INDIANAPOLIS — A community on the near east side is uneasy about the fate of their historic church, Holy Cross.
It now has the neighborhood talking and working towards preserving it.
For over a century, a sanctuary that once was filled with prayer and song now has pews that have sat empty for 10 years.
“The owners have allowed it to fall into this state of disrepair,” said one resident Tony Ficarra. “With every passing year, there’s less and less of these kinds of beautiful monuments that are left of a time that’s probably not coming back.”
Named after the church, the Holy Cross neighborhood has heard rumors circulating about the staple possibly being torn down.
“They had the windows, the historic stained glass windows removed from the church, which we didn’t take that as a good sign,” said Mark Dollase, vice president of Preservation Services for Indiana Landmarks.
The organization is an advocate for preserving religious properties across the state and helping those who live there.
“We placed this in 2019 and 2020, Holy Cross on our 10 most endangered list, which kind of brought it to the forefront of priorities for us as well,” added Dollase.
A petition online began circulating from the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association, opposing the demolition and pushing for a restoration.
“I don’t want to see those buildings come down, I’d rather see them properly repurposed and remain an iconic benefit to the community,” said Ficarra. “Nothing that can be built there today will be better.”
With all the public support, they are hopeful they can bring life back into the space.
“I think not only should organizations like ours be listening to that expression from the neighborhood, but so should city leaders in the city of Indianapolis to say, ‘Look, we need to work as well to help find that solution,’” said Dollase.
Indiana Landmarks added it is working to set up meetings with the owner, the archdiocese, to discuss the future of the building.
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