St. Margaret of Scotland Parish was founded 125 years ago; the first Mass for the new parish was celebrated on Christmas Day, 1899, in the building that now houses part of the Cornerstone Early Childhood Learning Center at Russell and 39th. The first Mass in the “new” Church was celebrated on Christmas Day in 1906.
In 1899, Pope Leo XIII was the head of the Catholic Church, and Archbishop John Kain led the Archdiocese of St. Louis. At that time, the Archdiocese of St. Louis already had 234 churches and 165 parishes. This Tower Grove neighborhood was booming, and the Archbishop directed that a new parish be established here. The founding pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland was Fr. John J. O’Brien, who named the new parish after his mother, Margaret.
In 1899, the President of the United States was William McKinley, and the Vice President was Garret Hobart. Henry Ziegenhein was the Mayor of St. Louis. The population of the city was 575,238, making it the 4th largest city in the nation. Tower Grove Park had been established, and Henry Shaw had his estate and gardens nearby, but our neighborhood was not yet known as Shaw.
In 1899, The Spanish-American War had just concluded, but the Philippine-American War was just beginning. The world had not yet experienced a “World War” though two would quickly come in short order. It was the “Gay ‘90s” as well as the “Progressive Era”, but within a generation the world would experience both a worldwide pandemic and a Great Depression.
Whenever I reflect on a long life – and 125 years is certainly a long life! – many things come to mind. Not just that our world and our neighborhood have changed dramatically over the course of time, or that folks 125 years ago could not have imagined what life would be like now, or the highs and lows of life itself, but mostly how God has been so present and active over the course of time, and how there are still good things – great things! – the best things! – yet to come! Yes, as we give thanks to God for these 125 years, we also believe that the next 125 years will be even better. We Christians are fundamentally people of hope! We believe in a God who wants us to have life in abundance and who promises eternal life to those who believe. God is always with us, leading us through life. May our Quasquicentennial celebrations strengthen our faith and hope!
As part of our celebration, our Director of Music Emeritus, Peter Hesed, will lead a tour of St. Margaret Church next weekend, October 20, in Church at 12:00pm Noon. All are welcome, and folks who come to 10:00am Mass can just go to Coffee and Donuts, and then come back to Church. Each year Peter leads a Church tour for our folks who are Becoming Catholic which is always well received. We thought that our whole parish family would appreciate an opportunity to look at our Church building, art, and architecture with new eyes and notice the beauty that is around us every day. After the Church dedication, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat wrote of St. Margaret of Scotland Church, “Space and light, with rich effects of color and carving, impressed the spectator at the dedication of the new Church.” Nearly 125 years later, may we also be impressed by the gifts that God has given to our parish family!