INDIANAPOLIS — The 120-year-old Holy Cross Church has stood empty over its namesake neighborhood for more than a decade. The city has protected the historic building from the wrecking ball, but the parish in charge of Holy Cross is taking legal action to tear it down.
St. Philip Neri Church, which merged with Holy Cross Church in 2014, filed a petition on Halloween for a judge to potentially overturn the building's status because of religious freedom.
The Indiana Historic Preservation Commission decided on October 1 to protect the building from demolition.
The Holy Cross church officially closed in 2019. The parish claims repairs to the long-vacant building could cost as much as $8.5 million.
"The building's deterioration, including the collapsed archway over the north entrance, has made its restoration no longer realistic," said St. Philip Neri Rev. Philip Dufresne during the preservation commission's hearing. "The building's unneccessary preservation places a significant financial burden on the people of Saint Philip Neri."
More than 500 residents of the Holy Cross neighborhood signed a petition to place a historic designation on the church in March 2024. That includes Billy Wood, who lives across the street from the property.
"I was basically raised in this parish," Wood recalled. I was baptized in it, and I volunteered with the food pantry here for more than 30 years."
Wood hopes St. Philip Neri finds a way to restore or sell Holy Cross instead of bulldozing it.
"It's sad to destroy a church building because it's a sacred space, the prayers and presence are still felt in that building today," Wood said. "It would put a sinking hole in my heart and a sinking hole in my stomach. It would devastate me more than you could possibly know."
