This article about the Altar of Answered Prayers at the Shrine of St. Joseph appeared as a Missouri Adventures feature in 2008.
The article reads as follows: (
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"MISSOURI ADVENTURES: The Shrine of St. Joseph: A miracle in more than one way
By Steve Roetto
Jan 1, 2008
In our society you don't hear people mentioning miracles very often, unless they are talking about a fantasy movie or a fictional book. It would seem that miracles only happen in far away places and in ancient times. But to my surprise, there was a documented miracle that occurred in St. Louis.
The miracle occurred in 1864 in the north downtown St. Joseph Church and consisted of the immediate and non-medical cure of Ignatious Strecker.
The documented event is written that Strecker was injured in the chest at work three years earlier, which eventually resulted in his breast bone and ribs decomposing and his lungs suffering from related tuberculosis. His condition worsened with violent coughing, fever, difficult respiration and not being able to eat.
After nine months of continuous treatment and many remedies tried, Strecker's doctors ran out of ideas and gave him two weeks to live. Without any other options Mr. Strecker began to prepare for death.
At that particular time a missionary priest, Father Weninger, was visiting St. Joseph Parish and giving sermons on Peter Claver, a missionary who tended to the poor and less fortunate, proclaiming his intercessory power with God. He also blessed the congregation, Mrs. Strecker being present, with a relic of Peter Claver's.
Upon returning home Mrs. Strecker begged her husband to ask Peter Claver for help with his ailment. He did and the next day went to see Father Weninger at St. Joseph as he was blessing the sick. Strecker, with faith and confidence, received the blessing and came in contact with the relic.
What occurred next was hard to explain by Strecker, but he said he instantly felt in increase in courage, a strengthening of faith and a feeling of assurance that he would get better. His visible chest sores began to disappear and the tuberculosis in his lungs started to clear up. In fact the day after the blessing with the relic, he returned to work. After a week or two his ailments were completely gone.
Local doctors, including nationally renowned Doctor William Schoenemann (not a member of this church) who treated Strecker, were astonished at the miraculous cure and deemed it the power of God. They declared the cure was complete and there never was a relapse.
Webster's Dictionary defines a miracle as: 1. an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs or 2. an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing or accomplishment.
To be declared a miracle the church performs a formal inquiry, sending in an outside investigator to verify the facts and then a commission in Rome makes a ruling based on the information gathered. In 1887 this event was formally declared an authentic miracle.
Jesuit priests, serving the mostly German neighborhood, founded St. Joseph Church, at 11th Street and Biddle, in 1843. It was witness to the rise and fall and then rise again of the local area surrounding the church. The third church building now sets on this spot.
A second event, though not declared a miracle, also took place at this same church in 1866. At that time in St. Louis a great cholera epidemic was taking place, with up to 280 deaths occurring each day. At St. Joseph Church there would be as many as 25 funerals a day.
The priest at that time, Father Weber, along with parish families, got together and vowed that if through the intersession of St. Joseph they could be spared from this epidemic they would in thanksgiving erect a suitable monument in his memory. According to church spokesman Ralph Ellerbrock, 5000 parishioners donated $1 each for the building of this special altar.
To the amazement of the pastor and members, from that time on no member of the church suffered from cholera. The altar was named "St. Joseph's Altar of Answered Prayers." Miracle or not these are the facts recorded in the old yellow-edged documents in the church's archives.
In the 1970s the church was slated to be demolished, when a lay group stepped in, took stewardship from the Archdiocese and began what has become a $5 million ongoing renovation.
Father Valentine Young, the church's presiding priest, explained that St. Joseph is not a parish, but instead a shrine with all of the property expenses handled by the non-profit organization, The Friends of St. Joseph. According to Father Valentine, a lot of the ongoing upkeep is performed at no cost to the church, through the charity of local contractors.
The Shrine of St. Joseph is a work of art with its stained glass windows, wood statues, massive columns, gold leaf work, wall and ceiling paintings and detailed woodwork, which have all been brought back to their original splendor.
This shrine has been witness to a history of events and represents what the faith and determination of its people can accomplish.
For additional information or to schedule a tour you can contact the Shrine at 314-231-9407 or online at www.shrineofstjoseph.org."
The amazing Altar of Answered Prayers is the first thing you see as you enter the Shrine of St. Joseph, and it takes your breath away. See more about the altar at the Shrine of St. Joseph website here: (
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