County of statue: Moniteau County
Location of site: Santa Maria Dr. & Highland Acres St., SE corner, Chesterfield
Architectural Style: Gothic Revival
Built: 1923
"Ascension Catholic Church of Chesterfield kicked off its fourteen-month centennial celebration on April 17th with a special Mass officiated by Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski. Although 100 years ago the Catholic population in the Chesterfield area was sparse, they wanted their own church. Prior to 1923, area Catholics had to attend Mass at St. Anthony’s in Centaur or St. Monica’s in Creve Coeur. The Reverend Louis Schultz and his cousin Joseph Schultz put their time and effort into founding and supporting a new church. On April 17, 1923, ground was broken for the newly formed Ascension Church on land donated by Theresa Reuther. The cornerstone was laid on May 10. The following year, the newly completed building was dedicated as a mission church to St. Anthony’s Parish. The Reverend Vincent McCartney served as pastor of both churches. Ray Ruby, in his book Do Tell Hear the Corn Grow, recalled how he and his seven siblings would walk two miles from their home on Griffen Lane to Ascension Church for 7:00 a.m. Mass every Sunday. They would arrive early so their mother, Mary Becker Ruby, could sing in the choir. The Rinkels, owners of Rinkel’s Market, supported the new church by providing food for church fundraisers. In 1941, Father McCarney initiated the construction of a two-room school with a finished basement and modern conveniences, however his successor, the Reverend John F. Godfrey, completed the project. Over a hundred parishioners attended the groundbreaking on July 30. The school served approximately forty students in eight grades. Current student enrollment is 409. In 1964 the parish had only 109 families registered, but it had outgrown the little church by 1977, so a larger new church was built. Today it serves 2800 families and possible expansion is being discussed." ~ City of Chesterfield
The roots of Ascension trace back to first being a mission church of St. Anthony parish which was formed in the early 1900’s to serve the mostly German Catholics in and around the bustling community of
Centaur Station. Located on the Missouri River west of the current Spirit of St. Louis airport, Centaur boasted rail service, a lime quarry, hotel and store. The first pastor was Rev. Charles Keller who was appointed in 1910. Mass was held on the third floor of a lumber barn. Fr. Reh was appointed in 1913 and was followed by Fr. Louis Schultz in 1917. As the population moved eastward, the church moved
from the lumber barn to a smaller building that was used as a school.
"By about 1920, Fr. Schultz sought to establish a parish in the town of Chesterfield that would be more centrally located to its congregation. He held Mass in a barn on Olive Street Road owned by his cousin, Joseph Schultz. An attempt was made to purchase land for a new parish but it was not approved by then Archbishop Glennon. In 1921, Fr. Vincent McCartney was appointed to St. Anthony’s. Soon after,
Theresa Reuther, who later became Sister Cortona of the Sisters of St. Mary, donated two acres of land for the new parish. Ground was broken on April 17, 1923 and the church we lovingly call our “Little Church” was dedicated on Ascension Thursday, May 29, 1924. This new church remained a mission of St. Anthony in Centaur until Fr. John Godfrey was appointed as pastor in 1941 and Ascension became an independent parish with its own small school of 56 children. At first, Fr. Godfrey and the Sisters who taught at the school lived at and commuted from St. Monica’s in Creve Coeur but soon Father built a rectory and added some rooms in the school for the Sisters.
"During World War II years, growth was slow at Ascension but the parish served participants on both sides of the conflict. A Military Police training camp was set up in Babler Park and Fr. Godfrey took on
the additional responsibility of the men’s spiritual care. Later in the war, sixty-five Italian prisoners of war arrived in the area under the command of a lieutenant from the Bronx. The officer’s first stop was at the rectory to ask Father to provide for the spiritual needs of his men and prisoners, almost all of whom were Catholic. The Italian prisoners shortly after requested to throw a party for Fr. Godfrey and
the women of the parish provided homemade cakes and coffee. When Italy surrendered, all sixty-five prisoners volunteered for the American army and left Chesterfield.
"After the Italians came a group of German POW army soldiers who worked in the fields and another group of German sailors who did levee work on the Missouri River. The army soldiers were mainly receptive to the church though at first, they were discouraged by their gestapo fellow prisoners. A couple of the Austrian soldiers were assigned to paint the church when Father requested help from their commanding officer. They arrived with tears in their eyes they were so happy to be painting a Catholic church and always spent a few minutes in prayer in the little church at each rest period. The sailors, however, remained dedicated Nazis. By the end of the war, Fr. Godfrey was able to celebrate Mass with the soldiers, but he was never welcomed by the sailors.
"Chesterfield also welcomed Japanese Nesei deportees from California. They were American citizens who had been treated as prisoners of war. Many worked for Ascension parishioners who were kind to them. Often small groups of young Japanese attended Sunday Mass though their parents who were Buddhist did not come." ~ History of Ascension Parish