Grand Priest's Court

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Lore & Background

The Veiled Prophet Organization was founded in 1878 by prominent St. Louisans, a highly select group culled from the area's business, civic and governmental leaders. The first 14 members, later called The Originals, met a week after the initial March 20, 1878 meeting at the Lindell Hotel to establish rules and a hierarchy. There was to be the Grand Oracle and two High Priests. The Originals included George Bain, Henry T. Kent, Leigh O. Knapp, John B. Maude, George Morgan, J.C. Normille, Henry Paschall, Emil Preetorius, John G. Priest, D. P. Roland, William H. H. Russel, John A. Scudder, Alonzo Slayback and Charles Slayback. Charles Slayback, a grain broker who had spent several years during Reconstruction in New Orleans and was a member of the Mystic Krewe of Comus, called the initial meeting. He used his Mystic Krewe connections to purchase twenty floats (worth approximately $20,000 then) for $8,000. In the summer of 1878, about 200 members were initiated. Eligible members had to be a resident of St. Louis, at least 25 years old, of good character, and willing to assist with any project if asked. Historian Thomas Spencer argues the elite founded the organization to exert dominance and reclaim the streets from the working class after the General Strike of 1877, boost the St. Louis Agricultural and Mechanical Fair attendance, and create an exclusive organization for business connections and influence.

In Their Own Story

In 1878, the first ball was referred to as a bal masque but only the Veiled Prophets themselves could attend en masque. The Veiled Prophets would continue to attend the ball en masque for the first few years. Other venues hosted spin off balls for those that weren't invited to the actual VP ball. In 1894, after the St. Louis Autumnal Festival Association disbanded, they switched from having a Belle of the Ball to a Queen of Love and Beauty. At first, the parade and ball were held on the same night until 1924. From 1925 to 1949, the ball was held the night after the parade. In the ceremony, each Special Maid of Honor in the Queen's court is paired with a Veiled Prophet, in full veiled headdress. The Queen of Love and Beauty is paired with the Grand Oracle of the Veiled Prophets. In 1967, the Queen and Special Maids were removed from the parade. The next year, the parade was moved from downtown to the Central West End. That was also the last year the Veiled Prophet parade occurred at night due to increasing animosity and protests. In 1969, the parade was shifted to daylight hours, also marking the first in which the Prophet did not appear in the parade. In 1995, the name of the riverfront celebration was changed to Fair Saint Louis, though the street procession was still called Veiled Prophet Parade. The date was fixed for Independence Day. It continued to be funded by the Veiled Prophet Organization. In 2021, the "Veiled Prophet Parade" was replaced by the "American Birthday Parade". In early 2024, St. Louis Public Radio reported that the VP organization removed the Veiled Prophet figurehead in an effort to move away from its troubled history. At the December 2024 debutante ball, the main prophet figurehead was still there but referred to as the Grand Oracle. Instead of a veil, the GO had a golden mask and long beard. However, the main Veiled Prophet figure has been called the Grand Oracle within the organization since its inception.

Reader's Guide

The Veiled Prophet Organization is an anonymous society founded in 1878 by all-white and male only civic leaders. The organization chooses a member to be a Veiled Prophet who conducts meetings and oversees activities. Originally, the Veiled Prophet parade was a nighttime event. The organization had its roots in the St. Louis Agricultural and Mechanical Fair, an annual festival and exposition beginning in 1856. Featuring agricultural crops, mechanical innovations, artists, crafts, merchants, inventors and demonstrations, it grew to be an Exposition that was popular nation wide. Spencer wrote that city boosters devised the Veiled Prophet organization and parade in an attempt to reclaim the fading pre-eminence for St. Louis as a manufacturing center and agricultural shipping point from the rapidly growing city of Chicago. The first visit of the Prophet was in 1878, after the Great Panic of 1875, when business needed reviving and St. Louis needed development. Similar Mardi Gras like organizations would continue to pop up in the decades after the Veiled Prophet's creation to boost their city's economical growth, however short lived they were. Some hosted balls as well. They include Omaha's Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben, Lincoln's Tartarrax Pageant, Kansas City's Priests of Pallas, Baltimore's Order of the Oriole, Des Moines' Seni Om Sed, Cincinnati's Order of Cincinnatus, and Louisville's Satellites of Mercury. In 2003, the organization created a Community Service Initiative, through which members participate in a wide variety of projects in and around the city of St. Louis. In 2016, it secured a trademark for the name America's Birthday Parade. Over the past nearly 150 years, it has been referred to as the Veiled Prophet(s), Order of the Veiled Prophets, the Veiled Prophet Order, Veiled Prophet organization, and more recently the Veiled Prophet Society, VP St. Louis etc. However, it should not be confused with the masonic Mystic Order of the Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm.

Did You Know?

• The first 14 members of the Veiled Prophet Organization were called 'The Originals' and included Charles Slayback, who had been a member of the Mystic Krewe of Comus in New Orleans.
• Charles Slayback used his Mystic Krewe connections to purchase twenty floats worth approximately $20,000 for only $8,000.
• In 1894, after the St. Louis Autumnal Festival Association disbanded, the ball switched from having a Belle of the Ball to a Queen of Love and Beauty.
• The Veiled Prophet parade was moved from nighttime to daylight hours in 1969, also the first year the Prophet did not appear in the parade.
• In 2021, the 'Veiled Prophet Parade' was replaced by the 'American Birthday Parade'.