St. David Catholic Church

Arnold’s two Catholic churches – Immaculate Conception at 2300 Church Road and St. David’s at 2334 Tenbrook Road – have plenty in common. Differences, too.

Each is in the holy pursuit of saving souls. Each hosts religious services in beautiful ecclesiastical buildings. The pastors, priests and nuns are committed to Catholic ways of life, sacramental worship, charitable practices and helping parishioners grow heartfelt relationships with Jesus Christ.

Both are in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, a Roman Catholic territory that covers St. Louis and ten regional Missouri counties. The first Catholic parish of St. Louis was created by French settlers in 1770. Immaculate

Conception was founded by settlers in 1840 who rode horses and mules. St. David’s was founded by citizens in 1963 who drove cars and trucks.

Immaculate Conception serves about 2,000 parishioners, St. David’s about 800.  The difference? “Many of our parishioners live closer to our church than to St. David’s, so they attend the closest church,” explains Reverend Jeffrey Knight, pastor of Immaculate Conception. It’s true: More Arnold residents live near Immaculate Conception than St. David’s.

Early Days

In 1838, Bishop Joseph Rigali of the St. Louis Diocese (not yet an Archdiocese) sent Father John Peter Fischer to serve German Catholics in Jefferson County because Fr. Fischer spoke German. When he got to the area where Immaculate Conception is located 14 men, their wives and children lived in log cabins, including Christopher and Peter Frederici from Alsace-Lorraine in France.

Fr. Fischer purchased 160 acres of land with his own money if not Archdiocese funds, from Christopher Frederici. January 4, 1839, is the closing date shown on Jefferson County property records. Fr. Fischer hired a man to clear 40 acres and build a church. That task took almost three years; Fr. Fischer conducted masses in parishioners’ log homes until it was built. The first church in 1843 was a humble log building, 24 by 30 feet, tiny for a church yet it became the faithful pioneers’ cathedral.

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Arnold . Photo used with permission

As noted in Immaculate Conception’s historic records, “The dogma of the immaculate conception of Mary was never proclaimed by the catholic Church until 1854. Even so, all evidence points to the conclusion that from the very beginning in 1840 , the parish had been known as the Immaculate Conception. Our baptism book from 1843 bears the following inscription in Latin: ‘The church of the blessed Virgin Mary (by the Meramec River) dedicated under the title Immaculate Conception.’”

Here’s a note from the church’s archives: Numerous local parishes in the Midwest and elsewhere use the name Immaculate Conception. “Devotion to the name Immaculate Conception is particularly French. Maybe Fr. John Peter Fischer was ‘Jean Pierre!’”

The original 14 families comprised the whole parish until 1846 when five more families arrived. Fr. Fischer left in 1843 due to declining health. Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick in St. Louis – the first archbishop west of the Mississippi – sent Austrian-born, German-speaking Fr. Joseph Melcher to the parish as more German immigrants arrived in Jefferson County. Fr. Melcher, a powerful speaker, was popular with his flock and his higher ups in the Vatican for his priestly recruiting talents.

On February 2, 1849, a daughter was born to one of the church’s founding families. Peter Frederici and his wife named her Mary Louisa. The girl was educated at the parish school. On March 6, 1866, she married a Union Army private named William F. Cody. Louisa was 22; Bill Cody was 20. She called him Willie; he called her Lulu. The Cody’s love for each other endured nearly 51 years through happy and sad times, financial troubles, anger, separation and reconciliation. Immaculate Conception history documents reveal, “We still claim Buffalo Bill Cody as our ‘Almost Parishioner’ by virtue of his wife being a daughter of the parish.”

Pastor Jeffrey Knight

Pastor Jeffrey Knight of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Arnold

A native of Franklin County, Pastor Jeffrey Knight, age 62, grew up with eight brothers and four sisters; one brother is a Catholic priest; another is a permanent deacon ordained to the Catholic Church.

Pastor Knight observes of Immaculate Conception, “We are a help for people who want to strive to be people of faith. I think we help form good citizens for Arnold, for our county and our state. Of course, we don’t succeed in every case yet I believe we have helped many more people who are committed to charity and service.

“Some parishioners may be invested in Immaculate Conception because they have lived here for years and are involved with one or more of the activities we offer – we have soccer, volleyball, baseball, and many activities for men, women, children and families.

“Others are here because their children participate in sports or enrolled at our Holy Child Catholic School. Our principal, Bridget Brennell, is outstanding, very experienced, and doing a great job. She was a teacher for many years before becoming a principal.”

Pastor Knight says his greatest satisfaction is “To see people who are living their faith and following God’s direction and doing for the sake of others.

“It’s important that we have a lot of volunteers who donate much of their time as carpenters, plumbers, and electrical workers. Our biggest challenges are financial and maintenance issues. There is always some kind of maintenance governance matter we need to address.”

Pastor Charles F. Farrara

Pastor Charles Ferrara at St. David Catholic Church

Pastor Charles Ferrara at St. David Catholic Church, age 65, is also from a big family. Raised in south St. Louis with four brothers and three sisters, he attended St. Joan of Arc Catholic School and St. Louis University High School, climbing many steps of religious education to reach Catholic priesthood.

After attending the University of Missouri he entered the Jesuits’ Society of Jesus in 1977, taking first vows in 1979. He graduated from St. Louis University with a philosophy degree; then earned an M.A. in Communications from Marquette University. For two years he taught at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, then four years at Regis Jesuit High School in Denver. He entered Toronto School of Theology, Regis College, University of Toronto, graduating with a master’s in divinity, earning the Master of Sacred Theology degree in 1990 and was ordained into Jesuit priesthood.

After ten years teaching at Cardinal Ritter College Prep and DeSmet Jesuit High School Pastor Ferrara moved to  Australia and New Zealand to live for a year on a Jesuit Tertianship sabbatical. “God called me” in 2001, he admits. He then left Jesuit ministry for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. In 2013 Reverend Ferrara became St. David’s pastor.

“The role of our church in the community is to be the source and center of Catholic faith.  Mass and Sacraments are available and offered, as well as a place to pray.

“People attend our church because it is a friendly, welcoming community and it is convenient for parishioners to worship at a place nearby.

“Some of our members attend both churches because we share one Catholic School together, and that is Holy Child School on the campus of Immaculate Conception Church.  So whenever there are all-school masses, parishioners will cross-worship. We have Youth Ministry that we share with Immaculate Conception parish, as well as St. Joseph parish in Imperial. We are here to attract, evangelize, and bring folks together to form and build community.”

Many kids in St. David’s parish enjoy the Immaculate Conception Athletic Association (ICAA). It offers different sports starting with T-Ball for kids in kindergarten thru second grade, plus other sports for third graders on up who compete with age-similar kids in Arnold and other parishes. “The best thing about it is that programs are not exclusionary and kids at all skill levels can play,” asserts ICAA Vice President for Athletics Justin Ream.

Which St. David?

Image of St. David shown on statue on baptismal font at Munktorp Church in Sweden. Photo copyright Catholic Online.

Many non-Catholics know that “The Immaculate One” refers to a woman biblically known as the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. Fewer know the origins of St. David, possibly because there is more than one St. David. The first St. David was born in Wales during the sixth century, became a bishop and ultimately the patron saint of Wales.

Brother Mathias of St. Mary’s School in Baltimore saved Babe Ruth from delinquency by teaching him to play baseball. Photo copyright Catholic Journal.

St. David of the Catholic church in Arnold was born in England in the 11^th century and became a Benedictine monk. He is often known as St. David of Sweden because he migrated to Munktorp where he founded an abbey and evangelized in Swedish villages, baptizing all people who converted to Catholicism. He died in 1082.

St. David’s church website says: “He had a great desire to give his life for Christ as a martyr and proceeded to offer himself to the English mission in Sweden… He traveled from district to district preaching and baptizing with great zeal… He became the first Bishop of Vasteras, and along with Saints Sigfrid and Eskil they were the principal agents in bringing Christianity to Sweden…”

Arnold’s two Catholic pastors Fr. Jeffrey Knight and Fr. Charles Ferrara are great friends and huge baseball fans. Every priest knows that a Catholic monk named Brother Mathias at St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys in Baltimore taught a juvenile delinquent named George Herman Ruth how to play baseball.

The kid grew up to be Babe Ruth.