During the 1970s the Rev. Salvatore E. Polizzi had become a national figure for his work in The Hill neighborhood of St. Louis. Residents were shocked when news came that he was being reassigned. Here is our coverage from March 1, 1980.

A friend of his calls it the mustache incident. In telling about it, there is a bit of soft laughter. It is so like him, said the other priest. Years ago, the Rev. Salvatore E. Polizzi grew a fine mustache. He was proud of it, as most new mustache-growers are. Time went by, and he learned, through the labyrinthian ways of the archdiocese, that Cardinal John Joseph Carberry, then the archbishop, was not at all pleased.