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PODCAST

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of America’s Heartland

Covenant Network

Msgr. Michael John Witt was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis in 1990. Before that, he served the Church for twenty-two years as a Christian Brother teaching in Oklahoma, Missouri and Tennessee. He holds a Ph.D. in Modern European History from Saint Louis University and a Masters in Divinity from Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. He has served the archdiocese as associate pastor, pastor, Director of Continuing Formation for Priests, and Director of the Permanent Diaconate. Following his

history

All Episodes

23:45

Ep 3.40: War on the Homefront: Camps, Chaplains, and...

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/04/20

In this episode, we turn our attention from distant battlefields to Missouri’s own wartime landscape, where military bases, flight schools, and POW camps reshaped daily life across the state. Monsignor recounts the surprising presence of Italian and German prisoners in places like Wine Garden, Sykeston, and Gumbo Flats, and the remarkable pastoral work of St. Louis priests who traveled long distances—often with rationed fuel and worn tires—to hear confessions, offer Mass, and bring humanity into the

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21:14

Ep 3.39: Chaplains in the Fire: St. Louis Priests at War

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/04/20

In this episode, we step directly into the spiritual front lines of World War II, where St. Louis priests traded parish life for foxholes, field hospitals, and the decks of troop ships. Monsignor takes us through the astonishing scale of the chaplaincy effort—12,000 clergy serving nationwide, including 3,000 Catholic priests—and the remarkable contribution of St. Louis, which sent more chaplains than nearly any other diocese in the country. We hear vivid stories pulled from long‑forgotten memoirs in

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20:44

Ep 3.38: The Anvil and the Hammer: Defying the Darkness

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/04/20

In this gripping episode, the story moves into one of the most chilling chapters of the 20th century as the Nazi euthanasia program comes into full view. Monsignor recounts how the regime cloaked mass murder behind soothing bureaucratic names and “mercy” language, and how ordinary Germans slowly realized the truth through the smell of crematoria and the confessions of drunken orderlies. Yet even in this darkness, a powerful light emerges in the figure of Bishop Clemens von Galen, whose fearless

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21:16

Ep 3.37: The Machinery of Darkness: Hitler’s Rise and...

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/04/20

As the 1930s tighten their grip on Europe, this episode traces the chilling transformation of Adolf Hitler from a political fringe figure into the architect of a totalitarian state. Monsignor walks us through the calculated steps that followed Hitler’s electoral defeat—his back‑door ascent to the chancellorship, the manipulation of fear after the Reichstag fire, and the swift consolidation of power through the Enabling Acts.With the Night of the Long Knives, Germany becomes the first nation

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22:43

Ep 3.36: The Seeds of Darkness: Ideologies That...

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/04/20

As the world edges toward its second global conflict, this episode steps back to examine the toxic intellectual soil from which the 20th century’s greatest horrors grew. Monsignor traces the disturbing philosophical lineage behind National Socialism—ideas drawn not from serious scholarship but from pseudoscience, racial mythology, and fringe literature that shaped Adolf Hitler’s worldview. At the same time, America wrestles with its own ideological battles. We explore the rise of Margaret Sanger,

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21:43

Ep 3.35: Leo’s Demons and the Descent Toward War

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/04/13

As the 20th century barrels toward its darkest hours, this episode opens with a haunting scene: a St. Louis priest‑chaplain whispering the Prayer to St. Michael over the hood of a jeep while German artillery thunders in the distance. From that moment, we widen the lens to confront the century Pope Leo XIII foresaw—a century in which human dignity is assaulted on every front. We trace the chain of upheavals that shaped the world between the wars: the preventable carnage of World War I, the vengeful

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23:43

Ep 3.34: The Radio Priest and the Roar of the 1930s

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/04/13

In this sweeping chapter of the turbulent 1930s, the spotlight turns to Father Charles Coughlin—the fiery “radio priest” whose voice reached millions and whose political thunder rattled even the Roosevelt White House. What began as pastoral concern for unemployed auto workers in suburban Detroit soon grew into a national broadcast phenomenon, complete with fan mail that outpaced the President’s and sermons that spilled from front porches across America. But admiration gave way to controversy as

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22:50

Ep 3-33: The Year the Country Went Looking for Answers

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/04/13

As the Great Depression grinds on, the political landscape of 1936 turns strangely theatrical. With unemployment still painfully high and the New Deal reshaping American life, the midterm elections give President Roosevelt an overwhelming mandate—and unleash a wave of bold, bizarre, and sometimes dangerous ideas. From the Supreme Court’s pushback against federal overreach to the rise of rural Catholic critics defending subsidiarity, the nation wrestles with the limits of government power. Meanwhile,

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20:24

Ep 3-32: Charity in the Crucible: How St. Louis...

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/04/13

In the depths of the Great Depression, St. Louis Catholics mounted one of the most remarkable relief efforts in the city’s history. Monsignor and Teresa explore the extraordinary leadership of Archbishop John J. Glennon, whose Archbishop’s Emergency Charity Fund mobilized nearly $380,000 at a moment when few had anything to spare. Drawing from long‑hidden archival documents, they uncover the human stories behind the statistics—families surviving in basement rooms, neighbors feeding strangers, and

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24:40

Ep 3-31: The Hundred Days That Shook St. Louis

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/04/13

As Franklin D. Roosevelt steps into the White House amid the worst economic collapse in American history, St. Louis braces for the impact—and the possibilities. Monsignor and Teresa trace the opening months of the New Deal, from bank holidays and emergency legislation to the sudden surge of hope that swept across the nation. They explore how federal programs like the CCC, PWA, and FDIC reshaped daily life, how beer’s return on April 7 brought unexpected cheer to St. Louisans, and how massive public

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23:57

Ep 3.30: The Bonus Army and the Breaking Point

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/03/30

In this gripping chapter of St. Louis Church History, Monsignor and Teresa trace the cascading crises of 1932 as the Great Depression deepens and desperation spreads across the nation. What begins as a small group of unemployed veterans in Portland swells into the 25,000‑strong “Bonus Army,” descending on Washington, D.C. to demand early payment of their promised wartime bonus. Their disciplined encampments, the sympathy they receive across the country—including a memorable stop in St. Louis—and

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20:58

Ep 3.29: The Bottom Falls Out: St. Louis Meets the...

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/03/30

In this sobering chapter of the story, Monsignor walks us through the cascading forces that brought the American economy to its knees in 1929. From overproduction on farms and in factories to the fragile international debt cycle left behind by World War I, the stage was set long before Black Thursday sent Wall Street into freefall. As the stock market collapsed and banks failed, St. Louis families faced repossessions, shuttered businesses, and staggering unemployment—especially among African

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23:49

Ep 3.28: Fear Itself: Al Smith, Anti‑Catholic Fury,...

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/03/30

In this episode, Monsignor and Teresa step into the political firestorm of 1928, when Catholic candidate Al Smith faced a tidal wave of anti‑Catholic prejudice, cultural suspicion, and the full force of the Ku Klux Klan. Monsignor traces Smith’s rise from Brooklyn’s streets to the New York governor’s mansion, his doomed presidential bid against the wildly popular Herbert Hoover, and the deep anxieties that shaped the nation on the eve of the Great Depression. As Hoover’s engineering mindset meets

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22:44

Ep 3.27: Building the Catholic Mind: The Rise of St....

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/03/30

In this episode, Monsignor takes us into the formative years of Catholic secondary education in St. Louis—a story far richer and more complex than most realize. At the turn of the 20th century, high school was still a rarity, and Catholic options for boys were almost nonexistent. We follow Archbishop Glennon’s ambitious push to change that landscape, the creation of the first archdiocesan high schools, and the surprising challenges that came with convincing families and pastors to support them. From

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21:29

Ep. 3.26 - Building Faith in a Changing World:...

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/03/30

In this episode, Monsignor takes us into the early 1920s, a decade when the Catholic Church in St. Louis found itself navigating a rapidly changing America. The Knights of Columbus emerge as major players on the world stage—honored in Rome, funding schools, defending religious liberty, and standing firm against the rising hostility of the Ku Klux Klan. At the same time, the automobile revolution reshapes daily life, prompting the Archdiocese to expand outward with new parishes, mission churches, and

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23:44

Ep 3.22 - Cathedral Rising: The Parishes and Projects...

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/03/23

In this episode, Monsignor and Teresa conclude their sweeping tour of early‑20th‑century parish foundations by spotlighting two historic city parishes—St. Philip Neri in Walnut Park and St. Mary Magdalene on Kingshighway—before turning to the monumental projects that reshaped Catholic life in St. Louis: the construction of the Cathedral Basilica and the founding of Kenrick Seminary. Monsignor traces Archbishop Glennon’s bold vision, the extraordinary generosity of clergy and laity, the architectural

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21:58

Ep 3.23 The Turbulent Twenties Begin: Prohibition,...

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/03/23

In this powerful opening to Chapter 5, Monsignor and Teresa step into the turbulent 1920s—a decade marked by upheaval, conflict, and rapid social change in St. Louis. The episode opens with two vivid scenes: a chaotic Prohibition‑era raid at the Chase Hotel and a deadly gang shooting that claimed an innocent life, illustrating how bootlegging and organized crime reshaped the city’s streets. Monsignor then traces the deeper forces transforming St. Louis, including the Great Migration, the collapse of

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22:04

Ep 3.25: Gangs, Bootleggers, and a Priest in the...

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/03/23

In this episode, Monsignor and Teresa continue their deep dive into the turbulent 1920s, turning their focus to the rise of St. Louis gang culture during Prohibition. Monsignor traces the intertwined stories of Tom Egan, Snake Kenny, and the rival Hogan and Egan gangs—men whose lives moved between politics, saloons, and violent street power. Alongside these underworld battles, he highlights the remarkable pastoral presence of Father Timothy Dempsey, who ministered to dying gang leaders, negotiated

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24:03

Ep 3.24 - Prohibition, Prejudice, and the Rise of the...

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/03/23

In this continuation of the “Turbulent Twenties,” Monsignor and Teresa explore how Prohibition, racial tension, and the rise of organized crime collided in St. Louis. The episode opens with vivid accounts of a chaotic New Year’s Eve raid at the Chase Hotel and a deadly gang shooting that claimed an innocent bystander—scenes that reveal how quickly the city was changing under the pressures of bootlegging and lawlessness. Monsignor then widens the lens to examine the Great Migration, the economic and

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22:19

Ep 3:21 Foundations of Faith: The Final Wave of Early...

Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of... ·

2026/03/23

In this episode, Monsignor and Teresa continue their sweeping tour of early‑20th‑century parish building, tracing how Archbishop Glennon’s era saw an explosion of new Catholic communities across St. Louis. They explore the founding of All Souls in Overland, St. Adalbert for the Polish community, St. Rita in Vinita Park, St. John the Baptist in South City, and St. Luke’s in Richmond Heights—each shaped by shifting neighborhoods, streetcar lines, and the tireless energy of pastors determined to plant

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