The current St. Ann Catholic Church was the first Catholic in the modern style in St. Louis. It attracted a great amount of attention when it was built. It was featured in Time Magazine, Popular Mechanics, and the Encyclopedia  Britannica along with church architecture publications and local media.

The Passionist fathers worked with Joseph Dennis Murphy, the Dean of architecture at Washington University, to produce plans for a new church. In February 1948 the plans were approved by the Archdiocese. Later that same year the Passionist fathers left and Archdiocesan priests took over the parish. Rev. Frederick J Sprenke was named the new pastor.  Construction on the new church began in September 1949 and the cornerstone was laid a year later in November 1950.