St. Pius V Catholic Church is located in the heart of South St. Louis City, in the South Wedge area of the Tower Grove East Neighborhood.  Situated at the corner of S. Grand Boulevard and Utah Street, St. Pius serves as an anchor to the neighborhood, and to the recently rejuvenated business district located along S. Grand Boulevard.

 

St. Pius V began humbly a century ago as an Irish immigrant church, but by World War II had grown to be one of the largest, most prestigious parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.  The post-war baby boom sweeled its membership and school enrollment, and prompted expansion and improvements of the church and grounds by the mid-1950's.

 

But by the 1970's, south St. Louis' ethnic makup was beginning to change again as middle-class whites fled for the suburbs.  Blacks, and Asian and African immigrants and refugees took their place in the 1980's.  The dramatic demographic shift during the 1980's and 90's created social tension and demanded a response.  In the 90's, parishioners were mobilized to advocate for social change, a value still held today.

 

If St. Pius members are fewer today, they are more diverse:  a mix of old, young, refugee, immigrant, longtime neighborhood residents and new surburbanites.  In the 1990's, the 10:00 am liturgy became more vital with warmer hospitality, livelier music and more dynamic preaching.  St. Pius' ministries to the elderly, homebound, immigrant, and poor grew.  Parish finances were stabilized and stewardship was emphasized.

 

As St. Pius neared its centennial, it took the painful step of closing its school and merging in 2003 with another to form St. Frances Cabrini Academy.  In late 2004, St. Pius learned it would close as part of a realignment of south-side parishes.  The parish strenously defended its viability and purpose and the archbishop allowed it to remain open.

 

A century after its founding, St. Pius V finds itself at a crossroads.  It must, and has, continue to grow in membership.