Concerns about being in St. Louis and why you should come visit regardless the subject of this Big B File.
On September 20th 2017……a high school classmate of mine asked on Facebook” STL friends – how are things there? I would like to come there this weekend but unsure.” This is a very valid question, given what has been seen in the ancient media. They almost always go for glorifying the bad stuff.
First of all, most of the “protesters” (a.k.a. agitators) seem to be paid and / or brought in from outside the St Louis metropolitan area to do nothing less than to commit acts of violence and to Fan the Flames of division, mistrust, suspicion… You know word Anarchy that is what groups like Antifa, Black Lives Matter, Etc. do. If they really gave a darn about St Louis metropolitan area, then why are they not protesting all of the problems that are impacting the black community in North Saint Louis City and part of North St Louis County, huh?!? The St. Louis mayor and city council did not help matters whatsoever. In fact, they did just the exact opposite.
So far, there are protest in acts of violence that have taken place in a few parts of the St Louis metropolitan area…leaving the clear majority of the St Louis Metropolitan an area alone.
With all that said, I will say this to everyone reading this Big B File…. Do not let the fear prevent you from coming to St Louis if you do let the fear prevent you from coming, you’ll be handing these groups a victory and involving them, all at the same time. As I said in a Facebook post from May 31st, 2017:
In a sad state of affairs….I have not read any posts on facebook or otherwise of any family members and most of my friends checking out any of the famous religious sites in St. Louis whenever they visit the STL Metro area. They’ll go to the Zoo, the Gateway Arch, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, a St. Louis Cardinals or St. Louis Blues game, Gateway Motorsports Park….but cannot go 100 yards or so to, for example, The Basilica of St. Louis, King (fondly known as the Old Cathedral), Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, Saint Louis Abbey, Old St. Ferdinand Shrine, Shrine of St Philippine Duchesne, St. Francis de Sales Church, St. Francis Xavier College Church, etc.
…….Just a thought.
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May 31st, 2017 Big B File Facebook post
All of the above have never closed as result of the protests. Let me tell you something… All these disruptions they want to do are having the exact opposite effect from what they had in mind all along. Judging from the comments left by the majority of fellow Saint Louisans…. Including the vast majority of calls into the Heat Phone on ABC 30 (KDNL-TV) in St Louis…… the people of St Louis have pretty much turned their backs on the protesters, groups such as Black Lives Matter and Antifa as a direct result of the tactics used by these groups. The vast majority of St Louis metro hasn’t seen any of the anarchist and Associated violence so far in 2017 nor did they in 2014 in the Ferguson area violence. Let me give you some suggestions of places to check out in the St Louis metropolitan area.
As far as shopping is concerned, Highway 40 (U.S 40, 61, & 76 / Interstate 64) has numerous opportunities from the Brentwood area West into St Charles County, but especially the stretch from Interstate 270 into the Chesterfield Valley area. Then, there’s the St. Charles – St Peters area along Interstate 70 and US Route 94… including the very famous Old Town St Charles area of St. Charles with its very unique specialty shops and it’s Christmastime festivities called Christmas Traditions that takes place in December every year. There are also some very good shops in the Florissant area in North St. Louis County as well. Speaking of Florissant, let me begin there in telling you about some tourist attractions to see in the St Louis metropolitan area.
The old St. Ferdinand Shrine in Florissant which was the one-time home to Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne and was the longtime home to St Ferdinand Catholic parish to which I belonged to for 3 years and still have a strong connection to even today. St Ferdinand Parish is the oldest Parish in St Louis archdiocese, second only to The Basilica of St Louis, King of France… Fondly refer to as the old Cathedral. Tours are available by appointment and can be set up by contacting the shrine at (314) 837-2110, via email, or by filling out a form online at OldStFerdinandShrine.org and click on “tour information” under the “Tour and Shop” tab on the menu.
The hours for the old St. Ferdinand Shrine and gift shop or Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. till noon and Sundays from 1 till 4 p.m. April through October. I’ve been to the shrine numerous times over the years since 2006 and strongly suggest you make a pilgrimage to the shrine… It is so worth it. You can go to OldStFerdinandShrine.org for more details about the old St. Ferdinand Shrine.
Another place to check out is the Abbey of St Mary and St Louis, commonly referred to as the Saint Louis Abbey. It is a home of the monks of the Order of Saint Benedict. The 444Abbey was founded in 1955 by a group of English Benedictine monks from airport savvy, who were invited by the late Cardinal Joseph Ritter to not only found a community here in St Louis, but also found a high school for Catholic boys in West St. Louis County.
You can join the monks for mass Monday through Thursday at 5:45pm, Friday st 8:15am, Saturday at 8:45am and Sunday at 9:00am. Saint Louis Abbey sings Vespers in English Monday through Friday and in Latin on Saturday and Sunday. The Divine Office at Saint Louis Abbey occurs five times daily. The prayer marks the hours of the day, helping us take the first step towards obeying the Apostle’s exhortation to “pray without ceasing” (1 Th 5:17). You are welcome to join the monks for the prayers. If you arrive early, a monk can help you navigate the books. You can learn more about Saint Louis Abbey by going to stlouisabbey.org.
The next tourist attraction that I am going to tell you about is the Cathedral Basilica on Lindell Boulevard in the Central West End of St Louis City. Often referred to as the new cathedral, it is the mother church of St Louis Archdiocese and one of only a select few churches to be designated a basilica in the United States of America. The cathedral Basilica was designated a basilica by his Holiness the play and recently canonized St John Paul II during his visit to St Louis in January of 1999. The Cathedral Basilica features the most impressive mosaics in the entire United States of America if not the world.
The Cathedral Basilica has a gift shop, daily tours of the Basilica, the Cathedral Concert Series that is world renowned, and a few masses daily. For details on the cathedral Basilica go to Cathedralstl.org and to Cathedralconcerts.org for details on the world-famous Cathedral concert series.
We also have the Basilica St Louis, King of France… Often referred to as the Old Cathedral, the First Parish west of the Mississippi River. Located next to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and near the Gateway Arch, the Old Cathedral was the first Cathedral for the St. Louis diocese (later the St. Louis Archdiocese). As stated on the Old Cathedral website:
The Old Cathedral is one of the most historic buildings in St. Louis with roots dating back to 1764 when St. Louis founders Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau dedicated a parcel of land to the people of St. Louis for religious purposes that was called the “church block”. The present building is the fourth church to be erected on the site. Construction began in 1831 and the church was dedicated in 1834.
It is the oldest building in the City of St. Louis and the only building that remains in the hands of its original owner, the Archdiocese of St. Louis. It has always been a place that welcomes and nurtures people of all faiths, including those of the Jewish faith as evidenced by the Latin and Hebrew inscriptions on the facade of the church.
You can find out more about the Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France…. the Parish of St. Louis fondly known as the Old Cathedral….by going to OldCathedral.org. you can also check out the Gateway Arch, the now-famous Chesterfield Amphitheater, and much more.
You’ll be just fine and nothing to fear about coming to St Louis for a day or multi-day visit. Staying away does nothing more than placating to the protesters and anarchists like Black Lives Matter and Antifa, Etc.… And hurts hard-working people like myself who depend on people coming to visit are great region… the St. Louis metropolitan area to earn money and pay bills.
……And that’s the Big B Files. Click on the comments link below and tell me what you think……I’m Bryan V. Hewing.