St. Cronan’s Roman Catholic Church is not the largest congregation in the Archdiocese, but it is still going strong in the Grove neighborhood, sandwiched on the short blocks in between Manchester and Vandeventer on Boyle. The church is most likely named after St. Crónán of Roscrea, though there is another lesser known Irish saint of the same name from Balla. There is a spectacular sanctuary dedicated to the saint in Ireland. I suspect the church served the Irish immigrant community who lived in the working class houses of McRee City, the original name of the Grove, which was actually platted relatively early in the history of St. Louis.
It is a typical Gothic Revival church for St. Louis with no apparent transepts and a side entrance, but with a peculiarity among churches in the city; there is an entrance under a side tower to the north.
Like many St. Louis churches, there is a huge stained glass pointed Gothic window at the end of the nave facing the street without a narthex or main entrance.
To the south down Boyle is a wonderful rectory, and a rarity to survive to this day in St. Louis: an example in the Italianate style of architecture.
The one question I don’t know the answer to is whether the house was already built when the church moved in next door, or if it was built for the parish concurrently.
Across the street is the parish school, which looks to be from around the turn of the Twentieth Century, like many educational buildings in the Archdiocese.
