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History of
St. Gregory Barbarigo Parish, Maryville, MO

 [ St. Mary's Church ]
     
  1858 The first Church is built called Mary Immaculate, later called St. Mary’s. The 3 priests who serve the area were James Powers, John Hennessey and John Hogan, later Bishop Of St. Joseph, MO
  1860 Small brick church named St. Mary's is dedicated where Fr. John Powers offers Mass.
  1869 Fr. Constantine Hergenrother starts a school where several Benedictine Sisters from the Swiss convent of Rickenbach teach.
  1877 Cornerstone of St. Mary's basement church is laid on Oct. 13.
  1878 Basement church is blessed and completed on Oct. 13. Fr. Adelhelm, OSB, Pastor. Fr. Anselm, OSB, became pastor in 1881
  1886 Benedictine sisters go to Yankton,SD; Sisters of St. Francis take over school & begin hospital
  1881 Eighty Irish families form St. Patrick's Parish with Fr. Daniel Pembroke as pastor. Built small frame Church south of the later brick one in 1882.
  1887 St. Mary's Church is completed and blessed on Nov. 20.
  1895 Hospital built at East First St; wing added 1901; new school built south of the St. Mary’s Church
  1899 St. Patrick's Church is completed in one year, cost $10,000, Fr. Nieman, pastor.
  1910 St. Patrick’s School started with Benedictine sisters of Atchison, KS.
  1913 Fr. Anselm leaves St. Mary’s after 32 years; Later Fr. Isidore would serve 25 years as Pastor 1931-59
  1928 Fr. Robert Graham pastor at St. Patrick’s until his death in 1955
  1933 Fr. Isidore bus system begins.
  1937 St. Patrick’s High School is closed
  1958 Pope John XXIII, new Pope; Vatican II proclaimed Jan 1959, Begins in Oct 1962.
  1959 Fr. Isidore moved to Nebr in July; Fr. Stack pastor of both parishes by Bishop Cody.
  1960 Sisters of St. Francis plan new Mount Alverno High School for girls east of Maryville. Opened 1963
  1961 St. Mary's and St. Patrick's are combined and the parish is named for St. Gregory Barbarigo.
  1963 New St. Gregory's School opens fall 1963. Pope Paul VI elected June 1963
  1964 Mass in English, not Latin; high altar removed from St. Gregory’s & new altar faces the people
  1965 Old St. Patrick’s Church torn down;
  1970 Saturday evening Mass permitted; 1977, communion in the hand allowed.
  1970 New 96 bed St. Francis Hospital built on South main
  1971 Mount Alverno High School closed; Maryville Treatment Center (prison) opens 1997
  1976 Deacons Martin Schieber and Roy Seipel ordained; Fr. Frank Lackamp, Pastor
  1982 New St. Gregory's Church is constructed. The cornerstone is blessed and laid Oct. 24.
  1982 Priests use 1967 convent as rectory; nuns move to house on S. Charles St.
  1983 First Mass celebrated in the new St. Gregory Barbarigo Church Jan 22, 1983,Fr. Helfrey Pastor.
  1985 Debt of over $1,056,500 for Church and hall paid off, Fr. Terry Bruce pastor.
  1995 Opening of St. Gregory’s Preschool and Childcare Facility
  1996 Dedication of the Parish Center, with Gym, pre-school, kitchen; Fr. John Leitner, Pastor
 
   

Stained glass window in St. Gregory Sanctuary depicts history of parish
   
     
  The large window above the entrance has been designed in warm, earth-tone colors of faceted glass. The design is somewhat abstract, symbolizing growth in plant and human life, with “life streams” waving through the background of the composition to emphasize religious, academic, family life and rural aspects of life in this parish. The center panel features a very large face of Christ the King (symbolic of hope and victory). A cross is suggested, symbolic of redemption, as well as the triangle representing the Trinity.

This dynamic abstraction of God reminds us that God is ever present, and that we must look for Him in all aspects of our lives. Curved lines radiate from this area of the window touching an abstract figure representing the soul--- growth in spiritual life through the Church. The buildings shown are the old St. Mary’s and the old St. Patrick’s Church. These represent the religious history of the parish today. Buildings representing Mount Alverno Convent and Conception Abbey, and the towers of Northwest Missouri State University depict the academic aspect of life. The family is depicted by a figure group; the industrial and farming aspects are represented by a grain elevator. Corn and wheat, the main crops grown here, are depicted to represent the rural aspect of life in St. Gregory’s Parish. The vertical strips of green and gold in the bottom part of the composition again represent the farming in this community.

This window was designed by Dolores Veth, from Hopscroft Glass Studio, Kansas City, Missouri. Ms Veth studied art and architecture at the University College Division of Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. Basically self-taught, she began her career in stained glass in 1959.
 
 

History of St. Gregory School, Maryville, MO
    Not yet available.
 
   

   

 

The Story of Our Patron Saint
Saint Gregory Barbarigo
    Pope John XXIII canonized St. Gregory Barbarigo, the patron of our Parish, in 1960. His feast day is June 18. St. Gregory was given to us as our patron on October 11, 1961, when the parishes of St. Mary and St. Patrick were combined by approval of Pope John XXIII.

St. Gregory was born on September 16, 1625, and he died in 1697. His family lived in Venice and were held in high repute by the people there. He was the fourth son. He excelled in his studies at an early age and became interested in diplomacy and statesmanship. He knew Contarine, the Venetian ambassador, and went with him on at least one ambassadorial mission.

After he was ordained a priest in 1655, he organized care for the plague-stricken people of Rome. In 1657, Pope Alexander VII made him the first Bishop of Bergamo. He was a leader in promoting the reforms of the Council of Trent. He visited parishes, organizing the teaching of Christian doctrine and also worked with seminarians and clergy to raise their standards. His work was so respected that in 1660, he was made the Cardinal of Padua.

St. Gregory was extremely interested in higher education and worked for the development of seminaries and libraries. He established a printing press that printed pamphlets for Christians under Moslem rule. He was active in laboring to bring about a reunion with the Greek Church. St. Gregory took part in five papal Conclaves (for the election of the Pope) and was a candidate in three of them. It is recorded that his congregation thought him to be a man filled with wisdom.