Description
In 1818, a small group of Catholic clerics established a religious community in southeastern Missouri and opened a school, grounded in its European Vincentian roots but influenced by the isolation of its rural location. St. Mary’s of the Barrens became the first American institution of higher learning west of the Mississippi River and only the fourth Catholic seminary in the United States. Over the years, St. Mary’s emerged as a significant institution whose early leaders played an important role in the development of the Catholic Church on the American frontier. The school’s subsequent history reflected the changing status of the growing American Catholic community. In this history of “the Barrens,” Rick Janet demonstrates how its story reflects the broader sweep of the American Catholic experience.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface and Acknowledgments
Part I: Beginnings to 1818
Chapter 1: Vincentians, the Barrens, and the American Catholic Church
Chapter 2: Founding of St. Mary’s of the Barrens
Part II: An Era of Boundlessness at the Barrens, 1818–1847
Chapter 3: Frontier Leadership
Chapter 4: Policies and Problems
Part III: An Era of Fragmentation and Consolidation, 1847–1888
Chapter 5: Second-Generation Leadership
Chapter 6: Civil War and Aftermath
Part IV: The Barrens Triumphant, 1888–1962
Chapter 7: Revival and Growth
Chapter 8: Conforming to New Demands
Part V: Decline and Fall of St. Mary’s of the Barrens, 1965–2016
Chapter 9: Closure and Controversy
Chapter 10: Conclusion
Works Cited
Index
About the Author
Authors
Richard J. Janet currently serves as professor of history at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, where he has taught since 1985. He received the PhD in modern European history from the University of Notre Dame. Janet is the author of numerous articles, essays, and reviews (both scholarly and popular). His work on the history of the Congregation of the Mission in the United States is supported by the Vincentian Studies Institute of DePaul University.
