Cathedral rector helped start chapter

The St. Louis Chapter’s beloved chaplain heard about Legatus and took action . . .

Monsignor Joseph Pins
St. Louis Chapter

Any Catholic who’s ever spent much time in St. Louis will tell you that the city’s cathedral basilica is a must-see. Its mosaics collectively contain 41.5 million glass tesserae pieces in more than 7,000 colors. Covering 83,000 square feet, it’s one of the largest mosaic collections in the world. The parish’s rector, Monsignor Joseph Pins, is nearly as colorful as the basilica he’s in charge of. He is beloved by local Legates for his kind demeanor and for helping establish the chapter.

You were an early vocation. Tell me about your call to the priesthood.

It was during the Stations of the Cross on a Lenten Friday when I was in first grade. I knew that God wanted me to do something for Him and that I should be a priest. Over the next 20 years it would come back again periodically. So, I went to the archdiocesan seminary and was ordained in 1970.

How did you get started with Legatus?

When I was assigned to the old cathedral downtown, we had a lot of business people who would come over to church to pray and to go to Mass. Many years later, I read about Legatus in the National Catholic Register. I called the executive director because the article said this was an organization for Catholic CEOs and presidents. I said “Well, I’ve got a whole parish full of them!”

He later called me and said they were coming to see the archbishop and try to organize a chapter here. He asked me for recommendations for a chapter coordinator and members. The archbishop later called me and asked if I wanted to be the chaplain, and I agreed to do it to get the chapter started. Well, I’m still doing it. Our official chartering was in December 1996.

What impact has Legatus had on you?

It has challenged me to recognize that a lot of these people — who are very busy in their own lives — are very serious about their faith. It has challenged me always to be prepared for a homily and for Mass. It keeps me on my toes.

You’ve been assigned to the cathedral twice — as associate pastor and as rector. What’s it like being at a busy, tourist-attraction-like parish?

It challenges us to recognize that we have a unique opportunity to evangelize people who would never otherwise set foot inside a church, in terms of the tourists.

We have a very expansive organization, Friends of the Cathedral, who are in charge of guides, docents who are always here for the tourists, to help them to appreciate this church. When they explain the mosaics, they’re explaining art. But they also use that art to explain the reasonableness and beauty of our faith. It’s not infrequent that we’ll hear someone come in and say, “There has to be a God.”

Outside of your priestly duties, do you have any hobbies?

I read a lot. I read a good deal of Agatha Christie-type mysteries, and I read a lot of Joseph Pieper-type philosophy stuff — only because I enjoy thinkers.

I also have a fascination with fountain pens. I have a collection of old fountain pens — some older fountain pens and some handmade fountain pens.

What’s your oldest one?

It’s a nurse’s pen, a Schaefer that goes back to about the early 1920s. It’s smaller than the normal pens and the clip on it is a little different because nurses would wear it on their uniform by hooking it on the cuff of their sleeve.