The cathedral-like church is a story of a growing melting-pot America. In the new country, and in a city named after a benevolent king of France, a German American congregation built a Gothic Revival church under the patronage of a French saint. The imported German architectural design by Englebert Seibertz was modified by an immigrant, Victor Klutho, originally from Alsace-Lorraine. The superb craftsmanship of the ornate reredos at the main altar was the work of another German immigrant, Egid Hackner of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Stained glass windows were designed and crafted by a fine artisan Emil Frei, originally from Bavaria. The interior of the church was filled with emblems of the old country, and the saints venerated by their ancestors.

This immense church was built to last. The new St. Francis de Sales church symbolized the hopes and dreams of the immigrants, deeply rooted in the traditions and heritage of their forefathers. It was a brick-and-mortar symbol of American values of the time: faith of the immigrants, beauty and grandeur in the midst of hard work and sacrifice, venerable traditions in a new land, and stalwart hope for the future.

Since its dedication in 1908, the fate of St. Francis de Sales church closely dovetailed that of the city in which it was conceived. The population of St. Louis peaked in 1950, and had steadily declined ever since, bringing many changes to the neighborhoods of St. Louis. The latter part of the 20th Century saw many urban renewal projects to counteract these effects, such as the construction of the St. Louis Arch and the gentrification of the Washington Avenue Historic District.

St. Francis de Sales flourished when the city flourished, and declined when the city declined. By the end of the 20th century, shifting demographics and suburbanization in south St. Louis left this majestic church nearly empty, and its condition reduced to a shadow of its former grandeur. As the 100th anniversary of its dedication approached, this majestic church faced obsolescence.