St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, a member of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, an order which had been founded in 1800 in France, lived in the convent from 1819 to 1827 and from 1834 to 1840. Mother Duchesne came to the Florissant area from France and provided in her writing some of the best descriptions of early life in Missouri. In 1825 she established a school for Indian girls and later, when she moved to St. Louis, she ran a school for the children of wealthy St. Louisans. The school she founded in St. Charles, Missouri in 1818 was the first free school west of the Mississippi.
The school served the community for many years but in 1957 when the parish population dwindled, St. Ferdinand ceased to be a parish church and the diocese talked of tearing it down.
Two years later, the Friends of Old St. Ferdinand Shrine was formed to save the church and the adjacent buildings. The group raised enough funds to purchase the complex a few years later. In 1960 the St. Louis Archdiocese designated St. Ferdinand as a Shrine and in 1979 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Friends of Old St. Ferdinand, Inc. purchased the shrine complex and own, maintain, preserve and protect this valuable jewel.
All of the buildings have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a cultural inventory of our nation's irreplaceable resources, and form St. Ferdinand's Shrine Historic District.
The Shrine is operated and maintained by the Friends of Old St. Ferdinand, a non-profit agency.
Tour Information
Tours are available on Saturday and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free, donations accepted.
Group Tours are available all year upon request. Phone (314) 837-2110 or submit our Group Tour Request Form online. Reserved Group Tour is $2.00 per person, with lunch served is $10.00 per person (15 person minimum group for a served lunch). Lunch includes: roast beef, ham, turkey, two cheeses, lettuce and tomatoes, condiments, two types of bread, fruit bowl, chips donuts, coffee, tea, lemonade, chocolate milk and bottle water. After lunch is served there is a trip to the 2nd floor of the Schoolhouse to view more history and experience our Book Fair.
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