Church demolition begins today

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Demolition began this morning for Indianapolis’ historic Holy Angels Catholic Church.

The church, located at 28th Street and Martin Luther King Jr., has not held mass since October 2011 when it was shut down for health violations.

In March 2011, the Marion County Board of Health cited the church for several violations which could not be fixed unless the original slate roof was fixed. The roof was deemed to be in such bad condition that the only option was to demolish the church.

“It was determined that the building was deteriorated so much that it wouldn’t be feasible to fix it,” Father Kenneth Taylor said in a news release. “It was built in 1903, and it’s the last remaining wood-framed Catholic Church in the country.”

Holy Angels is one of two predominantly African American Catholic congregations in Indianapolis. It was also one of the first churches in Indiana to offer integrated services to worshippers in the 1950s.

On Oct. 9, 2011 Holy Angels celebrated Mass for the last time in that structure. Since then, the congregation has worshipped in the chapel at Marian University.

Father Taylor’s message on the future has been clear since 2011 — the congregation plans to rebuild in the same spot.

“We will need parishioners, community support and grants,” Father Taylor said. “We will need all three to get it done. I would like to see a strong parish with a strong parish life. I believe the building we had has been holding us back from being as strong as we can be.”

If you would like to donate to the Holy Angels Building Fund please send donations to Holy Angels Church, 740 W. 28th St. Indianapolis, IN 46218.