“Holy God, we praise thy name” is an old familiar hymn, and it
will be the theme of St. Catherine of Siena American National Catholic
Church’s inaugural Mass of Dedication in their new church on Saturday,
January 19th. The church is a member of the American National Catholic Church, an independent Catholic community of churches seeking to continue the unfilled vision of Vatican II.
St. Catherine of Siena ANCC is located in the historic Danforth Chapel at 826 Union Blvd. The Mass of Dedication will begin at 5:30pm.
Doors will open at 4:30pm for an open house where parishioners and clergy of the parish will be present to provide information about St. Catherine of Siena and the American National Catholic Church.
Our honored guest, Bishop George Lucey, FCM, Presiding Bishop of the American National Catholic Church, will be present to preside over the Mass of Dedication and consecrate the new altar.
“We could not be more excited about this dedication,” member and Board President Connie Butler said. “God has been very good to us, and we want to take this opportunity first and foremost to give thanks for God’s blessing and to also thank all who have been so supportive of this new beginning for our parish.”
Founded in 2011, St. Catherine of Siena ANCC began as a small gathering of Catholics seeking an alternative to the larger institutional Church. Since its founding, the parish has now grown into a vibrant and lively Catholic Church with a multitude of ministries and outreach activities.
“Over the past years, we have been meeting in rented worship space from local area churches,” explained Fr. Phillip Lichtenwalter, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena ANCC. “Yet, we have grown to a point where sharing space wasn’t ideal and the parish needed its own church.”
In light of the substantial growth of the parish, the Board of Directors began the process of discerning the future location of the parish.
The Spirit led the parish to Pilgrim Congregational United Church of God where they discovered the historic Danforth Chapel. The Chapel was originally built in 1939 by Mr. William Danforth, founder of Ralston-Purina.
He intended it to be used as a house of worship for all seeking a retreat from the stress of daily living. The Chapel with its gothic architecture, precious stained glass windows, extensive wood and stone work, offers a peaceful and prayerful house of worship for all.
St. Catherine of Siena ANCC is committed to utilizing this sacred space to its fullness.
Having begun the process of raising funds to restore this sacred space, the chapel is ideal for sacred concerts, weddings and weekly worship. Once again, this historic chapel will shine as a gem for all of St. Louis.
A light reception will follow the Mass of Dedication in the church’s fellowship hall. The public is invited to this event.
We welcome anyone who might be searching for a truly viable and credible alternative to Roman Catholicism and those who are merely interested in seeing this historic space.
For more information, please call Parish Office at (314) 329-8207 or visit the church’s website at www.SaintCatherineSTL.org