St. Stanislaus Seminary

Infobox nrhp
name = St. Stanislaus Seminary
nrhp_type =


caption =
lat_degrees = 38
lat_minutes = 48
lat_seconds = 6
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 90
long_minutes = 21
long_seconds = 58
long_direction = W
location = Florissant, Missouri
nearest_city =
area =
built = 1840
architect =
architecture = Greek Revival
designated =
added = 1972
established =
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum =
mpsub =
governing_body = Private

St. Stanislaus Seminary is a former Society of Jesus (Jesuits) seminary in Florissant, Missouri. It was the longest continuously operated Jesuit novitiate in the United States.citenews|title=Pilgrimage Through the "Catholic" Midwest|work=Regina Coeli|publisher=Society of Saint Pius X|date=February 2008|url=http://www.sspx.org/RCRpdfs/2008_rcrs/february_2008_rcr.pdf|accessdate=2008-03-21]

History

Working life

The seminary was founded in 1823 as some log buildings and a large farm to feed the missionaries. It was named for Stanislaus Kostka. The main building, now known as the Old Rock Building, was built in 1840 from limestone quarried by the Jesuits.citeweb|title=The Museum of the Western Jesuit Missions|url=http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/jesuit/mwjm.htm|accessdate=2008-03-21] Pierre-Jean De Smet was based in St. Stanislaus Seminary for some years. Another early student was Peter Joseph Arnoudt. [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Peter_Joseph_Arnoudt]

The seminary was closed in 1971 due to a lack of religious vocations. Two years earlier, it had already transferred its collegiate program to Saint Louis University. Most of what was left of the property, 35 acres, was sold to The Missouri District of The United Pentecostal Church International. The Old Rock Building and convert|4|acre|m2 of land remained Jesuit property until 2003.citeweb|title=St. Stanislaus Seminary|url=http://www.co.st-louis.mo.us/parks/parkhistory/StalinusHistory.pdf|accessdate=2008-03-21]

Museum

In 1973, the seminary became the Museum of the Western Jesuit Missions, but closed again in 2001, the museum moving to Saint Louis University to become part of the Museum of Art there.

The property

The property was largely self-sufficient in its day. The current building was built by the seminarians and monks with limestone from the banks of the Missouri River, and it has walls convert|3|ft|m thick. The wooden parts came from walnut, logged from the property by the Jesuits, and the bricks were also made on site. The seminary fed itself with an orchard, a chicken ranch, a cattle barn, wheat fields, vineyards, a butcher shop, a creamery and a bakery. The former farm property is now a St. Louis County park.

References