About St. Nicholas Catholic Church · Saint Louis, Missouri
St. Nicholas Catholic Church is a historic North Side parish of the Archdiocese of St. Louis located at 701 N. 18th Street in downtown Saint Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1865–1866 at the close of the Civil War, it is recognized as the oldest Catholic church in St. Louis serving the African-American Catholic community and has been entrusted to the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) missionary congregation since 1926. On August 1, 2023, St. Nicholas was merged with Most Holy Trinity and Sts. Teresa and Bridget parishes to form the new St. Josephine Bakhita Parish, under pastor Father Mitchell Doyen. In December 2025, Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski issued a decree for the closure and deconsecration of the church building effective January 19, 2026.
- Established
- 1865 (parish erected); cornerstone of original church laid May 4, 1866
- Patron
- St. Nicholas
- Rector
- Rev. Mitchell Doyen (Pastor of St. Josephine Bakhita Parish, the merged parish that now includes St. Nicholas)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of St. Louis (Metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Louis)
Why belong here
St. Nicholas has long been a place where downtown workers, longtime North Side residents, and the African-American Catholic community of St. Louis gather around the Eucharist and one another. Its noon weekday Masses and weekly novena, inaugurated by the Society of the Divine Word in 1926, have welcomed busy professionals and neighbors for nearly a century. Today the historic North 18th Street campus continues to serve as a worship site of St. Josephine Bakhita Parish, offering weekday Mass, Reconciliation before Mass, and the warm parish life built by fourteen pastors across 158 years.
Mass times at St. Nicholas Catholic Church
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday 11:15 am
- Tuesday 11:15 am
- Wednesday 11:15 am
- Thursday 11:15 am
- Friday 11:15 am
Welcome to St. Nicholas Catholic Church
St. Nicholas Catholic Church is a historic parish of the Archdiocese of St. Louis at 701 N. 18th Street in North Side St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1865 at the close of the Civil War and entrusted to the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) since 1926, it is recognized as the oldest Catholic church in the city serving the African-American Catholic community. Since August 1, 2023 it has been part of St. Josephine Bakhita Parish. The parish continues to celebrate weekday noon Masses and the historic noonday novena — a downtown-worker tradition since 1926.
Parish History
St. Nicholas was born in 1865 when a group of Catholic families, living too far from St. Joseph's Church, petitioned Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick for their own parish. They bought the northeast corner of 19th and Lucas Avenue for $10,500 that October, and Archbishop Kenrick laid the cornerstone of the first St. Nicholas Church on May 4, 1866. The parish grew steadily through the ministries of its early pastors — Fr. Staudinger, Fr. Doebbener, the long-serving Fr. Joseph Schaefers (who paid off the parish debt and welcomed the Sisters of Christian Charity), and Fr. Herman G. Adrain — until neighborhood decline in the early 1900s threatened the church's very existence. In 1926 Archbishop John J. Glennon entrusted the parish to the Society of the Divine Word to evangelize the African-American Catholics moving into north St. Louis. Fr. Joseph Holken, SVD inaugurated the noonday novenas and noon Masses that became a downtown landmark. Successive SVD pastors — Frs. Richet, Reinsert, Benz, Brzakowski, Murrin, Andrus, Brown, Kentia and Mark — shepherded the community through Vatican II, the building of the 1960 parish plant, and the social changes of late-20th-century St. Louis. In 2023 St. Nicholas was merged with Most Holy Trinity and Sts. Teresa and Bridget into St. Josephine Bakhita Parish, and in December 2025 Archbishop Rozanski decreed the closure and deconsecration of the 1960 church building effective January 19, 2026.
- 1865 — Parish erected by Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick at request of parishioners from St. Joseph's
- Oct 1865 — Site at 19th St. & Lucas Avenue purchased for $10,500
- May 4, 1866 — Archbishop Kenrick lays the cornerstone
- 1878 — Fr. Joseph Schaefers begins 29-year pastorate; school staffed by Sisters of Christian Charity; debt retired
- Sept 1926 — Parish entrusted to the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) by Archbishop Glennon
- 1926 — Fr. Joseph Holken, SVD begins noonday novenas and noon Masses
- 1942 — Carr Square Village public housing opens, dramatically enlarging parish
- 1960 — Cardinal Ritter approves new church, rectory, convent, school center and gym; dedicated 1962
- 2000–2003 — Fr. Stephan Brown, SVD becomes first African-American pastor
- Aug 1, 2023 — Merged into St. Josephine Bakhita Parish under Fr. Mitchell Doyen
- Dec 2, 2025 — Archbishop Rozanski issues decree of closure and deconsecration, effective Jan 19, 2026
Society of the Divine Word (SVD) & Mission
Since September 1926 St. Nicholas has been staffed by the Society of the Divine Word, an international Catholic missionary congregation, at the request of Archbishop John J. Glennon. The SVD's charge was to serve as a downtown mission church and to evangelize the African-American Catholic community moving into north St. Louis. Pope Pius XI's 1920 blessing of St. Augustine Seminary in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi — the first U.S. seminary primarily for the theological education of Black men to the priesthood — framed the parish's mission: 'A people is never completely Catholic except when it is served by priests and brothers of its own race.' That vision has shaped St. Nicholas for nearly a century.
Mass & Sacrament Times
St. Nicholas is best known for its downtown-worker noon Mass tradition, established by Fr. Joseph Holken, SVD in 1926 and still observed. The current published schedule (Archdiocese of St. Louis, post-merger) lists noon Mass Monday through Friday and 12:15 pm on Holy Days, with Reconciliation offered each weekday morning before Mass. Weekend Mass in the merged St. Josephine Bakhita Parish rotates among the three historic campuses (Most Holy Trinity, St. Nicholas and Sts. Teresa & Bridget).
- Monday Mass — 12:00 pm
- Tuesday Mass — 12:00 pm
- Wednesday Mass — 12:00 pm
- Thursday Mass — 12:00 pm
- Friday Mass — 12:00 pm
- Holy Days — 12:15 pm
- Reconciliation — Monday–Friday, 11:15 am (before noon Mass)
Devotions: The Noonday Novena
The weekly noonday novena, inaugurated in 1926 by Fr. Joseph Holken, SVD alongside the noon Masses, has drawn downtown business people and North Side neighbors to St. Nicholas for nearly a century. It remains one of the parish's most distinctive traditions.
Merger into St. Josephine Bakhita Parish (2023)
On August 1, 2023, Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski merged St. Nicholas with Most Holy Trinity (Hyde Park) and Sts. Teresa and Bridget (Jeff-Vander-Lou) into the new St. Josephine Bakhita Parish, named for the Sudanese saint canonized in 2000 — a powerful symbol of resilience and faith. Fr. Mitchell Doyen was named pastor. Parishioners from the three former churches nominated more than 40 names; St. Josephine Bakhita received the most votes. Sunday Mass continues to rotate among the three campuses, with a monthly Unity Mass bringing the whole parish together.
- Pastor: Rev. Mitchell Doyen
- Parish office: 2431 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63106
- Phone: (314) 371-1190
- Website: stbakhitastl.org
Closure & Deconsecration (2025–2026)
On December 2, 2025, Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski issued a formal decree for the closure of St. Nicholas Church and its reduction to profane but not sordid use, in accordance with canon 1222 §2. The decree directs that the altar and other sacred objects be carefully removed and stored, and took effect January 19, 2026.
Parish Ministries & Community Life
Within the merged St. Josephine Bakhita Parish, St. Nicholas parishioners take part in a wide range of ministries that reach across the historic campuses. Rhythm & Grace, a free fine arts program for children, offers praise dance (with Mrs. Nikia Dailey) and piano instruction (with Sister Janice) three Saturdays a month at the Sts. Teresa & Bridget campus. The parish publishes Bakhita's Blessings, a weekly podcast hosted by Fr. Mitch Doyen and Alice Prince, with reflections on the upcoming Sunday Gospel and special liturgical-year themes. Long-standing SVD mission outreach to the African-American Catholic community of north St. Louis remains a defining ministry, alongside RCIA, faith formation, and sacramental preparation for Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, and Marriage.
- Rhythm & Grace — children's fine arts (dance + piano)
- Bakhita's Blessings — weekly faith podcast
- Evangelization & communications (Dr. Alice Prince, director)
- RCIA and sacramental preparation
- St. Peter Claver School Association (historical)
- SVD mission evangelization to north St. Louis (since 1926)
Visit & Contact
St. Nicholas Catholic Church is located at 701 N. 18th Street, St. Louis, MO 63103, on the North Side near the intersection of 18th Street and Lucas Avenue in downtown St. Louis. Parishioners and visitors can reach the office at (314) 231-2860 or fax (314) 241-9823. The merged St. Josephine Bakhita Parish office is at 2431 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63106, phone (314) 371-1190, email [email protected].
- Address: 701 N. 18th Street, St. Louis, MO 63103
- Phone: (314) 231-2860
- Fax: (314) 241-9823
- Historic parish email: [email protected]
- Merged parish email: [email protected]
- Website: http://stnickscatholicchurch.com/
- Merged parish website: https://stbakhitastl.org/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Nicholas Staudinger1866–c.1876
First pastor; served 10 years
- Rev. Casper Doebbenerc.1876–c.1878
Inherited $98,000 debt; built school at 1915 Lucas Ave; died after ~2 years
- Rev. Joseph Schaefers1878–1907
29-year pastorate; Sisters of Christian Charity taught at school; paid off parish debt
- Rev. Herman G. Adrain1907–c.1926
Guided parish through years of demographic decline and neighborhood change
- Rev. Joseph Holken, SVD1926–1932
Fifth pastor; first SVD pastor; started noonday novenas and noonday Masses
- Rev. Frederick M. Richet, SVD1932–1937
Sixth pastor; expanded campus to ¾ of a city block
- Rev. Charles Reinsert, SVD1938–1948
Seventh pastor; parish grew with Carr Square Village and Vaughn housing
- Rev. William Benz, SVD1948–1958
Eighth pastor; led parish on eve of Vatican II
- Rev. Jerome Brzakowski, SVD1958–1979
Ninth pastor; 18-year pastorate; completed the 1960 parish plant
- Rev. Donald Murrin, SVD1979–1987
Tenth pastor
- Rev. Richard Andrus, SVD1987–2000
Eleventh pastor; beloved for pastoral ministry and parish growth
- Rev. Stephan Brown, SVD2000–2003
Twelfth pastor; first African-American pastor; renovated rectory and church
- Rev. George Kentia, SVD2003–2007
Thirteenth pastor; native of the Democratic Republic of Congo; spoke 7+ languages
- Rev. Urey Patrick Mark, SVD2007–2023
Fourteenth and final pastor of the independent parish before the 2023 merger