The Pilgrim's Path at Saint Louis University Preview

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St. Ignatius the Pilgrim

St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) was the founder of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits. Saint Louis University, a Catholic Jesuit university has its origins reaching all the way back to the life of this Spanish saint. He is depicted here in the center of the main campus quad, as a pilgrim in motion, continually seeking and finding God in all things.

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2

Cardinal Ritter Hall

This building is named for the archbishop of St. Louis who desegrated St. Louis Catholic churches, schools and hospitals in 1947.

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3

St. Junipero Serra, O.F.M.

This statue depicts St. Junipero Serra, the famed California missionary of the 18th century.

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4

Garden of Mary, the Immaculate Conception

The image of the Immaculate Conception has been on campus for more than 40 years. It was displaced when the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering building was built, 2018-20 and moved to its present location near the ponds on the east end of campus. The Immaculate Conception is a Catholic doctrine that asserts that Mary, the Mother of God, was preserved from original sin.

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5

St. Louis the King

This statue depicts the famed namesake of the city as well as the university, Louis IX, King of France from 1226-1270, known for his commitment to justice, faith, family, and service to the poor.

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6

St. Francis Xavier College Church

Stained glass windows in the nave of the church depict the lives of Jesuit saints. In the south transept, images depict Jesuit professors and SLU students. The stained glass above the high altar is the Holy Trinity surrounded by a choir of angels with a rainbow passing through. The two principal side altars were created by famed 19th century sculptor Joseph Sibbel. Facing the altar, to the left is a depiction of Mary, Comforter of the Afflicted. To the right is the death of St. Joseph. Above the main doors is a small stained glass windows showing the coat of arms of Pope Pius XI who was pope when the stained glass of the church was installed. As you leave the church, take note of SLU’s iconic fountain across the street to the east as well as the former Jesuit Hall to the north.

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7

The Saint Louis University Museum of Art (SLUMA)

On the third floor of SLUMA can be found artifacts of Jesuit and Catholic life in St. Louis including the Fr. Pierre Jean De Smet, S.J., famed 19th century missionary to Native Americans in the Rocky Mountain West. (Open Wednesday – Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.)As one leaves SLUMA, stop at the stairs and look east to O’Neill Hall. The niche above the Lindell doors holds a Carrera marble statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus once installed on a side altar of the College Church.

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8

Pius Circle

At the north entrance to the Pius Library is a bronze statue of a seated Pope Pius XII. The library is named for Pope Pius honoring his decision to have the Vatican archives microfilmed and held in the Vatican Film Library of Saint Louis University.

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9

The Sunken Garden of Chaifetz School of Business

A statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was installed in this garden of the School of Commerce and Finance (established in 1910) in the 1950s. The School of Commerce and Finance is now the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business.

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10

Clocktower & Jonathan Smith Amphitheater

The clocktower in the center of the North Campus serves as a gathering space for students. In October 2014, in the wake of the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, six days of peaceful protest at the clocktower (Occupy SLU) resulted in the 13-point Clocktower Accords. Learn more at Clock Tower Accords : SLU

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11

Xavier Hall & Annex

Notice the bas relief above the entrances to Xavier Hall and the Annex. One depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary with the words in Latin, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Xavier Hall was originally built as the (girl’s) high school of the parish of St. Francis Xavier (College) Church. Over the Annex is an image of St. Francis Xavier, one of St. Ignatius' original companions and missionary to India and Japan.

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12

Fusz Memorial

Currently a student residence hall, the Fusz Memorial was built by the Jesuits of the Missouri Province to be the residence for Jesuit students in philosophy studies at SLU. Across the front wall of the entryway is a bas relief sculpture of the life of the founder of the Society of Jesus, St. Ignatius Loyola.

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13

Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA)

One of three museums found on SLU's campus, MOCRA brings an interfaith focus to contemporary art. Originally, the chapel of the Fusz Memorial, the St. Louis Jesuits debuted many of their most recognizable hymns at the masses celebrated in this chapel. Learn more at Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) : SLU

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14

Marguerite Hall

This statue of the Immaculate Conception was dedicated in 1957 by the first students to live in Marguerite Hall, named for the wife and queen of St. Louis, King of France.

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15

Catholic Studies Center

The Catholic Studies Center houses seminar rooms and offices supporting the CS major and minor as well as the offices of the Dean of the College of Philosophy and Letters. Enter from the west side to visit the Chapel of St. Edmund Campion, S.J. Learn more at Catholic Studies : SLU

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The Jesuit Center and the Chapel of Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom

Opened in August 2022, the Jesuit Center is the home for the Jesuits who work at SLU. Our Lady Seat of Wisdom chapel is open to the public weekdays, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. The crucifix holds a 19th century British representation of the crucified Christ, carved in walnut, surmounted by the placard ordered by Pontius Pilate – Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews – written in Greek, Latin and Hebrew.The image of Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom was commissioned by a SLU donor and installed in the Fall of 2022. At the request of the Jesuit community, the artist painted the mantel worn by the Blessed Virgin Mary, SLU blue.

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17

Spring Hall

An abstract depiction in bronze of the Blessed Virgin Mary dedicated in honor of Miss Mary Bruemmer, SLU’s first Dean of Women and long-lived employee and dedicated university volunteer.

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18

Center for Global Citizenship

The Center for Global Studies was built as the university gymnasium. On October 12, 1964, the West Pine gym hosted a standing room only audience of 3,900 who came to listen to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak, October 12, 1964. Two days later, Dr. King learned that he had been awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. King would later observe that he had "rarely appeared before an audience which accorded him the warm hospitality and thoughtful attention" the students had afforded him.

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19

Samuel Cupples House

Built by Samuel Cupples as a private home, the Cupples House features remarkable stone and wood work, period furnishings and many religious-themed paintings brought to SLU in the 1840s by Fr. Peter De Smet, S.J. SLU bought the house in 1947 and used it as the student life center until the Busch Student Center was opened in 1967. President Lyndon Johnson participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the BSC.In the Cupples House gardens and patio can be found images of the Jesuit “boy” saints: Aloysius Gonzaga, John Berchmans and Stanislaus Kostka. These Jesuits died prior to ordination--Gonzaga while studying theology, Berchmans while studying philosophy and Kostka while a novice.

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20

Vatican Film Library

The Vatican Film Library is a research collection for medieval and Renaissance manuscript studies that provides access to textual and visual resources of the pre-modern world. Established in 1953 with funding from the Knights of Columbus, it holds over 40,000 manuscripts from the 4th to the 17th centuries reproduced in microfilm and digital formats from the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana and other libraries. Learn more at Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library : SLU

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