St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church

St. Alphonsus Ligouri "Rock" Catholic Church is an historic, Roman Catholic church in St. Louis, Missouri. The church is a Gothic Revival structure and has a towering steeple, flanking spires, and an assortment of stained glass.HistoryIn 1861 St. Louis Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick invited the Redemptorists, a missionary congregation that was founded by Saint Alphonsus Ligouri in 1732, to establish a permanent presence in the city of St. Louis. The community accepted the invitation and lived in temporary housing until 1866 when they bought 3.5acre at Grand and Cook Avenues. Ground for the church was broken on May 1, 1867 and the cornerstone was laid on November 3 of the same year by the Rev. Joseph Melchers, who was the vicar general of the archdiocese. The church's Gothic Revival design is attributed to the Rev. Louis Dold, C.Ss.R. working with St. Louis architects Thomas Waryng Walsh and James Smith. Construction on the church continued until 1872 and Archbishop Patrick J. Ryan dedicated the church that year. The church's spire, which reaches 237ft, was completed in 1893.The first Mother of Perpetual Help Shrine in the church was blessed on December 7, 1873 during the first public triduum under her name. The church ceased being a mission church in 1881 when it became a parish of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, although it remained under the pastoral care of the Redemptorists. The Redemptorists' St. Louis Province was headquartered in the residence from its founding until the mid 20th-century.