About Sts. Philip and James · Sainte Genevieve, Missouri
Sts. Philip and James was a small Roman Catholic parish serving the rural unincorporated community of River aux Vases in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, about 65 miles south of downtown St. Louis. Founded in the mid-19th century by French and German settlers, the parish worshiped at a hilltop church overlooking the River aux Vases creek, serving roughly 80 households at the time of its closure. In August 2023, as part of the Archdiocese of St. Louis's 'All Things New' pastoral restructuring, Sts. Philip and James was merged into nearby Ste. Genevieve Parish. Sunday Mass at 8:00 a.m. had continued at the church even while parishioners pursued appeals to the Vatican.
- Established
- 1840
- Patron
- Saints Philip and James, Apostles
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of St. Louis
Why belong here
Though now merged into Ste. Genevieve Parish, Sts. Philip and James remained a beloved rural worship site for about 80 households in Ste. Genevieve County, holding its 8:00 a.m. Sunday Mass on a dramatic hilltop overlooking the River aux Vases creek. The parish carried on a fusion of French and German Catholic traditions inherited from its 19th-century founders, including May crowning processions, harvest celebrations, and the annual patronal feast on May 3. Visitors and parishioners continue to be welcomed at the church for Sunday Mass and confessions under the care of Ste. Genevieve Parish.
Mass times at Sts. Philip and James
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 7:45 am – 8:00 am
Parish History
Sts. Philip and James traces its origins to the French settlement of River aux Vases, where early families like the Aubuchons, Bequettes, Janises, and Valles built homes of distinctive vertical-log construction. A log-cabin mission chapel, Saint Anthony's, was founded in 1841 northeast of the present church to serve the LaBruyere community. The parish itself was established around 1863 (archdiocesan records list an 1840 origin), with the church built on a hilltop promontory overlooking the river. German immigration beginning in the 1840s transformed the community, and the parish became a meeting point of French and German Catholic customs.
- Mission chapel of Saint Anthony's founded 1841
- Parish established c. 1863 (1840 per archdiocesan records)
- School opened 1874; staffed by Sisters of the Most Precious Blood (O'Fallon) from 1885
- Community also known historically as 'Staabtown'
The Church Building
The church sits on a dramatic hilltop site surrounded on three sides by slopes of about 80 feet in elevation, with a steep drop-off to the River aux Vases below. Built in vernacular Gothic Revival style typical of 19th-century immigrant Catholic churches in Missouri, the building features a simple gabled facade, stained-glass windows depicting apostolic themes, and a narthex leading into a nave with the choir loft accessed by stairs. The site commands views of the rural Beauvais Township countryside.
- Hilltop site 80 feet above the River aux Vases
- Vernacular Gothic Revival architecture
- Gabled facade, stained-glass apostolic windows
- Narthex and choir loft
Parish Life and Community
At the time of its 2023 closure, Sts. Philip and James served about 80 households in rural Ste. Genevieve County. The parish was a social hub as much as a worship site, hosting bilingual religious practices that fused French and German heritage, mutual aid societies, May crowning processions, harvest celebrations, and the annual patronal feast on May 3. The school staffed by the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood was central to parish life from 1885 onward.
- About 80 households served at time of closure
- French and German cultural fusion in parish customs
- May crowning processions and harvest celebrations
- Patronal feast on May 3
Mass and Sacraments
Sunday Mass was celebrated at 8:00 a.m., with confessions heard beforehand at 7:45 a.m. The parish was served from Ste. Genevieve Parish after the 2023 suppression, and Mass continued to be offered in the church. Sacramental records of Sts. Philip and James — including baptisms, marriages, confirmations, first communions, and burials — are now held by the Archdiocesan Archives and by Ste. Genevieve Parish.
- Sunday Mass: 8:00 a.m.
- Sunday Confessions: 7:45 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.
- Sacramental records held by Archdiocesan Archives and Ste. Genevieve Parish
'All Things New' Closure (2023)
In May 2023, Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski announced the 'All Things New' pastoral planning process, which reduced the number of parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis from 178 to 135. Sts. Philip and James was one of 35 parishes closed in the process; on August 1, 2023, it was suppressed by extinctive union into Ste. Genevieve Parish. Parishioners submitted appeals to Archbishop Rozanski, who denied them; they then appealed to the Vatican's Dicastery for the Clergy, which accepted the petition for hierarchical recourse in October 2023. The Dicastery ultimately upheld the decree subsuming Sts. Philip and James into Ste. Genevieve Parish. The parish's three-bedroom, two-bath rectory was rented out to a non-parishioner for $800 a month at the time of reporting.
- Closed August 1, 2023 as part of 'All Things New'
- Merged by extinctive union into Ste. Genevieve Parish
- Vatican Dicastery for the Clergy accepted appeal October 2023
- Decree ultimately upheld
Local History and Setting
River aux Vases is an unincorporated community in Beauvais Township, Ste. Genevieve County, about 65 miles south of downtown St. Louis. The name comes from the French dialectal 'vase' meaning 'morass' or 'swamp,' referring to the small spring-fed creek rather than any kind of vase; the waterway is typically clear but can become muddy after heavy rains. Mining has been a prominent local industry: the River aux Vases sandstone was used in the abutments of Eads Bridge in St. Louis, and decorative onyx and limestone were quarried nearby. Flint Bottom Creek drains into the River aux Vases below the church. Today the township's largest claimed ancestry is German, at about 58% of the population.
- Unincorporated community in Beauvais Township, Ste. Genevieve County
- About 65 miles south of downtown St. Louis
- River aux Vases sandstone used in Eads Bridge abutments
- Decorative onyx and limestone quarried nearby
- Largest claimed ancestry: German (about 58%)
Visiting the Church
Sts. Philip and James remains an active worship site served from Ste. Genevieve Parish, with Sunday Mass at 8:00 a.m. and confessions at 7:45 a.m. The address is 18411 RAV Church Rd., Ste. Genevieve, MO 63670, with parish phone (573) 883-2731. Visitors are advised to approach via State Route M and follow local signage approximately six miles to the church. The dramatic hilltop setting and historic interior remain a point of pilgrimage for those connected to the parish's French and German Catholic heritage.
- Address: 18411 RAV Church Rd., Ste. Genevieve, MO 63670
- Phone: (573) 883-2731
- Served from Ste. Genevieve Parish