The Jesuits of Saint Louis University and the Sisters of Saint Mary
During the decade of the 20's, several changes took place at Saint Louis University. The Graduate School was formed, research facilities and areas of specialization were expanded, and women were admitted to the campus for the first time. By this time the Sisters of Saint Mary of the Third Order of Saint Francis had established several health care facilities in the St. Louis, Missouri (United States) area following a more humble beginning.
The Sisters work in St. Louis, Missouri, dates from the later half of the
nineteenth century. They arrived in St. Louis during one of
the coldest winters on record and one of its most devastating
smallpox epidemics. The small band of sisters under the direction
Odilia Berger was known at that time as the Sisters of
the Divine Heart of Jesus. They ministered to smallpox victims
in their homes as no hospitals for those with contagious diseases
existed at that time. They resided in a two-story tenement
on Third and Gratiot Streets. As a result of their work they
became known throughout the city as "the smallpox Sisters."
In 1873, the sisters moved into a new convent built on the grounds of Saint Mary's Church where they became known as "the Sisters from Saint Mary's." In 1874, the name of the order was changed officially to The Sisters of Saint Mary of the Third Order of Saint Francis.
Saint Mary's Infirmary
In 1877, they opened a hospital in a renovated house on Papin Street that became known as Saint Mary's Infirmary. Here they cared for the poor who were unable to pay for hospital services. From these beginnings the number of their hospitals grew in the St. Louis, Missouri, area along with their hospital schools of nursing where the sisters were trained to care for the sick.
The sister's work and influence in health care moved ahead quickly. In 1907,
they had established The Saint Mary's Infirmary School of
Nursing for the training of their own sisters. An educational
deficit existed in society at that time that prevented the
sisters from pursuing a higher education, i.e., women's lack
of a high school foundation. The deficit needed correcting
before the sisters could continue their education. A plan
was worked out with the Jesuits and Saint
Louis University High School that allowed the sisters
to receive necessary courses and the high school certificate
of credit for entrance into the university.
Rev. Mother Mary Concordia Pudendahl
It was one of several collaborative efforts between the Jesuits and the Sisters of Saint Mary that eventually solidified the establishment of Saint Louis University School of Nursing. Under the persistent leadership of the Rev. Mother Mary Concordia Pudendahl, Mother General of the Order in 1921, the sisters received general and specialized university education necessary for functioning as practitioners and teachers in the health care field.
In 1924, the Jesuits of Saint Louis University and the Sisters of St. Mary entered into a formal agreement designating the hospitals operated by the Sisters as teaching hospitals for the University's School of Medicine. The institutions in operation at that time were Saint Mary's Infirmary, Mount Saint Rose Sanitarium, and Saint Mary's Hospital. The agreement was formalized in a ten-page document dated February 13, 1924, with an effective date of September 1, 1924.
Mount Saint Rose Sanitarium
Saint Mary's Hospital
Father William J. Robison, S.J.
The document signed by Father William J. Robison, S.J., President of Saint Louis University, and the Reverend Mother M. Concordia , S.S.M., Superior General of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Mary of the Third Order of Saint Francis is filed in the School of Nursing archives. This collaboration proved to be mutually beneficial to the Jesuits of Saint Louis University and the Sisters of Saint Mary, and it greatly influenced the establishment of the School of Nursing four years later.
On June 2, 1931, the cornerstone of the Firmin Desloge Hospital was laid. The hospital, in memory of Mr. Firmin Desloge who died in December 1929, was a gift from the Desloge family to the Jesuits of Saint Louis University and the Sisters of Saint Mary - a dual ownership with each having equal interest in its assets and liabilities. The hospital opened its doors in 1933.
Firmin Desloge Hospital
Desloge Hospital Chapel (exterior)
Desloge Hospital Chapel (interior)
Saint Louis University Hospital
Additional funds for the building of the hospital chapel were donated some years later by Mrs. Firmin Desloge. It was designed by the famous Gothic revivalist architect, Ralph Adams Cram, to echo the contours of the St. Chapelle in Paris. In 1983, it was declared a landmark by the Missouri Historical Society.
The hospital name was eventually changed to the University Hospital, and it had continued to serve the medical center as a university entity until March 1998 when a national trend in health care toward forming large health care centers resulted in its sale to the Tenet Healthcare System which operates numerous hospitals throughout the country. The event was deeply felt by many alumni and employees. The name of Saint Louis University Hospital, however, has been maintained
and the sale agreement stipulated that the mission, purpose, and ideals of the University are to be preserved.