In a sobering and powerful episode, the podcast confronts the racial tensions and injustices that plagued mid-19th century St. Louis. Monsignor and Teresa recount the erosion of protections for free Blacks, the brutal murder of Francis McIntosh, and the rise of anti-Catholic and nativist sentiment. They explore how laws and public opinion shifted against African Americans and immigrants, and how the Church—alongside voices like Pope Gregory XVI—responded to these moral crises. This episode offers a critical reflection on the intersection of faith, race, and politics in a city struggling with its conscience.


*Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of America's Heartland originally aired on Covenant Network Catholic Radio. These podcast episodes are being released in anticipation of the Bicentennial Celebrations of the founding of the Archdiocese of St. Louis as the Diocese of St. Louis on July 18, 1826.

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