Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church

Amazing
Feb 14th, 2024

Dec 16th, 2023

Nov 6th, 2023

The church has a beautiful exterior. Sadly, forty years ago, the inside was gutted. The old back altar, pews, and even pipe organ were removed. The mass I attended had good music and an interesting homily. The church offers many commendable services to the homeless of St. Louis.
Oct 24th, 2023

Attending Holy Mass here was a greatly disheartening experience. To start with what was good, it should be said that the exterior of the Church is beautiful and everything above 10 feet within the interior of the church is also beautiful. This is one of the most historic churches in St. Louis with a rich history. Additionally, two parishoners welcomed me warmly to the church, and I have heard that this parish community does great work with the poor and homeless, which is great. But what is bad here is really bad. The interior of this church has been absolutely butchered. It is still obvious from the layout that this Church was once very beautiful and probably looked something like its daughter church, the magnificent St. Francis de Sales, some five minutes away. But at some point, someone had the horrible idea to turn this into a church in the round and now there are pews in front of (and facing away from) the formerly prominent altars and the beautiful high altar is tucked away almost out of sight and certainly out of mind. Drab carpet was also added and makes this place feel less like an awe-inspiring temple to The Lord, Jesus Christ and more like your grandparents' living room. Additionally, the liturgy - if it could be called a liturgy - was terrible. It was not terrible merely in the way that many liturgies are terrible, such as in terms of bad music or poor preaching, but instead it felt slapdash to the point that I am not even certain it was a valid Mass. It seemed like the priest just sort of made things up as he went along and even asked the crowd for their own prayer intentions to interject during the Mass. This felt less like I was there for a representation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and more like I was attending a prayer group at an old folks home where the Eucharist just happened to be consecrated. The evident former splendor of the Church contributes to the bad experience one has at Mass here. One of the parishoners who greeted me told me how wonderful the acoustics are in the building and certainly they must be good, but it just makes it all the more heartwrenching to think of how this place, which was once filled with majestic gregorian chant, incense, pious prayer, and sacred hymns to the Lord, now resounds with the clamor of a few elderly people singing badly written songs from the 1970s. The inherent beauty that could be seen in the stained glass and magnificently decorated ceiling contrast terribly with what lies below it. Overall, this church seems to stand now as a sad memorial to what has happened to so many beautiful churches across the US and elsewhere with its "wreckovation" and bad liturgy. Perhaps one day, the horrible renovation may be undone, and a different crowd can fix this beautiful space. The lack of pews in the back, an interesting remenant of a rood screen in front of the high altar, and an immersion baptismal font could perhaps suit a byzantine congregation in the future which could breathe new life into the building after the monstrously renovated round pew setup is removed. In any case, I would look elsewhere if you seek to find a truly Catholic experience that currently glorifies The Lord, Jesus Christ Included are some photos, including one photograph of what the church apparently used to look like before the disastrous renovation.
Jan 22nd, 2024