In Indy neighborhood group's fight to save a church, commission designates Church of the Holy Cross a historic landmark
The matter will now go before the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development and the city-county council. A city commission that deals with historic preservation has unanimously designated Church of the Holy Cross as a historic landmark. The decision will now go before the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development and the city-county council. The church, more than 100 years old, closed its doors in 2014 and has been vacant since then. The Archdiocese of Indianapolis has decided to tear it down and make the land available to a future owner. Some residents believe the loss of this iconic building would harm the city and cause further detriment to its history. The archdiocese has previously stated that the church is in need of repair and is in repair.
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The matter will now go before the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development and the city-county council.
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INDIANAPOLIS — Wednesday was a big night for residents of Indianapolis' Holy Cross neighborhood who have been fighting to save a church near their homes that's more than 100 years old, and it looks like they're getting support from a city commission that deals with historic preservation.
"We have a real opportunity here to save the jewel of our city," said Tim O'Sullivan with the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association.
Sullivan was talking about Church of the Holy Cross on the city's near east side. He and more than 100 others came to the Indianapolis City-County Building Wednesday for an emergency meeting of the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission.
"To demolish this beautiful structure would be an insult to the memory of the artisans who crafted it," O'Sullivan told the commission.
The church closed its doors in 2014, with its parishioners merging with a nearby parish. Holy Cross has sat vacant ever since.
Two weeks ago, neighbors learned The Archdiocese of Indianapolis had made the decision to tear it down and make the land available to a future owner.
"To lose such an iconic, historical place on the near east side would only cause more detriment to the city," said Jennifer Tremble.
Some have called for the Archdiocese to sell the church to a buyer that would repurpose it.
"I want them to stop and think rather than just disposing of old buildings," said William Selm.
The Archdiocese has previously said the church is in need of repair. In 2015, some of its decorative molding on the front of the structure collapsed.
An attorney for the Archdiocese told the commission that, under church law, in order to sell the building, the buyer would have agree to use it for religious purposes in line with the Catholic Church or secular ones that do not go against the teachings of the Catholic faith.
The attorney argued prohibiting the demolition of Holy Cross could carry constitutional concerns, if interpreted as denying the church its freedom of religious expression and the freedom to decide what happens to its building covered under Canon law.
"You cannot hide behind the shield of the church when the church is sitting here," said commission member Anne Lear as she pointed to everyone gathered.
The commission voted unanimously to designate Holy Cross as an historic landmark, prohibiting the Archdiocese from tearing it down. Ultimately, that decision will have to be approved by the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development and the Indianapolis City-County Council.