History of St. Sabina, Patron of the Parish:

Did you know that the name of St. Sabina is one of the oldest and illustrious names of Rome?

In the second century, persecution of the Christians had tempered during the reign of Trojan. This policy was followed by his successor, Hadrian, for the same reason, to avoid unnecessary civil disorder. Only when denounced were Christians martyred. Her slave, Seraphia, converted Sabina, daughter of Herod Metallarius and widow of Valentinus, to Christianity. As sometimes happened, Seraphia was commanded to do homage to the gods of Rome. She refused and was delivered to two men for their enjoyment. Because she was preserved from their advances by divine intervention causing their sudden illness, she was denounced as a witch and beheaded. Sabina rescued her slave's remains and had them interred in the family mausoleum where she also expected to be buried. Denounced as a criminal, Sabina was condemned for her act of charity to her slave. She was there upon martyred. It was about the year 126 AD in the city of Vindena in the state of Umbria, Italy. In 430 her remains were brought as relics to the Aventine Hill, under which is a graveyard of archeological findings that date back to the founding of Rome, where a basilica was eventually built and named in her honor. St. Sabina's feast day is August 29th.

Did you know that each year the basilica is used by the Pope for Ash Wednesday services? Click here for a few pictures of the basilica in Rome.

St. Sabina Parish

It was a headline article in the April 22, 1960 issue of the St. Louis Review that announced the establishment of four new Parishes in the Archdiocese but it is hard to insist that a new "star is born" -- when the name of St. Sabina was mentioned.

The May 12, 1960, issue of the St. Louis Review made things a bit more definite when it announced that the Rev. Vincent P. Huels, Assistant Pastor of St. Mary Magdalen Parish in St. Louis, had been appointed Pastor, and three months later the announcements of the parish boundaries, all from St. Ferdinand Parish, was made. St. Sabina was now a reality! At this time its consisted of about twenty-four square miles of boundaries, less than six acres of weed-overgrown ground, and four hundred families. A Church? Certainly! The gym of Hazelwood Junior High, in which the first mass was celebrated on September 4, 1960. Father Huels moved into the present Rectory on October 4th and opened the basement of the Rectory as a Chapel on Dec. 19th, for daily Mass, Confessions, Baptism, and Perpetual Help Devotions. The first Baptism, Patrick Timothy O'Toole, had been performed on a card table in the Rectory Office on October 9th. The first marriage (in borrowed St. Ferdinand Church) was between Robert Lindemann and Ruth Will (who was our first convert) on November 5th.

St. Sabina Parish School unofficially started in September of 1960 when St. Ferdinand agreed to keep 192 St. Sabina children in its classroom until our building was finished. Our Parish School of Religion started on January 8, 1961, when we were fortunate enough to secure three classrooms at the Junior High School for instructions during Sunday masses.

1961 was a year of many decisions! St. Sabina physically exploded into being. Ground was broken on January 8th, and the machines moved in on January 19th to begin work on the Church, Parish Hall, and twelve classrooms. Nature herself opposed our beginning as inclement weather allowed only ten days of work during the first three months of construction, and presented us with soft ground that required 10 concrete piers under the Church and Hall that were not foreseen in the original plans. On June 9th, construction of the Convent began: five bedrooms, two baths, two parlors, dining room, and kitchen. It was occupied at the beginning of October by three Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O'Fallon, Missouri -- Srs. Mary Gerald, Paul Frances, and Mary Richard.

The delay occasions by nature's opposition caused many anxious moments among parishioners looking forward to a "home." But, in spite of it, the cornerstone was laid on October 4th. In the stone were sealed Perpetual Help and Sacred Heart badges, a Miraculous medal, 1961 coins, the St. Louis Review on September 28, 1961, the Globe Democrat of October 3, 1961, and our St. Sabina Sunday bulletin of October 1, 1961. School opened on October 5th (heat furnished by two construction heaters, placed at each end of the corridor). School sessions of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. brought students up to requirements for the year by Christmas holidays. The first mass in the parish took place in the Church Hall, only partially completed, on All Saints' Day, November 1st. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8th, finally found heat in the buildings, and the climax of all our efforts arrived, very fittingly, on Christmas Eve Midnight Mass -- our first mass in the Parish Church. Cardinal Ritter formalized our existence as he dedicated the buildings on June 3, 1962.

May 13, 1963, as the parish approached 825 families, found Fr. Donald F. Molitor assigned as the first Assistant Priest at St. Sabina -- the first of a long line of associates and deacons who helped the Pastor care for the spiritual and materials needs of the Sabina Parish family.

Routine, but rapid Parish growth, was the only change in parish life until September 1965. When the growth of the parish made her smaller -- in square miles, that is -- she helped give birth to St. Norbert Parish. In this same month ground was broken for the addition to the Convent -- nine bedrooms, two Parlors, Chapel, and Community Room were added.

April 22, 1966, saw the beginning of the addition to the Parish School, which added six new classrooms and the school library, which helped eliminate five portable classrooms in the Parish Hall, and reopened this facility to other Parish activity. Added help at the Rectory, a second Assistant, prompted in July of this year, an addition to the Rectory -- Pastor's Study and bedroom.

In 1974, St. Sabina Church was air conditioned, a welcome addition during our typical St. Louis summers, as anyone who remembers the days before air conditioning will gladly attest. A two-story addition to the Rectory/Office complex was begun in 1978, which has resulted in a new parish office and four parlors on the main level and two sitting rooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms on the second level for use by our associate priests.

In 1980, while plans were in full swing for St. Sabina's twentieth anniversary celebration, the unexpected occurred in the form of a devastating tornado, which ripped through St. Louis County. In true St. Sabina fashion, parishioners and religious alike transformed our Parish Hall into a temporary disaster assistance shelter for those who had been made homeless in the space of a few moments. Praise and thanks for our St. Sabina spirit poured in from Archbishop May, Florissant Mayor James Eagan, county government officials and those individuals who had been helped in their time of need.

September 7, 1980, marked the date of St. Sabina's twentieth anniversary. Past and present parishioners, teachers and religious joined in a day of celebration and thanksgiving for the many blessings our parish has received. We all shared in the mutual spirit of renewed hope and promise for the years to come.

Less than a year later, on July 19, 1981, Fr. Thomas Kopfensteiner celebrated his first mass at St. Sabina. Fr. Kopfensteiner was a lifelong member of St. Sabina and our parish's first priestly vocation. On June 6, 1982, Joseph Nassal became our second St. Sabina priest, and the entire congregation praised God for His newest blessings on our parish.

Gerard Bauwens became St. Sabina's first permanent lay deacon on February 9, 1982, increasing the role of our lay members and assisting our priests immeasurably over the years. St. Sabina has been blessings to have many men to undergo the preparation for ordination to the permanent deaconate, and the number of extraordinary ministers to the parish continues to grow as well.

1983-84 St. Sabina School year found Mr. Christopher Neilsen filling the position of our first lay school principal.

1985 began with the sad news that St. Sabina's only pastor since its inception as a parish, Fr. Vincent Huels, was transferred to the rural Bloomsdale, Missouri, parish of St. Agnes. A farewell celebration in the grandest of St. Sabina styles brought the entire parish together to wish Fr. Huels all our best and to officially name our Parish Hall "Huels Hall" in his honor.

Fr. Robert Ottoline became St. Sabina's new pastor in its twenty-fifth anniversary year.

NOTE: TO BE CONTINUED . . . .