First cathedral west of the Mississippi River and until 1845 the only parish church in the city of St. Louis
General Information
Saturday: 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday: 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
How to Get There
From St. Louis (2 mi): Take I-44 east toward downtown, continue onto Memorial Drive, and follow Walnut Street to the basilica near the Gateway Arch grounds.
Overview
The Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France (French: Cathédrale Saint-Louis-Roi-de-France de Saint-Louis), formerly the Cathedral of Saint Louis, and colloquially the Old Cathedral, was the first cathedral west of the Mississippi River and until 1845 the only parish church in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of two Catholic basilicas in St. Louis, and it is named for King Louis IX of France, also the namesake for the city of St. Louis.
The current structure (built 1831-1834) is located near the historic riverfront of St. Louis. It is surrounded by Gateway Arch National Park. However, the church is not part of the park. Because of the historical significance of the church, it was left intact while all neighboring buildings were demolished to make way for the Gateway Arch and related park.
Built in Greek Revival style, the church is noted for its marble altars, a painting of Saint Louis venerating the Crown of Thorns given by Louis XVIII, King of France and Navarre, and an accurate copy of the painting of the Crucifixion by Diego Velázquez installed in the church in the latter half of the twentieth century.
Engraved in gold over the entrance to the church are the words In honorem s. Ludovici. Deo uni et trino dicatum. A. MDCCCXXXIV, which translates as "In honor of St. Louis. Dedicated to the one and triune God. A.D. 1834". Hebrew letters, intended to spell out the Tetragrammaton, are also inscribed in Hebrew above the engraving on the main entrance. However the letter Heth was substituted for the letter He, so the inscription merely reads "yachuch", which has no meaning in Hebrew.
The church basement has a number of artifacts associated with the history of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis, including a bell given to the church by the governor of the territory of Louisiana during the early 19th century. Bishop Joseph Rosati, who ordered the construction of the church, is interred in a vault underneath the sanctuary.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Basilica of St. Louis, King of France", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
