Sacred Places fund awards $2.4 million in third round of grants to historic churches

INDIANAPOLIS — More than $2 million in grants have been awarded to 14 congregations across the state to address “significant capital needs at their historic houses of worship.”

Indiana Landmarks recently announced the recipients of the third round of the Sacred Places Indiana Fund. According to a news release from the organization, the fund was first established in 2023 with support from Lilly Endowment Inc.

The release said that this fund is aimed at helping historic churches that have significant capital needs, have the support of their patrons and are ready to undertake a capital campaign.

The selected congregations are asked to be committed to good stewardship of the historic structures and have demonstrated signs of organizational health, as well as financial stability. The release said that with being selected for these funds, the congregations should be ready to undertake and complete both a capital campaign and a construction project in the next two years.

“We continue to receive calls for help from congregations who need assistance in maintaining their historic facilities,” said David Frederick, director of Indiana Landmarks’ Sacred Places program. “By offering this critical funding, we hope to help congregations and parishes continue to thrive as spiritual centers and use their landmark buildings in ways that support and serve their communities.”

This round’s recipients include:

• Bathlehem Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne
  • $66,350 to replace the roof membrane and tuckpoint the 1929 church’s bell tower and chimney
• Centerville Christian Church in Centerville
  • $185,000 to complete repairs to the 1878 church’s steeple and spire
• Diocese of Gary in Gary
  • $400,000 to tuckpoint masonry on all elevations of the 1950 Cathedral of the Holy Angels
• First Baptist Church in Columbus
  • $80,000 for roof replacement and window seal repairs at the 1965 National Historic Landmark church
• Friends of Town Clock Church in New Albany
  • $100,000 to update the wheelchair lift and replace ADA-compliant doors at the 1852 Second Baptist Church
• Our Lady of Hungary in South Bend
  • $100,000 to modernize heating and cooling systems and repair the radiator heat system at the 1949 church, which officials said would help ensure the preservation of the sanctuary’s murals.
• Phillips Temple CME Church in Indianapolis
  • $300,000 to replace the roof on the 1928 church
• St. Athanasius Byzantine Catholic Church in Indianapolis
  • $90,000 for upgrades to heating and cooling, electrical and life safety systems at the 1894 church
• St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Vincennes
  • $100,000 to restore masonry at the 1826 basilica and adjacent historic library
• St. Paul Lutheran Church in Olean
  • $100,000 to repair masonry on the bell tower and sanctuary of the 1921 church
• St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Evansville
  • $285,000 for total replacement of the 1928 church’s slate roof
• St. Thomas More Academy in South Bend
  • $125,000 to install heating and cooling systems in the 1883 St. Hedwig Church
• Valparasio University in Valparaiso
  • $300,000 to repair the slab floor and foundation of the sanctuary of the 1959 Chapel fo the Resurrection
• Woodruff Place Baptist Church in Indianapolis
  • $200,000 to replace the roof membrane, repair masonry and restore windows at the 1926 church.

For more information about the program, click here.