This collection contains materials related to or produced by St. Elizabeth’s Parish, a Black Catholic church in St. Louis, Missouri that operated from 1873 to 1951.

In 1858, Rev. Peter Koning, S.J. started a chapel for Black Catholics in the upper gallery of St. Francis Xavier’s Church. When the patronage outgrew the chapel, Rev. Ignatius Panken, S.J., now in charge of the chapel, purchased the Vinegar Hill Hall building at 14th and Gay Streets in 1872. St. Elizabeth’s Parish was established here and dedicated on May 18, 1873, as the first parish for Black Catholics in St. Louis, and fourth in the United States.

A school was opened in the basement of the church in September 1873. In 1880, the Oblate Sisters of Providence took over operation of the school and Father Panken purchased a building for them. In 1912, the parish moved to a new building at 2721 Pine Street, formerly known as the Old Walsh Mansion. Under the direction of Father William Markoe, pastor of the church beginning in 1927, St. Elizabeth’s put on a series of musicals written by Rev. Daniel Lord, S.J. The St. Elizabeth’s Chronicle was also started in 1928 to publicize and help finance the church; its name was changed to The Chronicle in 1931 and then moved to New York and renamed again to The Interracial Review in 1932. The Federated Colored Catholics of the United States held their annual convention in St. Louis in 1931 at the invitation of Father Markoe.

Enrollment at St. Elizabeth’s School declined throughout the 1940s as other school options for Black Catholics opened at other parishes, and the school was closed in 1945. Due to its proximity to other Black parishes such as St. Malachy’s, St. Elizabeth’s Parish closed in 1951.