Mary, Mother of the Church is the title that was given to our Blessed Mother by the Second Vatican Council to express our unique relationship with her. She is the mother of God become flesh in Jesus and therefore she is our mother and the mother of the Church.
Our parish was given this beautiful title and canonically established by Archbishop John Joseph Cardinal Carberry on June 10, 1971. He invited the Redemptorist Fathers of the St. Louis Province, primarily a missionary order, to staff the new parish. Father Edward Nugent was appointed pastor and Father Charles (Chuck) Beierwaltes was named associate pastor by the provincial superior, Father Daniel Lowery. To these two “founding fathers” must go the credit for building into Mary Mother parish a wonderful spirit of warmth, friendliness and community support.
Washington School, formerly at the corner of Butler Hill and Kerth Road, was the first gathering place for the pioneer parishioners. The first Sunday Mass was celebrated there on July 31, 1971. In August 1971, a religious census was taken within the parish by several of the Redemptorist seminarians.
A residence at 5801 Kerth Road had been purchased for use as a parish house. Weekday Mass was offered there until December 22, 1973, the date on which the first Mass was offered in the beautiful new church well situated on a hill just south of the parish house. This property had been purchased from Charles and Henrietta Moll in 1967 by the Archdiocese of St. Louis, with the understanding that a church would be built upon it.
In those early years new subdivisions sprang up rapidly in the parish boundaries and growth was rapid. A parish school of religion was soon underway to accommodate the children of the parish.
Before the Church facility was ready for use, the parish priests continued to celebrate Sunday Mass at Washington School while daily Mass was offered in the parish house. Home Masses were also prevalent during this time, especially on Holy Days. This gave the priests the opportunity to know their parishioners, to identify leaders and, most importantly, to build a relationship between them and their parishioners. From the beginning the parishioners were charged with developing a collective spirituality. Not only would it be important for each parishioner to reach a closer personal union with God, but it would be vital for the parish as a whole to grow as a family in union with God.
The parish council system came to be a very important part in this plan. The council was given the responsibility of praying together, learning the collegial process, and developing themselves into a model community, a microcosm of the parish family. From this experience the parish was able to develop the official guidelines for parish councils now used through the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
This newly convened group used time well. They accepted the challenge presented them, developed a real sense of community and family, and began to radiate to others the life they experienced together. Immediately the liturgy was a community experience and the people became a family. This theology of parish as community, of spirituality, and of prayer became known among people in the surrounding areas. Many began to talk about the new parish in South County with special Sunday celebrations where everyone was so friendly.
Many visitors at Mass on weekends commented on the spirit of warmth and friendliness that seemed to prevail, and the wholehearted participation of the assembly in the well prepared liturgies, aided by two well-trained choirs, plus the children's choir, "The Son Shine Singers." From the start it was the conviction of the Redemptorists that a well celebrated liturgy must be the heart of parish growth. Our Liturgy Commission carefully plans the ordinary Masses as well as the liturgies for special occasions during the year.
In 1980, Rev. Edmond J. Fitzgibbon prepared a paper entitled "The Parish Project" for the National Council of Catholic Bishops Committee on Evangelization Committee on Evangelization. In his paper, Fr. Fitzgibbon stated, "Mary, Mother of the Church is a parish family which wants very much to share their faith in every possible way. The parish community has reached the point of believing, as a community, that Jesus Christ has made a difference in their lives and collectively they wish to reflect and celebrate this difference."
The Redemptorists met in 1990 and decided to withdraw their men from some of the parishes they were staffing in order to continue to carry out the principle charism of their congregation, which is to minister to the poor and to preach the Word of God.
The Spirit continued to guide our parish as the Archbishop appointed Monsignor Edward Reilly as pastor of Mary Mother. We affectionately called him Father Ed, and one of his first statements to us was that he was proud and happy to be a parishioner of Mary Mother.
Father Ed continued to shepherd the parish for 19 years and guided the parishioners to “Live and Share the Spirit" in all of our activities. Father Ed served as pastor of Mary Mother until the summer of 2009 when he retired with residence at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in St. Charles, MO. After a long illness, Father Ed passed away at Mother of Good Counsel Home on October 24, 2013. His funeral here at Mary, Mother of the Church on October 30, 2013 was attended by the Archbishop and many of his brother priests.
Monsignor James Telthorst (Fr. T) was appointed pastor in the summer of 2009. During his eight-year tenure at Mary Mother, “Fr T” (as he was known to us), with his expertise in and love of liturgy, continued our long tradition of lively, faithfilled liturgies. In the Spring of 2017, Fr T who turned 75 in May, asked the Archbishop for permission to retire. The Archbishop gave his permission, and in late June 2017, Fr T moved to Regina Cleri, the retirement home for priests.
As a result of Msgr Telthorst’s retirement, the Archbishop appointed Fr Charles (Chuck) Barthel as our pastor. Fr Chuck served at Mary Mother as an associate pastor from 1991-1993. For us at Mary Mother, it is as if a favorite son is returning home, and we welcome Fr Chuck back to Mary Mother!
Clergy who have been assigned to serve Mary Mother through the years:
Redemptorists:
Fr. Ed Nugent, CSsR., pastor
Fr. Charles Beierwaltes, CSsR.
Fr. Bill Norton, CSsR.
Fr. Dan Sloan, CSsR.
Br. Dan Korn, CSsR
Fr Charles Beierwaltes, CSsR., pastor
Fr. Richard Boever, CSsR.
Fr. Gary Ziuraitis, CSsR.
Fr. Joe Morin, CSsR.
Fr. Dan Welte, CSsR., pastor
Fr. Louie Miller, CSsR.
Fr. Jim White, CSsR.
Fr. Bill McKee, CSsR.
Deacon Neumann Moore, CSsR.
Br. Dave Werthmann, CSsR.
Fr Pat Kaler. CSsR. (lived at Liguori)
Fr. Peter Schavitz, CSsR., pastor
Fr. Dan Lowery, CSsR.
Fr. Bill McKee, CSsR.
Never assigned but often present!: Fr Dave Polek, CSsR.
Archdiocesan:
Msgr. Ed Reilly, pastor
Fr. Charles Barthel
Fr Henry Charles
Fr. Steve Robeson
Fr. Mark Whitman
Msgr. Edward Deutchmann
Deacon Gene Caton
Deacon Dick Coffman
Deacon Richard “Red” Bub
Msgr. James Telthorst, pastor
Fr. James Byrnes
Fr John (Jack) Dempsey
Fr Rick Schilli
Deacon Richard Coffman
Deacon Bob Smerek
Deacon Randy Howe
Fr. Charles Barthel, pastor
Deacon Richard Coffman
Deacon Bob Smerek
Deacon Randy Howe