The first site of Our Lady, Help of Christians Church was on land transferred by John and Christina Huesgen to St. Louis University in 1863.  Until a church could be built, masses were held in the home of William Thoenen about once a month.  A log church was  built in 1865, and it was Father Jacob Buschostts who gave the parish its name, Maria Hilf (Mary Help).  Maria Hilf was regarded as a missionary church of the Immaculate Conception Church in Loose Creek.

The area around Maria Hilf continued to grow, and in 1873, a second Maria Hilf Church was built on land donated by two parishioners, Gottfried Franken and John Huesgen.  In 1885, the Reverend Joseph F.M. Diel, became the first resident pastor of Maria Hilf parish.  There were about fifty families that belonged to the parish.  In addition to the church, a small parochial school operated out of the parish rectory, established by the Reverend Peter A. Krier, S.J., pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Loose Creek.

Father John Bachmeirer arrived as pastor in 1889.  He proposed the building of a new church and school in a new location about 3 miles northwest of Luystown, a town he chose to name, Frankenstein.  There are different versions as to why the town was named “Frankenstein”.  One version is that the name chosen was to honor Gottfried Franken, who donated land for the second Maria Hilf site.  One other explanation maintains that Father Bachmeirer chose the name “Frankenstein” to honor a German benefactor by that name who sent money to help establish the emerging community.  In the summer of 1890, in order to raise money for the new church/school, parishioners held a church picnic.  Thus, beginning an annual tradition that continues to this day.  The church/school building was completed in 1892.

The parish in Frankenstein grew and flourished, and the need arose for a bigger church to accommodate the growing parish. Father Alphonse Nicolas initiated the building of a new church in 1921.  Material was provided locally as teams of horses and mules hauled wagons full of quarried stone from a local area to the site of the new church. Led by head stone mason, Tony Gabelsberger, and with the talent and hard labor of parishioners, the new structure was completed in 1923, and was dedicated on September 1 of that year.  The 127 by 45-foot church has a 45 by 18-foot extension connected to the bell tower.   The 72-foot bell tower has three landings.  Another notable feature of the church is its red-tiled, Italian roof, which can be seen as far away as Linn and Loose Creek.  To this day, the beautiful, Romanesque church remains the heart of Frankenstein.

A new school was erected in 1963.  Today, St. Mary School serves students in grades K-8, and emphasizes spiritual growth and academic excellence.

Our Lady, Help of Christians celebrated its Sesquicentennial on July 6, 2013.

Our Lady, Help of Christians Parish remains a faith-filled community that continues to thrive with the hard work and dedication of its parishioners and the support of many friends and surrounding communities.