Arnold is expected to have a Catholic church building again near the end of next year.
The Holy Family Catholic Parish on Sept. 12 held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new church, which may be completed in time for the parish to celebrate Christmas Mass inside it in December 2027.
More than 200 people attended the ceremony, which included Holy Family Pastor Gerald Blessing leading a prayer for the new church, Arnold Mayor Bill Moritz giving the parish a proclamation, state Rep. Phil Amato giving the parish a resolution and Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski blessing the grounds the church will be built on at 2300 Church Road.
“It was great to see that many people on this hot day,” Blessing said. “They were troopers. The Archbishop’s words were very nice. I couldn’t be happier.”
Holy Family was formed when the Immaculate Conception and St. David parishes merged in August 2023 as part of the Archdiocese of St. Louis’ “All Things New” initiative.
“In All Things New, we said we had to plan for the church in the 21st century,” Rozanski said. “Everybody coming together in support of this new church structure is the fruits of All Things New.”
The Holy Family Church will be built where the Immaculate Conception Church was located near Church Road. The parish stopped celebrating mass in the Immaculate Conception Church in April 2025 after a tornado damaged the church’s steeple in March of that year.
The parish has celebrated mass in the Parish Center since closing Immaculate Conception Church, which was demolished in October 2025.
“It is a dream come true,” said Diane Wilson of Barnhart, one of the honorary chairs of the capital campaign committee and a member of the parish for 64 years. “I am a seventh-generation parishioner. My great-great-great-great-great-grandfather helped build the other church.
“I am so excited that everybody stepped up and made the sacrifices necessary to build another church. It is so important to have a Catholic church in Arnold.”
The Immaculate Conception Parish was established in 1840, and the St. David Catholic Parish was established in 1960, with the cornerstone at St. David Church blessed in 1964.
The Immaculate Conception Church was built in 1895.
Holy Family stopped using the St. David Church on the Tenbrook Road campus, 2334 Tenbrook Road, in 2024 after its HVAC stopped working.
Amanda Macke, who has been a member of the parish for 23 years and is part of the leadership team, said the groundbreaking was a momentous occasion.
“It was a beautiful day for our parish and the Arnold community to come together to do something that hasn’t been done in over 70 years, since St. David was built,” said Macke of Imperial. “I felt the ceremony really brought people together.”
Ted Mallette, who has been a member of the parish for 26 years after his family moved to Arnold in 2000, said it is important for the parish to have a church building.
“It’s important so people can have somewhere to celebrate their faith that isn’t a converted gym,” said Mallette, who now lives in Festus. “It brings a more religious experience. It helps promote faith better.”
The parish received $5,787,833 in pledges following a capital campaign, which was called “One Faith. One Community. One Future: A Campaign for Holy Family Parish,” that began on Feb. 1.
The parish also sold the Tenbrook Road campus, 2334 Tenbrook Road, which was home to the old St. David Catholic Church, to Rockport Baptist Church for $1.75 million. Parish leaders said money from the sale of the Tenbrook campus will be used to help pay for the construction of the new church.
Rockport purchased the Tenbrook Road campus after selling its church property, 3761 Telegraph Road, for $2 million to the Rock Community Fire Protection District.
“I’m so impressed with how quickly the money was collected to build the church,” said Barb Meiser, who became a member of the parish in 2009 after moving to the Arnold area from Michigan. “There are people who say the Catholic church is dying, but not here.”
Based on architectural renderings and floor plans, the new church will have a steeple similar to the former Immaculate Conception Church, and the building will be able to seat up to 400 people.
The floor plans showed there will be four rows of pews with a choir area, storage area and multi-purpose room. The altar will be flanked by the sacristy and a servers’ vesting and storage area.
The new church also will have indoor bathrooms near the main entrance; the Immaculate Conception Church had bathrooms added behind the building. The new church also will have a large lobby area where people may gather before and after Mass and for other parish events.
Chiodini Architects designed the church, and Musick Construction is the general contractor.
Stephen Faller, who has been a member of the parish for 46 years and lives in Arnold, said the Immaculate Conception Parish members have been preparing for a new church for a long time.
“We talked about this seriously 15 years ago about building a new church before it got too bad,” he said. “God gave us a hint 15 years ago to get started, and we didn’t listen. I think we have the right group of people to get this done. I really do hope that we have Christmas Mass (in the new church) in 2027.”
Holy Family Catholic School Principal Bridget Brennell said the new church is about more than a building to hold Mass and other ceremonies.
“It is a physical sign of our faith, hope and commitment to our future,” she said. “Even though the building is new, the faith that it is built upon has been handed down for generations for us to carry on for future generations.”
Moritz said he wanted to be part of the groundbreaking for reasons beyond delivering the city’s proclamation.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” he said. “My father-in-law (Elmer “Bud” Meyer) was baptized in the old church. I think our whole city will benefit from this new church.”
Amato said he is impressed by what Holy Family members are doing in Arnold.
“You always hope for a church to bring faith to a community,” he said. “Immaculate Conception was the oldest church in Jefferson County, and St. David was built when I was in junior high school in Arnold. For those parishes to come together, it is an outstanding thing.”
Blessing said the new church is a symbol of what the Archdiocese wanted to accomplish with “All Things New.”
“All Things New was supposed to bring communities together,” he said. “I think the church itself is a sign of the building of the new. I am blessed to be here as part of it.”
