It’s always interesting to hear stories about a church named after a saint. But perhaps more interesting are stories about churches named after a mother and son. St. Monica and her son St. Augustine is a prime example. Major US cities have churches built and named after either St. Augustine or St. Monica, with only a select few having both St. Augustine and St. Monica in their respective cities. Kansas City is one of these rare cities that proudly has a church named after both these Saints; St. Augustine’s in Kansas City, and St. Monica’s Church in Kansas City.
St. Monica was an African, of Berber extraction. She was born in 331 A.D. in Tagaste, a center of Berber culture in what is now Algeria. She figures significantly in Augustine’s journey to his eventual conversion. Her boundless joy was to witness the baptism of Augustine, after his long and restless journey to the faith of the Church, by Bishop Ambrose in Milan in 387. Some months later, as mother and son, together with Augustine’s son and a small group of friends were making their way back to North Africa to begin living a monastic life, Monica died at Ostia while awaiting the ship. There she was buried. Monica was canonized by popular acclaim and is commemorated on May 4th in the Episcopal Calendar on the day before Augustine’s conversion on May 5, 386.
St. Augustine, the greatest theologian in the history of Western Christianity, was born November 13, 354 at Tagaste in North Africa. Under the influence of his mother Monica, Augustine converted to the Christian faith in the summer of 386. He was baptized by Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, on Easter Eve in 387. After returning to North Africa in 391, Augustine found himself unexpectedly chosen by the people of Hippo to be a presbyter. Four years later he was chosen bishop of that city. His spiritual autobiography, The Confessions, written shortly before the year 400 is in the form of an extended prayer. It is a classic of Western spirituality.
Augustine wrote countless treatises, letters, and sermons. They have provided a rich source of new and fresh insights into Christian truth. Augustine’s greatest work “The City of God” was composed of twenty-two books spanning the disciplines of history, theology, and philosophy. Augustine was canonized by popular acclaim, and later recognized as a Doctor of the Church in 1298 by Pope Boniface VIII. His feast day is 28 August, the day on which he died.
St. Monica’s Roman Catholic church is in the historic 18th and Vine District and is the first and oldest African American Roman Catholic church in Kansas City. It was first established in 1909 as a mission for African American Catholics.
On October 2, 1910, the St. Monica Mission for Colored Catholics was formally opened as the first Church for African American Catholics in Kansas City, Mo. The church was located on the second floor. A convent was in the back of the building and the priests occupied another cottage on the property. The men of the Catholic Club decided to help the St. Monica Mission obtain a new site. They made a pledge as well as many other benefactors who contributed generously.
St. Monica’s history is shared with several inner-city parishes. Holy Spirit opened in 1945 and merged with Holy Name in 1956. Holy Name and St. Vincent parishes closed in 1975 when the congregations consolidated with Annunciation parish and changed their name to The Church of the Risen Christ. The merger of Risen Christ and St. Joseph Parishes on October 22, 1995, served as the foundation for today’s St. Monica parish.
A Capital Building Fund Campaign was designed to build an additional 11,500 square foot Sanctuary with seating for 750 people. This new edifice was attached to the St. Joseph church building at 1616 Paseo Boulevard. Bishop Raymond Boland dedicated the Sanctuary of the new Saint Monica Catholic Church, on October 21, 2001.
Today St. Monica is led by the Rev. Leonard Gicheru who was appointed Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, Kansas City, effective May 1, 2022, while also retaining his office as Pastor of St. Monica’s Parish, Kansas City. These two churches have historically supported each other and continue to work together to this very day.
St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church is located at 2732 Benton Boulevard will be celebrating its 142nd anniversary this fall. It has an unmistakable round design. Kenneth O. Von Achen was the architect, and Wesley Elders Construction Company, a minority firm, was chosen as the general contractor. This church building was built on November 24, 1960.
This historic church was organized first as a small Mission church in 1882. There are very few other churches in Kansas City that have been organized longer. The History of St. Augustine’s is richly interwoven, with the history of the Episcopal Church on both national and local levels; our nation; Jackson County; the City of Kansas City, Missouri; and the Santa Fe Neighborhood community.
St. Augustine’s is the fifth oldest African American church in Kansas City, Missouri, and one of few Episcopal Churches over the age of one hundred years of organization. The first cornerstone was laid on August 27, 1882, by Bishop Charles Franklin Robertson. This one-story brick building was completed in 1883. Saint Augustine’s was first admitted in union with The Diocese of Missouri in 1882 with Fr. Charles E. Cummings as the Founder and priest in charge.
St. Augustine’s for sixty-eight years located on 1025 Troost Boulevard spread the word of God through the Gospels and assisted the poor and downtrodden in the community. The church in 1950 relocated to 2732 Benton Boulevard. At the Diocesan Convention in 1950, St. Augustine’s Mission was formally admitted into The Diocese of West Missouri as a self-sustaining Parish. In 1960 the church constructed a radically designed round brick church on its adjacent land. On September 22, 1960, the Rt. Reverend Bishop Edward R. Wells the II, officiated at the groundbreaking ceremony.
The first cornerstone was laid on November 24, 1960, on Thanksgiving Day. On May 30, 1986, The Parish House and former church home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Santa Fe Place Historic District of Kansas City, Missouri.
St. Augustine’s Church is led by their Rector, Fr. Chas Marks, who for eight years has faithfully proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ serving the Santa Fe area and surrounding community.
Article was submitted by Brett Kynard, parishioner at St. Augustine’s, and edited by the Rev. Chas Marks, Missioner for Transitions for The Diocese of West Missouri.
