose boldness reshaped Catholic media in America. They recount her early struggles, her unlikely partnerships, her fearless confrontations with bishops and broadcasters, and the providential moments—like a $600,000 miracle donation—that propelled her mission forward. As the Archdiocese of St. Louis embraced Catholic radio and television under Archbishop Burke, Mother Angelica’s story becomes a powerful reminder of how one woman’s courage, humor, and trust in God helped evangelize millions and strengthen the Church during a time of confusion and cultural upheaval.

This episode traces the remarkable journey of the Oratory of Saints Gregory and Augustine as Archbishop Raymond Burke works to establish a permanent home for the growing community devoted to the 1962 Latin Mass. Beginning with the departure of the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem, we follow how Father Thomas Keller stepped in to stabilize the group, how Abbot Thomas opened space at the Priory, and how the oratory quickly expanded beyond anything originally imagined. Monsignor Witt recounts the oratory’s explosive growth, its rich liturgical life under Father Bede Price, the eventual need to relocate, and the providential transition to All Saints in University City—complete with potlucks, packed pews, and Corpus Christi processions through the Delmar Loop. The story culminates with the oratory’s move to St. Luke the Evangelist under Monsignor Eugene Morris, alongside Archbishop Burke’s broader efforts to renew sacred music through the arrival of Benedictine scholar Father Samuel Weber.

This episode traces the turbulent unraveling of St. Stanislaus Kostka, a parish whose unique 19th‑century governance structure collided head‑on with modern ecclesial authority, financial fears after the abuse crisis, and a board determined to operate independently of the Archdiocese. Monsignor Witt walks listeners through the long arc of conflict—from the original 1891 bylaws and the nationalist–clericalist divide among Polish immigrants, to Archbishop Burke’s attempts at reconciliation, the board’s defiance, the arrival and eventual laicization of Fr. Marek Bozek, and the parish’s formal suppression and excommunications. He then turns to the hopeful counter‑story: the flourishing of St. Agatha as the new spiritual home for Polish Catholics, the revival of traditional liturgy through the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales, and the beginnings of the Oratory of St. Gregory and Augustine—showing how, even amid schism, renewal and beauty continued to take root in St. Louis.

This episode traces the dramatic transition from Cardinal Rigali’s celebrated departure to Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke’s turbulent arrival in St. Louis, revealing how sharply the media shifted its tone as a new shepherd stepped into the archdiocese. Monsignor Witt recounts the Post-Dispatch’s early volleys—misreported audits, political pressure over communion, and criticism of Burke’s principled stands—while contrasting them with the quiet admiration many Catholics felt for a bishop who simply insisted on fidelity to Church teaching. As the episode unfolds, listeners learn how Burke’s clarity, courage, and pastoral intent were quickly overshadowed by headlines, even as he prepared to face one of the most complex challenges awaiting him: the long‑simmering St. Stanislaus controversy.