• Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

  • Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

  • Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

  • Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

  • Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

  • Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

  • Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

  • Saint Mary of Victories

    Catholic Church

    Reverent  Faithful  Welcoming 

    Since 1843

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About St. Mary of Victories

Historic Saint Mary of Victories Catholic Church, just south of the Gateway Arch, is a splendid and unique part of the heritage of old Saint Louis.

Founded in 1843 for German immigrants, it became the city's Hungarian Catholic Church and cultural center in 1956. Its acclaimed architecture, beautiful old paintings, ornate statuary and noted historical personalities have earned it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the few consecrated churches in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and has a magnificent high altar with hundreds of sacred relics.

Saint Mary’s accordingly offers a classically reverent style of worship in proclaiming the joy of Christ's Gospel to locals and tourists alike. The 11 a.m. Sunday Mass is mainly in English, with a touch of Hungarian in Scripture and song.

Read the Whole Story...  

Reflections From Our Saints...

  • SMOV - Infant of Prague
  • St. Therese of Liseaux
  • St. Elizabeth of Hungary
  • SMOV - Cabrini
  • SMOV - Anthony (1)
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History

St. Mary of Victories has played an important role in the development of St. Louis... Read More
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Architecture

St. Mary of Victories is an excellent example of pre-Civil War architecture in St. Louis... Read More
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Hungarian Parish

St. Mary of Victories has been the official home of the Hungarian Catholics in St. Louis since 1957... Read More
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Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos

Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos once preached at St. Mary of Victories... Read More
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Latin Novus Ordo Mass

St. Mary of Victories is the only place in St. Louis that celebrates the Modern Rite, ad orientem, with Gregorian Chant... Read More
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Liturgy Schedule

Mass Times

11:00 AM Sunday - Third Sunday ONLY

Ordinary Form Mass, Traditional Music, Some Latin
Hungarian Lunch After Mass - Usually $10

Confessions:  Sundays at 10:30 am
Tours Conducted Sundays after Mass

The Facilties are Not Open Other Sundays Of the Month (No Lunch)

 THERE IS NO DAILY MASS AT SMV CHAPEL

Latin Ordinary Form Mass with Gregorian Chant - One Saturday Per Month

See Web Page or Facebook Group (or Call) for Details

                                                                                                           

Note:  the 7 pm Saturday and 9 am Sunday Masses have been discontinued.  

23rd February 2019, St Peter Damian. EF Missa Cantata, 9am

IntroitIn medio Ecclesiae, begin on D (as re)

GradualOs justi, begin on D (as re). Women sing V.

AlleluiaAmavit eum, begin on C (as do). Men sing V.

OffertoryJustus ut palma, begin on E (as mi)

CommunionFidelis servus, begin on E♭ (as sol)

PostludeAve Regina Caelorum (simple tone), begin on F 

Mass XII, no Credo, common preface.

The Introit has three phrases: 

  1. In medio Ecclesiae aperuit os ejus
  2. et implevit eum Dominus spiritu sapientiae, et intellectus
  3. stolam gloriae induit eum.

The text is from the Book of Wisdom. Christ our Saviour, Wisdom itself, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, fills the doctors of the Church with the spirit of wisdom and understanding. Like the Offertory Justus ut palma, this chant now found in the Common of Doctors was originally composed for the feast of St. John the Evangelist. This melody is an example of classic repose, and must be sung very sustainedly. The first phrase has two members, each of which begins with a neume resembling a podatusin each instance this is followed by a tristropha and an accented g. Everything seems to undulate lightly about f, and yet an upward tendency runs through the entire phrase, a tendency which finds a brilliant fulfilment in the second phrase. The cdfg here becomes fgab and acc with the pressusthe only one in the entire piece. 

After this culmination the melody again supports itself, as in the first and third phrases, on f. The synonyms sapientiae and intellectus have similar intonations. Low over the latter word serves as an antithesis to high over eum and at the same time as a transition to the third phrase. This phrase also descends to low c, but more gracefully and gently, since each of the last two neumes sets in with the pitch of the preceding. The second half corresponds to ejus at the close of the first phrase. On account of its range and the emphasis on the tonic f, this chant gives us a standard example of the (plagal) sixth mode.

The Gradual has two phrases in the corpus and two in the verse:

  1. Os justi meditabitur sapientiam
  2. et lingua ejus loquetur judicium.
  3. V. Lex Dei ejus in corde ipsius
  4. et non supplantabuntur gressus ejus.

It's appropriate to use this Gradual, because St. Peter Damian's mouth did indeed prepare to speak wisdom, and the law of his God was in his heart. The melody of this Mode 1 Gradual is closley held over os justi, as the mouth of the wise man is closely guarded. Then, reflecting the text, the melody expands as he prepares to speak wisdom and loosens his tongue to pronounce good judgement. His contemplation of the law in his heart rightly takes us to the high point of the melody over corde, for there is no higher joy in human life than the contemplation in the heart of the wisdom of God's loving plan of salvation.

            In the modern Graduale, groups of more than three notes are separated into neumes of two or three, and receive a twofold accent, the second being a little weaker than the first. More than three notes are never united into a group without renewing the musical accent. So, on the word justi, the first, fourth, sixth, ninth, twelfth notes receive an accent; on the word meditabitur, the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and eleventh; in sapientiam, the first, second, sixth, eighth, tenth, fifteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, etc.

            Obviously, this musical accent must never destroy the word accent, even when the former is on an unaccented syllable. Rather, the notes should be sung more lightly and gracefully. As in syllable compositions, emphasis does not mean a longer hold of the notes but rather separation into parts so as to introduce the conclusion of a rhythmical division to enhance the understanding of the text. Wherever a group is separated from the one following, the last syllable is prolonged proportionately to the importance of the division. (The earlier Solesmes edition marked the mora with smaller and greater spaces, or by bars between the neumes.)

The Alleluia verse has two phrases:

  1. Amavit eum Dominus et ornavit eum
  2. stolam gloriae induit eum

Again we have the refrain from the book of Wisdom: the Lord has clothed the wise man with a stole of glory! And as with the Gradual, this glory rooted in a bond of love in the heart of the wise man between him and his most loving Lord.

The Offertory has two phrases: 

  1. Justus ut palma florebit
  2. sicut cedrus, quae in Libano est, multiplicabitur.

Like the Introit, this Offertory was originally composed for the feast of St. John. The figure of the palm tree here signifies that the entire life of a doctor of the Church was turned toward Christ, the Sun of Justice. His life was lived in heaven, into the deepest mysteries of which he was allowed to see. In his ardent striving for God the sweet fruits of which his writings give evidence he gives us an example of Christian maturity. The melody itself suggests the palm with its towering shaft. The second half of Justus is repeated over florebit and in part over (Liba)-no

In the second phrase, however, the cedar is made to reach higher than the palm. Sicut reminds us of ut pal-(ma); ce-(drus) with its abcdca is a development of the efgagf at the beginning of this Offertory; (Li)- bano harks back to (pal)-ma: two or three motifs are thus manipulated here in a smooth and expert manner. Multiplicabitur repeats the fourth which was heard three times at the beginning. The melisma following supports itself on the pressus dag, ggf, and ffe. It pictures the spreading branches of the cedar; the development of the melody here is lateral rather than perpendicular.

The Communion antiphon has two phrases:

  1. Fidelis servus et prudens, querm constituit Dominus super familiam suam
  2. ut det illis in tempore tritici mensuram.

Some older manuscripts assign this melody to the feast of St. Gregory the Great. Prior to this, however, it was already sung on the feast of Popes Urban and Sixtus. The melody grows systematically, ga bg dc c becoming cb cd d and finally dc de dec; following this, becomes the actual dominant. The rhyme at the end of the first and second phrases is also very effective, cd cb gg becoming cd cb gag g. Both phrases have three divisions. The second phrase has a richer development than we ordinarily find in a Communion. Over tritici the Vatican Gradual calls for a slight retarding after and a, thus resulting in three groups, of which the first and third form the arsis. 

Doctors of the Church are faithful stewards of the mysteries of faith entrusted to the Lord’s household, His Church. Christ has also united Himself with us under the form of bread (tritici). Through their intercession, may we have a real hunger in the present life for the wisdom of God, so that we remain faithful members of that household. 

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Address and Phone

744 South 3rd Street (at Gratiot)
Saint Louis, MO 63102-1645
(314) 231-8101

Click Here for Directions

 

Copyright © 2023 St. Mary of Victories Catholic Church. All Rights Reserved.
Our Lady of Victories, Pray for Us!  St. Stephen of Hungary, Pray for Us!
Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos and Venerable Cardinal Mindszenty, Pray for Us!