Ep. 4.58: Foundations of Care: Early Catholic Orphanages and Cemeteries in St. Louis

This episode traces the earliest expressions of Catholic compassion in St. Louis, beginning with the city’s 1764 founding and the humble log‑cabin church that soon anchored its spiritual life. Monsignor Witt and Teresa explore how epidemics, frontier hardship, and rapid growth created urgent needs for orphan care, prompting religious communities like St. Rose Philippine Duchesne’s Sacred Heart sisters and the Daughters of Charity to establish the region’s first orphanages. They also follow the evolution of Catholic burial grounds—from the original churchyard to Calvary Cemetery and beyond—revealing how the Church’s commitment to burying the dead and protecting the vulnerable shaped St. Louis from its earliest days.