Cape Girardeau has grown, St. Francis Medical Center has moved and St. Vincent's Seminary and College have closed down. Much has changed since Bishop Marion Forst was pastor of St. Mary's Cathedral in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

But one thing has not changed, Forst said Sunday at a celebration by the cathedral for the 40th anniversary of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese.

"You still have great support from the community," he said. "The growth of everything around here is amazing. Another change is the work being done today by lay people. In those days it would have been done by sisters."

Forst, who was the pastor of St. Mary's Cathedral until 1960 when he was named bishop of Dodge City, Kan., said that kind of involvement by the public makes the community personally concerned with the workings of the church.

Bishop John J. Leibrecht said it was a natural decision to ask Forst to participate in the diocese's anniversary celebration at St. Mary's.

"He was here from the beginning of the diocese, he was one of our pastors; in fact, he was pastor of the cathedral," Leibrecht said. "So we invited him back to be with us and also to preach today."

Forst helped Leibrecht bless the hundreds of people who assembled for the special Mass at St. Mary's. He then took the podium for the first time in many years. He praised those in attendance for 40 years of growth and good work.

"Forty years ago, I'm sure there were people who maintained we wouldn't make it," he said.

Forst, who is in semi-retirement now in Kansas City, Kan., said he hasn't been to Cape Girardeau for almost 15 years.

When he first took the reins of St. Mary's Cathedral in 1949, his church was in need of work. In 1956, when the diocese was formed, Forst was given a new title, but his work remained the same.

The formation of the diocese, Forst said, freed Cape Girardeau and Springfield from the shadow of St. Louis.

"The diocese signified a radical change," he said. "Up to that time all of this area was a part of the diocese in St. Louis. The territory became independent and no longer depended on St. Louis. The area of Cape Girardeau-Springfield became an independent unit and it had to set up its own organization.

"For lack of a better word, this area was an orphan, everybody thought everything goes to St. Louis. Now it runs its own."

Even after spending some exciting years in Dodge City, which Forst said might even be wilder than it was 100 years ago, the bishop still has fond memories of Cape Girardeau.

"This area was always fortunate in having good lay people," he said. "There's a willingness here, not only in their support financially but enthusiastically in their work with the schools, parishes and charitable organizations."