• Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

  • Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

  • Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

  • Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

  • Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

  • Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

  • Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

  • Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

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About St. Mary of Victories

Historic Saint Mary of Victories Catholic Church, just south of the Gateway Arch, is a splendid and unique part of the heritage of old Saint Louis.

Founded in 1843 for German immigrants, it became the city's Hungarian Catholic Church and cultural center in 1956. Its acclaimed architecture, beautiful old paintings, ornate statuary and noted historical personalities have earned it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the few consecrated churches in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and has a magnificent high altar with hundreds of sacred relics.

Saint Mary’s accordingly offers a classically reverent style of worship in proclaiming the joy of Christ's Gospel to locals and tourists alike. The 11 a.m. Sunday Mass is mainly in English, with a touch of Hungarian in Scripture and song.

Read the Whole Story...  

Reflections From Our Saints...

  • SMOV - Infant of Prague
  • St. Therese of Liseaux
  • St. Elizabeth of Hungary
  • SMOV - Cabrini
  • SMOV - Anthony (1)
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History

St. Mary of Victories has played an important role in the development of St. Louis... Read More
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Architecture

St. Mary of Victories is an excellent example of pre-Civil War architecture in St. Louis... Read More
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Hungarian Parish

St. Mary of Victories has been the official home of the Hungarian Catholics in St. Louis since 1957... Read More
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Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos

Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos once preached at St. Mary of Victories... Read More
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Latin Novus Ordo Mass

St. Mary of Victories is the only place in St. Louis that celebrates the Modern Rite, ad orientem, with Gregorian Chant... Read More
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Liturgy Schedule

Mass Times

11:00 AM Sunday - Third Sunday ONLY

Ordinary Form Mass, Traditional Music, Some Latin
Hungarian Lunch After Mass - Usually $10

Confessions:  Sundays at 10:30 am
Tours Conducted Sundays after Mass

The Facilties are Not Open Other Sundays Of the Month (No Lunch)

 THERE IS NO DAILY MASS AT SMV CHAPEL

Latin Ordinary Form Mass with Gregorian Chant - One Saturday Per Month

See Web Page or Facebook Group (or Call) for Details

                                                                                                           

Note:  the 7 pm Saturday and 9 am Sunday Masses have been discontinued.  

25 September 2016, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Introit (Years B & C): Omnia quae fecisti

Offertory: The heavenly Word proceeding forth, p. 294

Communion: Memento verbi tui

Recessional: O with Thy benediction, p. 288.

Mass XI, PBC p. 58. Credo III, PBC p. 77

The Introit antiphon has four phrases. 

1. Omnia quae fecisti nobis, Domine, in vero judicio fecisti

2. quia peccavimus tibi, et mandatis tuis non obedivimus

3. sed da gloriam nomini tuo

4. et fac nobiscum secundum multitudinem misericordiae tuae.

This Introit reminds us forcefully of our own sinfulness that we acknowledge at the start of every Mass. In this text from the prophet Daniel, Azarias also, in the fiery furnace at Babylon, acknowledges his guilt together with that of his people. He solemnly confesses also that God is absolutely just (in vero judicio) in punishing His sinful people with exile and all the hardships accompanying it. How much lamenting and murmuring would be stilled if we would contritely acknowledge our guilt and, like Daniel and the thief on the cross, humbly confess: We indeed suffer justly, for we receive the due reward for our deeds!

            Large intervals and strong emphasis on the dominant characterize the peculiar style of the first phrase. It is as though the singer felt the mighty hand of the Lord. To a great extent this phrase sounds like the second in  the Introit for the tenth Sunday after Pentecost. The second phrase is more subdued. Only twice, in fact, does it reach the tenor: "We have sinned against thee and we have not obeyed thy commandments." In contrast to the c of the first phrase, a, a third below the dominant, here predominates.

            The third phrase and the beginning of the fourth, on the contrary, exhibit great solemnity in the slowly ascending seconds, in the stress on the dominant, in the repetition of the same, and the similar melodic lines over da gloriam and nomini: 'Give glory to Your name.' But how can any new splendor or dignity be added to the name of God? In the simple fact that God pities and forgives, that He pours upon us the full measure of His mercy. Hence it is that the Introit prays so solemnly, so fervently, so earnestly, especially with the words et fac. In order to lessen the monotony of the neums over secundum multitudinem within the tetrachord e-a, it is well to stress the neumes appearing over the word-accents. Misericordiae is much more effective: a longing expectation of God's mercy. If the first part of the Introit spoke of a just God, the second part turns to a merciful God. Before the beginning of the fourth phrase the melody descends to low d. Thus is created a contrast, which makes the following phrase so much the more effective. Then the psalm-verse sings of the happiness attendant upon a spotless mode of life. To a certain extent such a life is a foretaste of the life to come, and this thought confers a special consecration and a solemnity to Our song of praise (Da gloriam nomini tuo). The syllables which carry the accent are higher in almost every instance than those immediately following; often also higher than the syllable which precedes the accented one.

The Communion antiphon has two short quick phrases:

1. Memento verbi tui servo tuo, Domine, in quo mihi spem dedisti

2. haec me consolata est in humilitate mea.

In today's Offertory Super flumina there is a breath of Memento mori. In the Communion we ask God to remember us, but we do it humbly and reservedly, as the repentant thief on the cross spoke his memento request. The three similar endings: Domine, dedisti, and mea, reflect quiet and confidence. The turning of the clivis over Domini into a pes is necessitated by the low d which opens the following melody. Large ascending intervals would be disturbing; hence the melody avoids them. Servo with its descending fourth gives a pleasing development: second a-g, third a-f, fourth g-d. The accentuation of the dominant is the only evidence that our hearts are really beating somewhat more rapidly. With its b and its pressus, the second phrase has about it something new, something reassuring, which soars above the entire preceding melodic line. It restricts itself to intervals of seconds. The half-step progressions toward the end agree admirably with the text. It is a humble prayer, one which encourages us to rely entirely on the grace of God.

            Dom Mocquereau commented that this piece shows how plainsong prefers to treat the principal word-accent lightly and briefly; as in verbi tui servo and mihi; this practice extends even to the secondary accent over consolata. 

The tune for this Recessional hymn is the famous melody, Thaxted, by the English composer Gustav Holst. To steal a few lines from the Wikipedia summary about it: Thaxted is based on the stately theme from the middle section of the Jupiter movement of Holst’s orchestral suite The Planets, and named after the English village where he resided much of his life. He adapted it in 1921 to fit the patriotic poem I Vow to Thee, My Country, by Cecil Spring-Rice, as a unison song with orchestra. It first appeared as a hymn-tune called Thaxted when his friend Ralph Vaughan Williams included it in Songs of Praise in 1926. 

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Address and Phone

744 South 3rd Street (at Gratiot)
Saint Louis, MO 63102-1645
(314) 231-8101

Click Here for Directions

 

Copyright © 2023 St. Mary of Victories Catholic Church. All Rights Reserved.
Our Lady of Victories, Pray for Us!  St. Stephen of Hungary, Pray for Us!
Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos and Venerable Cardinal Mindszenty, Pray for Us!