Chi è Padre Spigardi? Exploring the Legacy of Italians in St. Louis

If you have Italian ancestors who lived at the turn of the century in St. Louis, they likely encountered a priest named Cesare Spigardi. But, who was Father Spigardi? For most St. Louis Italians, he was not only their spiritual leader but also a leader in secular matters as well.

His Background

Father Spigardi was born in Mantua, Italy and studied for the priesthood in Cremona where he was ordained in 1894. After his ordination, he trained in Piacenza at the Order of Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo. The order was founded by Bishop Giovanni Battista Scalabrini to minister to Italian emigrants as they left Italy and to serve them abroad. There was great concern for the living conditions of the immigrants and their spiritual life. Reports were making their way back that the new immigrants didn’t feel comfortable worshipping in churches in which they didn’t fully understand the language and customs and were falling away from the church. To that end, priests in the order were trained to serve these populations and Father Cesare Spigardi was sent to the United States in 1895. He first conducted missions in several Eastern cities like Boston, New York, Buffalo, and New Haven before being sent to Kansas City, Missouri in 1898. There, he was pastor of Holy Rosary.

Father Spigardi

Amongst his many challenges was giving sermons in both Italian and English. The first generation of immigrants preferred their sermons in Italian, but their children, born in this country, better understood English. Though he was a native Italian, as a Northerner from the Lombardy region, he sometimes encountered difficulties in comprehension with his Southern Italian parishioners due to the various dialects they spoke. Another major obstacle was obtaining support for the church from his poorer parishioners. In Italy, the church was endowed with money and lands from its long existence there, but in the U.S., the church had to raise money to cover its expenses, which was a hurdle Father Spigardi had to overcome. In turn, he became very adept at fundraising.

Arrival in St. Louis

After spending two years at Holy Rosary in Kansas City, Father Spigardi came to St. Louis. Upon his arrival, he was invited by Father Timothy Dempsey of the Irish church St. Patrick’s, to conduct missions for the many Italians in the congregation. Seeing the intense need, he set about finding a home for the Italian congregants. The first church he founded was Our Lady Help of Christians at 19th and Morgan in 1900. The building was the former home of the First United Presbyterian Church. Within a few years, the parish moved to 1010 Cole Street. (formerly Wash) This was not the first Italian church to exist in St. Louis, however. St. Bonaventure was founded in 1872 at 6th and Spruce but closed in 1883. There would not be another Italian church until 1900.

The St. Louis Republic, June 7, 1901 (Page 2).

Next, Spigardi began fundraising for another church, and an additional property was acquired. This one was further west at 29th & Locust and had previously served as the site of St. John’s Methodist Episcopal. It was dedicated as St. Charles Borromeo on November 2, 1902. The congregation was composed mostly of Neapolitan and Sicilian congregants.

St. Charles Borromeo – Photo by Paul Hohmann, featured in Vanishing St. Louis.

Around this same period, another priest, Father Frederick George Holweck, invited Father Spigardi to conduct services at St. Aloysius Gonzaga, located at 5608 N. Magnolia Avenue on “The Hill.” Though the church was predominantly German, a growing group of Northern Italian immigrants belonged to the congregation. There, seeds were planted to establish another church, St. Ambrose. Originally, it was built as a single-story frame church at 2103 Cooper Street at a cost of $4,900. The dedication was held on August 2, 1903, and Father Spigardi had yet another church under his supervision. In 1921, a fire destroyed the original church and the present structure at 5130 Wilson was built.

Father Spigardi was not only engaged in ecclesiastical duties. He was involved in many aspects of the congregations he served. He often functioned as a liaison between the local government and the Italian community, helping to smooth out misunderstandings. Once, he was called upon to arbitrate in a dispute that had erupted between the Northern Italians and Southern Italians over children working as fruit sellers. In 1927, he joined forces with now Monsignor Timothy Dempsey to mediate between rival gangs in the city. They also worked together to combat poverty and poor living conditions.

One of his last projects was the establishment of an orphanage for Italian children called St. Domenico’s Italian Orphan Home in University City in 1930. It was made possible by generous donations by parishioners Maria Signaigo and Rose Cafferata. The orphanage was in existence and administered by the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood until 1960.

Where are the records?

For genealogists, knowing the individuals with whom your ancestor may have interacted frequently helps to paint a fuller picture of their everyday life. In this case, that person is also creating invaluable records for genealogical research. Father Spigardi was at the center of the Italian community and generated records at multiple locations. For parishioners who were attending the churches where he conducted his early missions, St. Patrick’s and St. Aloysius Gonzaga, the records may be viewed on FamilySearch.org.

Our Lady Help of Christians, St. Louis (1973) – One of the city's closed parishes.

The records for Our Lady Help of Christians are entered in the same volume as St. Charles Borromeo until 1931, after which they’re in a register specific to the parish. The combined registers of St. Charles Borromeo and Our Lady Help of Christians are available on FamilySearch and are duplicates of originals created by Spigardi. Notes on the title page indicate this. The notes also state that the original Volume 1 was titled Auxilium Christianorum​​ (Help of Christians) but Volume 2 of the original books is entitled St. Charles Borromeo. It’s important to note that he was recording sacraments for both churches within the same volume without indicating in which church the act occurred.

Marriages, St. Charles Borromeo, 1905

St. Ambrose was originally a mission church of St. Charles Borromeo until 1907 when it was designated as a parish. It’s assumed that the records created during the mission period of 1903-1907 are recorded in St. Charles Borromeo’s books as well.

In Conclusion

Although he was frequently referred to as Father Spigardi, he was, in fact, elevated to Monsignor by Pope Leo XIII. His followers, though, continued to affectionately call him Father Spigardi due to his common touch and the close regard in which he was held in his tight-knit community. We can only speculate as to whether or not another individual would have been as dynamic and had as unifying a presence as he did.

The Records

The following are available at FamilySearch.org:

St. Aloysius- Films #1872399–1872400

St. Patrick-Films #1872016–1872018, 187240

Our Lady Help of Christians-Films #1870547

St. Charles Borromeo-Films #1870930–1870932,

St. Ambrose-Films #1872400–1872401, 1887321

St. Domenico’s Italian Orphan Home, University City, Missouri.- No records are known to exist for the orphanage but the Archdiocese of Saint Louis Archives has partial records for 25 families. You may contact their archives for assistance.

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