St. Stanislaus Seminary Paintings

St Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant, Missouri – Oil Paintings
Paintings are currently at the St. Louis Art Museum – St. Louis, Missouri

In 1933, John Mallin created two oil paintings of St Ignatius Loyola and St Francis Xavier for the St. Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant, Missouri, which were requested by the Very Rev. R.R. Rooney, S.J. The St Ignatius Loyola painting is a copy of the famous Reubens portrait of St. Ignatius which was probably specifically requested by the Jesuits at the Seminary. The original Reubens painting is at the Norton-Simon Museum in Pasadena California. The other painting Mallin provided is that of St. Francis Xavier, which was a gift from the juniors at the seminary.

The paintings are each three by seven feet, and were originally on the east wall of the refectory dining room, which was located in the basement level of the chapel. The cost of the paintings was $150 each. Correspondence between Mallin and Rev. Rickard Rooney, S.J., include the financial details and other information about the paintings.

The Seminary closed in 1971 due to a lack of religious vocations. In 1973 the seminary became the Museum of the Western Jesuit Missions, but it closed in 2001. The museum and Mallin paintings were moved to the St. Louis University Art Museum in St. Louis, Missouri. The two paintings are displayed in the Collection of the Western Jesuit Missions. The original black and white photos of the paintings were included in one of Mallin’s brochures. Links to the photos of the paintings at the museum are included below.

References

• Email correspondence from David Suwalsky SJ, formerly at St Louis University, 2005.
• Email correspondence from Mary Struckel, secretary of the Jesuit Archives, 2005.
• Mallin correspondence with Rev. R.R. Rooney S.J., 1932, 1933.
• St. Ignatius painting at the SLU Art Museum (Painting is on the wall behind the Globe)
• St Francis Xavier painting at the SLU Art Museum