Jesuits in Westphalia: Saint Joseph Parish
One of the most historically significant buildings in Missouri is Saint Joseph Parish, which was renovated in Westphalia Missouri in 1848. Why does this church matter so much? What makes it so significant to German Americans and their connections to the broader world? Why was it deemed so important that it was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1972?
The Church was built under the direction of the Jesuit Order, and the missionary responsible for its construction was Ferdinand Helias, the son second of Belgian nobles who was elected to become a Jesuit Missionary to the United States in his youth. After years spent on the east coast, he made his way to Saint Louis and then Westphalia in order to establish missions in the name of the order.
The Jesuit order is a monastic order belonging to the Catholic Church, which has existed and operated for centuries all around the world. With its focus on Missionary work, it spread to almost every part of the world where Catholicism was practiced, unlike other orders who place less emphasis on outreach and conversion. With the growing influence and pull of the United States, it was obvious that immigrants who practiced Catholicism would flock to the new land in search of jobs and land. Helias in particular was assigned to the new frontiers of America and eventually traveled to Missouri due to its high German population after the immigration rush of 1848.
In the United States, Jesuits were never treated with great respect, and neither were Germans, who weren’t well respected for a multitude of reasons. They were seen as acting as if they were better than everyone else, and were ridiculed for their tight-knit communities. Because they didn’t integrate into already established American communities, they were seen as anti-American. The immigration rush in 1848 wasn’t the only time they were unduly criticized, as in the 1700s they were derided for their shabby and odorous appearances, and they were even charged with bringing bad weather. The Jesuit Order was also seen as threatening the safety and freedom of established Americans. In his book “American Jesuits and the World”, author John T. Mcreevy made use of a quote that stated:
“The Jesuits have been successfully expelled from nearly every Catholic Kingdom in Europe because they would meddle in political intrigues. We have no reason to wonder that they have not neglected so tempting a field as our free institutions open to their arts”.
These Anti-Jesuit claims were not simply relegated to nasty comments however, as in 1646 following the end of the English Civil war, the colony of Maryland passed laws against Catholics, and Jesuits were punished by law if they were discovered teaching within the colony’s borders. Despite the efforts of lawmakers and laymen vocally against Jesuits, the drive of the Order's missionaries to spread the word of God wasn’t tarnished.
Saint Joseph Parish is a prime example of connectedness to Europe. The German immigrants who moved to America in and around 1848 were vocal in letters and books about the intense loneliness they felt as they left everything they knew to pursue a new future in the new world. Nicholas Hesse noted himself that there were women of high culture milking cows, and performing other tasks unworthy of people of high class such as themselves. This discontent led to many abandoned houses and farmsteads in and around Westphalia, as many intellectuals and thinkers couldn’t handle the hardship and physical labor required to survive in the tough Missouri frontier. While some toughed it out, many chose to return to large, thriving cities like Saint Louis or Kansas City, and others returned home to Germany.
Aside from the economic challenges of its residents, Westphalia also contained a divided majority of two religious groups, Catholics and Lutherans. Neither had any place to worship, but surely Lutherans wouldn’t want to worship with Catholics, right? Isn’t it part of their creed? Actually, the whole town came together and donated to the building and renovation of the church, and it’s school, both Lutherans and Catholics together, despite their theological differences.
Lutheran authorities labeled the practice of sharing service with congregations of other denominations to be Syncretism, and found it to be wrong, as it blurred the lines of denominational differences. Despite this, Lutherans recognized that they would rather betray the founders of the reformation than not have a place to worship, so they combined money with Catholic in order to participate in some form of mass. Many Germans, who themselves felt cast out from the rest of American society, took in Helias and other Jesuit missionaries who aimed to reach out to small communities and provide not only worship, but strong Christian education for their children.
The establishment and remodeling of a Catholic Church and school was significant for Germans in Westphalia, because it gave them a direct lifeline to the Catholic Church, and to European culture at large. In summary, through the Lens of Jesuits in America, their struggles and growth, Saint Joseph Parish transformed from a simple log parish to a large facility for Germans to both worship and be educated.
Jesuits had quite a bit of influence on the town of Westphalia and its German residents, despite their small number of official missionaries and the divisions separating its residents. The church in Westphalia is a testament to Helias and other Jesuit Missionaries, whose intrepid spirits of mission and education flourished in the new west. Check out this book if you want to learn more about the Jesuits in America!
