Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church is a beautiful Gothic Revival structure, sitting high on a hill with rolling fields heading out from it in several directions. It merged with the former Our Lady of Mount Carmel in 1993 when that parish closed; this church is now formally known as Our Lady of the Holy Cross.
“In the year of Our Lord, 1908, on the 30th day of May, Reverand O.J. Hoog, V[icar] G[eneral] placed [this stone] in honor of the Holy Cross.”
The school next door is very cool, sort of an Early Twentieth Century version of the Gothic Revival style.
I really enjoyed photographing the church through trees and buildings from different parts of the neighborhood, across the broad meadows that were at least in part once a winding creek.
Is that church still being used by the RC Church? Or is it vacant? What about the school?
It is still an active parish:
http://www.ourladyoftheholycross.com/
I don’t think the school is still open, but I can’t be sure.
That church has much history with my family – Several generations had been married there, including as recently as 2014. Being in the vestibule was amazing, seeing an old family surname etched in marble stones as one of the founders. I feel fortunate that the church is still functioning.
I lived in Baden for a time and attended on occasion Mass in the church when Msgr. Martin Hellriegel was its pastor It was a typical “German” parish and the former school was staffed by the German Sisters of Christian Charity. It was only a matter of time……….that white flight had doomed the most of the community to its economic malaise. Racism and segregation has made possible the economic decline of the once great City of St. Louis. Just my opinion. – JPG, Portland, OR
What years were those, Patrick?
Late1960s- early1970s……. SLP.
I graduated from Holy Cross in 1950.It was fine school with priests and nuns who really cared.
Great photos of Holy Cross Church and school. I went to kindergarten there in 1961. My paternal grandfather John Schramm was one of the builders of the church and placed the cross on the steeple. My maternal grandfather George Wilhelm was one of the founders of the Baden Bank and opened Wilhelm’s Dept. Store in the late 1800’s. It was later taken over by his son and for many years was where many kids in the St. Louis area got their school uniforms. I have fond memories of being in that store with its wood floors that smelled of cedar. My life started off in Jennings, another once very German community.
Thank you, though I wish it had not been such a cold grey winter day!
thanks for these pictures. I was married at Holy Cross 11 years ago, and my mom grew up there, as did her dad. My great great grandparents sponsored one of the stained glass windows inside. The Baden area was pretty much considered the country for a long time. Especially because it functioned as it’s own small town, and was not annexed by the city for a while, and then even after, was separated by the cemeteries. Many of the Germans (and Irish, and other) immigrants were farmers, as that was what my family did. The family farms are now not recognizable as they were developed into subdivisions in the 40s and 50s.
Holy Cross School was staffed by the Sisters of St. Francis (Oldenberg, Indiana convent) in the 1950’s. I think they were there a long time. I still remember Sr. Seraphine, Mary Linda, Aveline, Mary Luke. My great grandparents sponsored one of the stained glass windows. The plaque in the vestibule has names of donors, most of whom I am related to in one way or another. My grandfather, father, and siblings were all baptized at Holy Cross. Also, at the other end of the property behind the ball fields, in the 1950s, there stood my mother’s aunt’s house. She and her husband operated a very respectable billiards room on Broadway. All my family history stems from Baden and Spanish Lake.