Saving St. Gianna - Catholics Fight Against Plan To Dismantle Wentzville Parish

12/12/22, 10:43 AM Saving St.
Gianna: Catholics fight against plan to dismantle Wentzville parish
https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/saving-st-gianna-catholics-fight-against-plan-to-dismantle-
wentzville-parish/article_79e1ef09-7af4-5c0c-be80-3559dbe621dc.html
TOPICAL
Saving St. Gianna: Catholics fight against plan to dismantle

Wentzville parish
Blythe Bernhard
Dec 12, 2022
Sophie Gunn, 12, holds her five-month-old niece Gemma Gunn while Gemma's mother teaches choir during a
homeschool co-op at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. At left is a portrait of St.
Gianna Beretta Molla, patron saint of mothers, physicians and unborn children.
Robert Cohen, Post-Dispatch
https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/saving-st-gianna-catholics-fight-against-plan-to-dismantle-wentzville-parish/article_79e1ef09-7af4… 1/33
12/12/22, 10:43 AM Saving St. Gianna: Catholics fight against plan to dismantle Wentzville parish
WENTZVILLE — St. Gianna Catholic parish is young, growing and vibrant. It is also
likely to be disbanded under “All Things New,” the downsizing project by the
Archdiocese of St. Louis.
The newest parish in the archdiocese, St. Gianna opened in 2006 to serve a booming
St. Charles County population. Less than 20 years later, consultants working for the
archdiocese have proposed converting St. Gianna to a Hispanic community parish
with Spanish language Mass.
St. Gianna parishioners, including many who are founding members, first learned of
the plan this fall at presentations held at all 178 parishes in the archdiocese. They felt
stunned, confused and hurt, said Missy Welby, president of the newly formed Friends
of St. Gianna. Now they are speaking out against the plan, sparking a debate about
the parish’s mission.
“We have everything here that is beautiful, holy, and rich,” Welby said. “Why do they
feel the need to change our parish?”
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St. Gianna is hardly the only parish facing an uncertain future.
Around 100 parishes will be slated for mergers or closure after the “All
Things New” plan is announced on Pentecost Sunday in May. Priests from
across the archdiocese got a preview of the plan in August. At the time, there were
three potential scenarios for St. Gianna — it would merge with St. Patrick in
Wentzville, Immaculate Heart of Mary in New Melle or Immaculate Conception of
Dardenne.
Archdiocese may make St. Gianna a Hispanic parish

Dec. 11, 2022
The St. Louis Archdiocese has proposed converting St. Gianna in Wentzville to a Hispanic
parish, citing a new meatpacking plant with 1,300 jobs coming to Warren County as a factor.
Parish territories: Planning Area 10 Planning Area 11
Future meatpacking plant
St. Gianna
Leaflet | Map data © OpenStreetMap, Tiles © CARTO

Graphic by Josh Renaud / St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Source: Post-Dispatch analysis of data from the St. Louis Archdiocese
In all three scenarios, St. Gianna would lose its geographic boundaries to become a
Hispanic parish. The separate parish is needed in part because of a beef processing
plant under construction in bordering Warren County, according to a video shown
during the presentation for St. Gianna.
“This new plant will create several thousand jobs that will most likely be attractive to
members of the Hispanic community,” the narrator says.
American Foods Group says its slaughterhouse will employ about 1,300 workers by
the opening date in late 2024.
But the 500,000-square-foot plant actually sits in Holy Rosary parish in Warrenton,
on the south side of Interstate 70 between Wright City and Foristell, 11 miles west of
St. Gianna. Holy Rosary, 10 miles west of the plant, currently offers a weekend Mass
in Spanish. The Holy Rosary “All Things New” workbook says the influx of jobs from
the plant “bodes well” for the Warrenton parish’s future.
Priests and lay leaders who also got an early look at the plans pushed back on the idea
of a Hispanic parish at St. Gianna. They suggested St. Barnabas in nearby O’Fallon, a
recommendation shared by the archdiocese’s Hispanic ministry subcommittee.
St. Barnabas, with 282 Catholic households, is nearly half the size of St. Gianna and
sits about 20 miles east of the beef processing plant. It has no resident priest but
hosts the only traditional Latin Mass in St. Charles County.
After feedback from the priests and lay leaders, a fourth proposal was floated with St.
Barnabas as a Hispanic parish. St. Patrick would annex the territory of St. Gianna,
which would then convert to a personalized parish serving homeschooling families
and the liturgically conservative community with the possibility of a Latin Mass.
Possible parish changes in western St. Charles County

Dec. 11, 2022
Use the buttons below to see how the parishes in Planning Area 10 would change under the
options proposed by the St. Louis Archdiocese.
CURRENT OPTION A OPTION B OPTION C OPTION D
There are seven territorial parishes in Planning Area 10.
St. Barnabas
St. Patrick
Assumption
St. Gianna
Imm. Conception
St. Joseph
Imm. Heart of Mary

The fight to keep St. Gianna intact has an influential backer — state Sen. Bob
Onder, R-Lake Saint Louis, a founding member of the parish. Onder, who is leaving
the Legislature on Jan. 4, is the procurator, or representative, of the laity under
church canon law for Save Our St. Louis Parishes. The group is prepared to appeal
any “large-scale parish mergers” all the way to the Vatican.
Less than 4% of the population in the

St. Gianna territory is Hispanic. The
justification for a Hispanic parish
relies on the assumption that
meatpacking workers are Spanish-
speaking Catholic churchgoers, Onder
said.
State Sen. Bob Onder, a founding member of St. “I don’t think the meatpacking plant is
Gianna Catholic Church, greets the Rev. Timothy Elliott a reason whatsoever to turn St. Gianna
following Sunday Mass at St. Gianna Catholic Church in
Wentzville on Dec. 4, 2022. into a Hispanic parish,” Onder said. “I
Robert Cohen, Post-Dispatch think we have a lot of almost racist
stereotypes at work here.”
The Rev. Tom Vordtriede, pastor of Holy Rosary, said in a statement that while he
offers one Sunday Mass in Spanish, he is “not equipped to meet the full ministerial
and cultural needs of my Spanish-speaking congregants” compared to a personal
Hispanic parish with other ministries like pastoral counseling and marriage
preparation.
Why St. Gianna?

The “All Things New” process has revealed some obvious winners and losers among
the 178 parishes. The fate of some, like St. Gianna, do not follow such a logical path.
St. Gianna symbolized “the continued growth and vitality of the church” when it
became the first new parish since 1981, then Archbishop Raymond Burke said at the
time. The expansion tracked with white Catholics moving to St. Charles County from
north St. Louis County, where 17 parishes became four after a consolidation in 2005.
The strategic plan called for a new parish in the St. Charles Deanery, and Wentzville
was chosen after its population tripled from 2000 to 2005.
The archdiocese paid $1.5 million for 25 acres of farmland on the south side of
Highway N across from Wentzville South Middle School. The boundaries for the new
parish were cut from those of St. Patrick in Wentzville and Immaculate Conception in
Dardenne Prairie.
Parishioners attend Sunday Mass at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Dec. 4, 2022.
Because of its age, St. Gianna counts many parishioners as loyal founding members.
The Rev. Timothy Elliott remains their beloved founding pastor who placed blessed
medals and blessed salt in the foundation of the church building.
“There’s something worth preserving here,” said Elisabeth Meinecke, one of the
leaders of Friends of St. Gianna.
Brian Niehaus, 23, runs the youth ministry and manages a robust calendar with
service projects, social events and sports including fencing. Parish leaders are
especially focused on engaging the 18- to 25-year-old age group that tends to fall
away from the church after high school.

“They’re hungry for this,” Niehaus said.
The parish paid off its debts in 2020 from construction of the church and now has
close to $1 million in reserves, according to the archdiocese. Parishioners donated
more than $500,000 to the offertory in 2021, according to the archdiocese.
Parishioners also point to spiritual

attributes that would seem to bolster
St. Gianna’s case for survival. The
parish was featured in the Catholic
newspaper St. Louis Review in
September for their eucharistic
procession and for doubling adoration
or worship hours to four days a week.
The parish has produced two priests
and one deacon in its first 16 years. Six
youth are currently considering a
vocation in the church.
Fifty new families registered with the

parish in the last year. Sixty people
Missy Welby sits in front of the old stained glass
windows from the former St. Philip Neri Catholic
attend Mass daily on weekdays.
Church in north St. Louis as she attends Mass at St. Attendance now exceeds pre-
Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Sunday, Dec.
4, 2022. When St. Gianna was built, founding
pandemic numbers, a rarity in the
parishioners donated funds to restore each window archdiocese. Lines for confession have
originally made by Emil Frei and Associates. Photo by
Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com been known to stretch the length of the
Robert Cohen church.
“We would think we’re the least likely candidate because we have all these beautiful
things going on that can be a light to the rest of the archdiocese,” said Welby, the
president of Friends of St. Gianna.
‘The more souls, the better’

When St. Gianna opened in 2006, the archdiocese anticipated the new parish would
attract 1,000 Catholic households in five years. But by 2011, the parish had only 455
households. This year, there are 528.
Most Catholics who live within the St. Gianna boundaries are affiliated with other
parishes. Only 15% of Catholic households in St. Gianna’s territory are parishioners,
one of the lowest rates in the archdiocese.
“While there is no arguing about the good works going on at St. Gianna’s,” planners
are concerned that the majority of Catholics in the parish attend other churches, said
the Rev. Chris Martin, vicar for strategic planning for the archdiocese, in a statement.
Young families who live in St. Gianna’s borders are more likely to join St. Patrick or
Immaculate Conception in part because they have schools, parishioners said.
St. Gianna was built with a school that was supposed to open soon after the parish
was founded in 2006. But the recession and collapse of the housing market delayed
those plans.
Elliott, the pastor, continued to field calls from prospective families who were
languishing on waiting lists at St. Patrick or Immaculate Conception schools. Finally,
the plan for a parish school was scrapped in 2010.
“When things turn around, we will be ready to move forward,” Elliott told the Post-
Dispatch at the time.
Mary Maschek, 4, plays Mass with a miniature altar during catechesis, a religious instruction class at a
homeschool co-op at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
As parishioners waited, they grew a homeschooling community to what is likely the

largest in the archdiocese. Every Friday morning, about 100 students attend a
homeschooling co-op in St. Gianna’s classrooms, where parents teach enrichment
classes like Latin, religion, art, drama and literature.
Parishioners say they would still welcome a school if it meant attracting more
families. They would also be eager to add a Spanish-language Mass to the schedule.
“We’re thirsting for growth,” said founding St. Gianna member Mike Brown. “Let’s
integrate the Hispanic community. The more souls, the better.”
The main problem is a dwindling number of priests to assign to parishes,

archdiocesan leaders say. A parish of 500 families is on the smaller side in St. Charles
County. The goal for “All Things New” calls for an average parish size of 1,800
households.
https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/saving-st-gianna-catholics-fight-against-plan-to-dismantle-wentzville-parish/article_79e1ef09-7af… 10/33
“Priest availability, demographic shifts and pastoral needs” are changing and parishes
need to change as well, said Martin of the archdiocese.
“It is always a good thing that people love their pastor and vice versa,” Martin said.
“At the same time, Archdiocesan priests and their parishes know that for the greater
spiritual good of both the priest and parish, priests are moved frequently throughout
their lives so that it is Jesus Christ who is the center of parish life.”
Malachi Shipley, 12, prepares to serve during Mass at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Sunday, Dec.
4, 2022.
That’s troubling to St. Gianna members like Katie Keys, whose son Paul is in sixth
grade and is considering the priesthood under Elliott’s guidance.
“I want to be in a parish where I know our priest and our priest knows us,” Keys said.
If the priest shortage is of top concern, St. Gianna should be saved for its track record
of producing priests, Onder said.
“They know that St. Gianna does not meet any of the Canon Law criteria for closing a
parish,” Onder said. “They are setting up this new parish to fail, then they have 25
acres of prime real estate in the fastest growing area of our state. I hate to be cynical
but that’s what it looks like.”
A new saint for a new parish

The parish was named for St. Gianna Beretta Molla of Italy, who died in 1962 and was
canonized in 2004. Beretta, a doctor who treated mothers, children, the elderly and
the poor, refused to terminate her pregnancy against the advice of her surgeon after
she was diagnosed with a uterine tumor. She died a week after her fourth child was
born.
That child, Dr. Gianna Emanuela, first visited Wentzville for the parish’s 10th
anniversary in 2016. In the sanctuary, she saw a shrine holding a remnant of her
mother’s first Holy Communion gown, locks of her hair, a pair of her gloves and
murals depicting their family.
Bette Andrews makes the sign of the cross as she enters St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville for Mass on
Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. The church was founded in 2006, containing Emil Frei windows from the old St. Philip
Neri in north St. Louis, restored with donated funds from church families. Much of the painted artwork inside
the church was done by its pastor, the Rev. Timothy Elliott.
St. Gianna, patron saint of mothers, doctors and unborn children, inspires the anti-
abortion ministry of the parish, including a rosary prayer every Saturday morning.
Expectant mothers receive their own special blessing once a month. The pews are
filled by large families with teenagers, kids and babies.
At a recent Sunday Mass, Elliott announced the parish’s first ever Christmas dinner
with a catered buffet and performance by the children’s choir.
The upcoming dinner will be an annual event, he said, repeatedly emphasizing the
word “annual.”
Robert Cohen of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
The St. Louis Archdiocese says it must close churches in the area in order to meet the needs of a changing
congregation of Roman Catholics.
Massive parish closures proposed

Last updated: Oct. 26, 2022
Based on data shown at listening sessions for the "All Things New" initiative, the St. Louis
Archdiocese is aiming to close at least 88 parishes. Use the buttons below to see the
number of proposed parish closures in each planning area.
CURRENT PROPOSED
NUMBER OF PARISHES
0-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 12-13 14+
+
−
Leaflet | Map data: OpenStreetMap, Tiles: CARTO

Source: Archdiocese of St. Louis
Note: In cases where the Archdiocese proposed a range of closures rather than a single target number,
the colors shown on this map always represents the most conserative scenario.
Pews are emptier for Mass

Oct. 6, 2022
According to the St. Louis Archdiocese, Mass attendance was declining about 0.5% to 1%
per year prior to COVID disruption. In 2021, only 25% of pews were occupied for a typical
weekend Mass.
Select a circle to see parish details.
PCT. OF CAPACITY USED FOR MASS
15% 30% 45% 60%
+
−
PARISH SIZE
1,000
6,000
16,000

Baptisms often outnumber funerals

Oct. 6, 2022
Among the issues the St. Louis Archdiocese faces is a shrinking flock. The number of
baptisms today is less than half what it was in 1990.
On the map, parishes are shown as circles. Circle size indicates the estimated number of
Catholics. Color indicates whether there were more funerals or more baptisms. Select a
circle to see more details.
MORE FUNERALS MORE BAPTISMS
-40 -20 -10 -5 +5 +10 +20 +40
+
−
PARISH SIZE
1,000
6,000
16,000

Photos: The St. Louis Archdiocese plans to turn St. Gianna into a Hispanic parish.
homeschool co-op at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. At left is a portrait of
St. Gianna Beretta Molla, patron saint of mothers, physicians, and unborn children. Photo by Robert Cohen,
rcohen@post-dispatch.com
Robert Cohen
Missy Welby sits in front of the old stained glass windows from the former St. Philip Neri Catholic Church in
north St. Louis as she attends Mass at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. When
St. Gianna was built, founding parishioners donated funds to restore each window originally made by Emil Frei
and Associates. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
Robert Cohen
The Rev. Timothy Elliott changes into his vestments in the sacristy before Mass at St. Gianna Catholic Church
in Wentzville on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
Robert Cohen
Malachi Shipley, 12, prepares to serve during Mass at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Sunday, Dec.
4, 2022.
Parishioners attend Sunday Mass at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Dec. 4, 2022. Photo by Robert
Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
Robert Cohen
The Rev. Timothy Elliott greets parishioners following Sunday Mass at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville
on Dec. 4, 2022. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
Robert Cohen
The Rev. Timothy Elliott talks with server Becket Hahn as he changes into his vestments in the sacristy before
Mass at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. Photo by Robert Cohen,
Robert Cohen
Parishioners attend Sunday Mass at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Dec. 4, 2022.
Bette Andrews makes the sign of the cross as she enters St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville for Mass on
Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. The church was founded in 2006, containing Emil Frei windows from the old St. Philip
Neri in north St. Louis, restored with donated funds from church families. Much of the painted artwork inside
the church was done by its pastor, the Rev. Timothy Elliott.
State Sen. Bob Onder, a founding member of St. Gianna Catholic Church, greets the Rev. Timothy Elliott
following Sunday Mass at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Dec. 4, 2022.
The Rev. Timothy Elliott, joined by servers Becket Hahn, left, and Malachi Shipley bow in the sacristy before
processing to the sanctuary for Mass at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022.
Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
Robert Cohen
Mary Maschek, 4, plays Mass with a miniature altar during catechesis, a religious instruction class at a
homeschool co-op at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Jessie Eisenmann holds her daughter Maggie Eisenmann in her lap while teaching catechesis, a religious
instruction class, at a homeschool co-op at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
Robert Cohen
Five-month-old Gemma Gunn is attended to by her aunt Sophie Gunn, 12, left, uncle John Paul Gunn, 15, and
grandmother Theresa Gunn while her mother Michaela Gunn teaches a choir class during a homeschool co-
op at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. Photo by Robert Cohen,
Robert Cohen
Jessie Eisenmann, right, teaches catechesis, a religious instruction class, as her daughter Maggie, center,
listens alongside Kim Maschek holding her daughter Mary and Annie Sodemann, left, at a homeschool co-op
at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-
dispatch.com
Robert Cohen
homeschool co-op at St. Gianna Catholic Church in Wentzville on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. At left is a portrait of
St. Gianna Beretta Molla, patron saint of mothers, physicians and unborn children.
Homeschoolers pass during a class change during a co-op held weekly at St. Gianna Catholic Church in
Wentzville on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
Robert Cohen
By Blythe Bernhard
Blythe Bernhard is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Saving St. Gianna - Catholics Fight Against Plan To Dismantle Wentzville Parish

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12/12/22, 10:43 AM Saving St.

Gianna: Catholics fight against plan to dismantle Wentzville parish

Saving St. Gianna: Catholics fight against plan to dismantle

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3 Sources: Cardinals finalizing five-year deal with All-Star catcher Willson

St. Gianna is hardly the only parish facing an uncertain future.

Archdiocese may make St. Gianna a Hispanic parish

Future meatpacking plant

Leaflet | Map data © OpenStreetMap, Tiles © CARTO

Possible parish changes in western St. Charles County

There are seven territorial parishes in Planning Area 10.

Leaflet | Map data © OpenStreetMap, Tiles © CARTO

Less than 4% of the population in the

Why St. Gianna?

away from the church after high school.

Parishioners also point to spiritual

Fifty new families registered with the

‘The more souls, the better’

As parishioners waited, they grew a homeschooling community to what is likely the

The main problem is a dwindling number of priests to assign to parishes,

A new saint for a new parish

Robert Cohen of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

Massive parish closures proposed

0-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 12-13 14+

Leaflet | Map data: OpenStreetMap, Tiles: CARTO

Pews are emptier for Mass

15% 30% 45% 60%

Leaflet | Map data © OpenStreetMap, Tiles © CARTO

Graphic by Josh Renaud / St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Baptisms often outnumber funerals

-40 -20 -10 -5 +5 +10 +20 +40

Leaflet | Map data © OpenStreetMap, Tiles © CARTO

Graphic by Josh Renaud / St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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