On Fridays during Lent, a six-week period leading up to Easter, Catholics are called on not to eat meat. But the fish fry is a St. Louis tradition that attracts people from all religious backgrounds.
There are fish fries all around the region, but St. Cecilia’s Church in South City puts its own spin on the tradition. Their seafood is served alongside homemade Mexican dishes like tamales and chiles.
Heather Sieve, the parish’s business manager, said it takes about 100 volunteers three days to prepare the food served each week.
“It takes a lot of work, but we do it with love,” Jessica Olmos, a volunteer, said.
The fish fry, which attracts about 1,200 people each week, is also lucrative for the church and school.
St. Cecilia’s, originally founded in 1907, was designated as a personal parish for Spanish-speaking members of the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 2005. Sieve said this means they don’t have geographical boundaries.
“If you’re Spanish speaking, this is your parish,” she said.
The fish fry was first created in 2005, after the parish’s new designation, to create a space for both English and Spanish speakers to come together.
Watch the segment below and check out our full 314 Day episode, celebrating other St. Louisans moving our region forward, here.
Contributed by Anne-Marie Berger, producer for Living St. Louis, and Molly Hart, social media coordinator