About St. Francis of Assisi · Luebbering, Missouri
St. Francis of Assisi was a small rural Roman Catholic parish serving the unincorporated community of Luebbering in Franklin County, Missouri, within the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Founded in 1874 to serve German-settler farming families in the Meramec River hills, the parish gathered the faithful at 1000 Luebbering Road for nearly 150 years of worship, sacraments, and community life. After decades of declining population and priest availability in the region, Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski's 2023 "All Things New" restructuring plan merged the parish into St. Clare Parish in nearby St. Clair; the Vatican's Dicastery for the Clergy upheld that decree in May 2024, formally ending the parish as an independent entity.
- Established
- 1874
- Patron
- St. Francis of Assisi
- Rector
- Reverend Robert D. Knight
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of St. Louis (Metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Louis)
Why belong here
St. Francis of Assisi was a close-knit rural parish where generations of the same families worshipped together, where weekday Mass on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Saturday Vigil and Sunday Mass were the heartbeat of Catholic life in the Luebbering hills of Franklin County, and where First Friday Eucharistic Adoration and Saturday confession shaped a quiet but steady devotional rhythm. Although the parish has now been merged into St. Clare Parish in St. Clair, those roots — and the parish's 149-year sacramental record — remain a defining part of Catholic identity in this stretch of the Meramec region.
Mass times at St. Francis of Assisi
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 7:30 PM – 7:45 PM (older listing)
- Saturday 3:10 PM – 3:40 PM (alternate listing)
Adoration times
- First Friday 10:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Overview & Identity
St. Francis of Assisi was a Roman Catholic parish of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, located at 1000 Luebbering Road in the unincorporated community of Luebbering, Franklin County, Missouri. The parish celebrated the Mass in English according to the Roman (Latin) Rite, served a rural farming community, and was named for St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is celebrated on October 4.
History
Founded in 1874 to serve German Catholic settlers in the Meramec River hills of Franklin County, the parish was a small but faithful rural mission for nearly 150 years. By the early 2020s, with declining populations and fewer available priests, the Archdiocese of St. Louis named St. Francis of Assisi among the parishes to be suppressed or merged under its 2023 'All Things New' plan.
- Founded 1874
- Archdiocese of St. Louis parish
- 1874–2023 as an independent parish
The 'All Things New' Closure and Vatican Appeal
In May 2023, Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski issued decrees restructuring 178 parishes across the archdiocese. St. Francis of Assisi was directed to merge with St. Clare Parish in St. Clair. Parishioners filed an appeal with the Vatican, but on May 16, 2024 the Vatican's Dicastery for the Clergy upheld the archbishop's decision, formally ending the parish as an independent entity in August 2024.
- Merged into St. Clare Parish, St. Clair, MO
- Vatican Dicastery for the Clergy upheld closure May 2024
- Part of the archdiocese's 'All Things New' pastoral plan
Sacraments & Records
The parish celebrated the seven sacraments including Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick, Reconciliation, and Funeral rites. Sacramental registers covering 1874 through 2023 are preserved in the Archdiocese of St. Louis microfilm records collection and the Archdiocesan Archives; for sacraments after August 1, 2023, records and pastoral care are handled by St. Clare Parish in St. Clair.
- Sacramental records: Archdiocese of St. Louis Archives
- Parish history folder: Saint Louis University Archives, Folder 124
- Post-2023 sacraments: contact St. Clare Parish, St. Clair, MO
Clergy
In its final years as an independent parish, St. Francis of Assisi was served by Rev. Robert D. Knight as pastor, supported by the wider Archdiocese of St. Louis clergy who provided weekend assistance and sacramental coverage.
- Reverend Robert D. Knight — Pastor
Location & Directions
The parish is located in the unincorporated community of Luebbering in Franklin County, Missouri, about three miles south of Missouri Highway 30 along Luebbering Road. The surrounding area is rural, dominated by farmland and timber in the Meramec River hills.
- 1000 Luebbering Road, Luebbering, MO 63061-3100
- 3 miles S on Hwy. FF from Hwy. 30
- Franklin County, Missouri
Contact
Parishioners and researchers could reach the parish office by phone during its years of operation. After the 2023/2024 merger into St. Clare Parish in St. Clair, pastoral care and sacramental records requests should be directed to St. Clare Parish or the Archdiocese of St. Louis Archives.
- Phone: (636) 629-1717
- Fax: (636) 629-8408
- Archdiocesan directory: archstl.org/parish-directory/st-francis-of-assisi-luebbering
Legacy
Although the parish no longer exists as an independent entity, its 149-year legacy lives on in the Catholic families of Franklin County whose baptisms, marriages, and funerals were celebrated there, in the records preserved by the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and in the continuing Catholic life of the region now served by St. Clare Parish in St. Clair.