Century old church comes down

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Holy Angels Church on the near north side of Indianapolis has been demolished. Rubble sits where for more than a century, parishioners gathered, in sickness and in health. But the death of the building is not causing the parish to part.

"We knew the building was in bad shape and it was going to need to be replaced," says parish priest Father Kenneth Taylor.

Mold, rotting walls and a collapsing roof made it too expensive to fix the church, ending a run that began in 1903 near what is now 28th street and MLK.

"I'm not only the pastor here now, but I grew up in this Parish. As a kid I went to this church. Went to the school here. And so I've got a lot of personal memories here," says Father Taylor. He has been a part of the church since the 1950's. Seeing it fall makes him remember.

"There was an old pipe organ up there which had gone out of use many years ago. But an organ society came and salvaged the old pipe organ," Taylor says.

"After I was ordained a priest, I had my first mass here in this church. The ordination of course was at the cathedral, but my first mass the next day was in this church,” says Father Taylor.

Father Taylor made sure the bell that was in the tower was saved. It had been there since 1903. "I thought it would be inscribed with the name, the year, the manufacturer and all that, and we didn't find any inscription on it at all," he laughs.

Services haven't been held in the building since last October. Marian University is home now. The old church was unsafe and too small anyway for a congregation that now numbers more than 500.

"The building has fulfilled its purpose. It has served its time. And now as a parish we really need to move on. So knowing that kind of tempers all the sadness of the history," says Father Taylor.

Father Taylor hopes to build a new church on the same spot. It will be bigger and safer. But that's several years off. It has to be approved by the archdiocese and the parishioners have to raise the money.