About All Saints · University City, Missouri
All Saints was a Roman Catholic parish of the Archdiocese of St. Louis located at 6403 Clemens Avenue in University City, Missouri, just north of Delmar Boulevard and two blocks from The Loop. Founded in December 1901 to serve the young western suburbs of St. Louis along the 'central corridor,' the parish was for more than half a century one of the largest in the archdiocese, eventually giving rise to eight daughter parishes. After 122 years of ministry, on August 1, 2023, All Saints was subsumed into nearby Christ the King Parish under the Archdiocese's 'All Things New' reorganization; the church building itself remains standing and sacramental records are housed with the Archdiocese of St. Louis Archives.
- Established
- 1901
- Patron
- All Saints
- Rector
- Reverend Monsignor Michael J. Witt, Ph.D. (final pastor at the time of closure in 2023)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of St. Louis
Why belong here
All Saints was long valued by its University City and broader St. Louis community for its compact, personal parish life. Monsignor Witt — a Church historian and seminary professor — offered intellectually rich preaching and a deep liturgical life centered on a single, well-cared-for Sunday Mass, weekday Masses, and a full day of Friday Eucharistic Adoration. The parish was especially known for its hands-on outreach to neighbors in need, including a St. Vincent de Paul food pantry distributing groceries to local families and an annual school-supply drive. Although the parish was subsumed into Christ the King in 2023, former All Saints parishioners continue that legacy of faithful, neighborly Catholicism in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
Mass times at All Saints
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 9:45–9:55 AM (immediately before the 10:00 AM Mass)
Adoration times
- Friday 7:30 AM – 6:00 PM (Eucharistic Adoration)
Parish History
All Saints was established in December 1901 in the young inner-ring suburb of University City, just north of Delmar Boulevard, to serve Catholic families moving west along St. Louis's 'central corridor.' The original 1902 wooden church at 63rd and Maple burned in 1917; a stone school/church building followed in 1918 at Westgate and Clemens; and the present church on Clemens Avenue was completed in 1937. At its mid-century peak the parish covered roughly 21 square miles and was one of the largest in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, eventually giving rise to eight daughter parishes. Demographic change — the loss of the Cunningham Park subdivision to eminent domain in the 1960s, white flight, and the 1968 closure of All Saints School — steadily reduced the community, leaving about 55 regular Sunday Mass attendees by 2023. On August 1, 2023, the parish was subsumed into Christ the King Parish under the Archdiocese's 'All Things New' initiative.
- Founded December 1901
- First church: wooden structure at 63rd & Maple, 1902 (burned 1917)
- Stone school/church building erected 1918 at Westgate & Clemens
- Current church completed 1937, designed by architect Henry P. Hess
- All Saints School closed 1968
- Subsumed into Christ the King Parish on August 1, 2023 ('All Things New')
Architecture & the Church Building
The 1937 All Saints church is a notable example of an octagonal-plan Roman Catholic church in the Colonial Revival style. Designed by St. Louis architect Henry P. Hess, the building has no columns or side-aisles and a domed ceiling over the nave. The sanctuary is spare and luminous, with a finely worked stone altar whose front mosaics depict the Lamb of God on the seven-sealed book and the loaves and fishes, wallpaper patterned with crowns and fleurs-de-lis, an intact communion rail, and Stations of the Cross set into wall niches. Stained glass — including a Holy Family window above the tabernacle — is mostly in white and brown. The cornerstone bears the inscription '✠ ALL SAINTS' ✠ CATHOLIC CHVRCH ✠ A.D. 1936 ✠.' The building reportedly was a favorite of Archbishop John J. May.
- Architect: Henry P. Hess (1884–1957)
- Cornerstone dated A.D. 1936; building completed 1937
- Octagonal plan, domed ceiling, no side-aisles
- Colonial Revival interior decoration
- Stone altar with Lamb of God and loaves-and-fishes mosaics
- Holy Family stained-glass window above the tabernacle
Clergy & Staff
At the time of closure, the parish was served by Monsignor Michael J. Witt, Ph.D., as pastor; the retired Reverend John Jay Hughes; and Deacon Stephen L. Murray. Monsignor Witt was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1990 and is also a professor of Church History at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, with a Ph.D. in Modern European History from Saint Louis University and a Master of Divinity from Kenrick-Glennon. He had earlier served the Church for 22 years as a Christian Brother teaching in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Tennessee, and has held archdiocesan posts as Director of Continuing Formation for Priests and Director of the Permanent Diaconate.
- Reverend Monsignor Michael J. Witt, Ph.D. — Pastor
- Reverend John Jay Hughes — Retired
- Deacon Stephen L. Murray
Ministries & Outreach
Even as the parish shrank in numbers, its small community was known for steady, hands-on outreach. The St. Vincent de Paul conference at All Saints ran the parish food pantry, distributing food to families in need by appointment (typically every other month on the first Tuesday). The parish also organized an annual school-supply drive that became a signature of its final decade.
- St. Vincent de Paul Society / Parish Food Pantry
- Annual School-Supply Drive
The 2023 Closure: 'All Things New'
Under Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski's 'All Things New' pastoral planning initiative, the Archdiocese of St. Louis carried out the largest parish downsizing in its history in 2023, closing or merging dozens of parishes. All Saints' last Mass was celebrated in late July 2023. Effective August 1, 2023, the parish was subsumed — its territory and remaining parishioners were folded into Christ the King Parish in University City. Sacramental records through that date were transferred to the Archdiocese of St. Louis Archives; certificates can be requested via the Archives office. The church building itself remains standing but is no longer an active parish church.
- Closed (subsumed) August 1, 2023
- Territory merged into Christ the King Parish, University City
- Sacramental records: Archdiocese of St. Louis Archives (through 7/31/2023); Christ the King Parish thereafter
Location & Contact
All Saints sat in the heart of University City, an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis situated just west of the city along the Delmar corridor and named for nearby Washington University. The church was two blocks north of The Loop, an entertainment district popular with Washington University students, and roughly 8.5 road miles west of the Old Cathedral in downtown St. Louis. The parish shared its neighborhood with a sizeable Orthodox Jewish community within walking distance of several University City synagogues.
- Address: 6403 Clemens Avenue, University City, MO 63130
- Phone: (314) 721-6403
- Fax: (314) 659-9799
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://www.allsaintsucitymo.org/
- Near The Loop, ~8.5 miles west of the Old Cathedral
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. George Ryan
Pastor whose death is recorded in 1963-era parish file at Saint Louis University Archives.
- Fr. E.P. Biggins
Identified in 1963-era St. Louis Globe-Democrat articles as the new pastor of All Saints.
- Reverend Monsignor Michael J. Witt, Ph.D.
Final pastor before 2023 closure; celebrated the last Mass; now a professor of Church History at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.