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A 130-year-old Catholic Church in Arnold will soon be gone.
The Holy Family Catholic Parish started the Immaculate Conception Church demolition process on Aug. 28. Crews removed the cross and bells at the church that day, as well as the steeple that was damaged by a tornado in March.
Holy Family was created when the Immaculate Conception and St. David Catholic parishes merged in August 2023 as part of the Archdiocese of St. Louis’ “All Things New” initiative.
The Immaculate Conception Church parish was established in 1804, and the church was built in 1895.
Before the demolition process started, parishioner Mel Schwartz rang the three church bells a final time as students and staff from Holy Family Catholic School watched. Schwartz first started ringing the bells 78 years ago when he was in fifth grade at the school, which previously was called Immaculate Conception School, according to the parish.
Holy Family’s pastor, the Rev. Gerald Blessing, said tearing down the church was like losing a grandparent. However, he also said there is joy, too, because the parish is planning to build a new church where the old one stood.
“We will have an experience of sadness of losing one who we loved and has been part of us for a long time, and a great hope in what is coming forth in the new life that comes with a new church and a new beginning for Holy Family Parish,” he said. “It is not just the building. It is the coming together of a combined community, two communities who are leaning on each other to build something new. That is a hopeful mission.”
Holy Family hired Chiodini Architects of St. Louis to design the new church, and the company’s president, Louis Chiodini, said the new church will likely have a bell tower similar to the Immaculate Conception Church, adding that the old bells may be transferred into the new building.
Parish officials hope to use other items, like stained glass windows, crucifixes, statues and Stations of the Cross from the parish’s two existing churches, in the new church.
In a message to parishioners, Blessing said when the demolition is completed, the parish will make bricks from the old church available to those who want one for a keepsake.
The Immaculate Conception Church is at the parish’s Church Road campus, 2300 Church Road, which also is home to the Holy Family Catholic School, Parish Center and Immaculate Conception Cemetery. The parish has been holding masses in the Parish Center since April 6 due to the storm damage Immaculate Conception Church sustained in March.
St. David Catholic Church is at the parish’s Tenbrook Road campus, 2334 Tenbrook Road, in Arnold.
Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski issued a decree in June to close both those churches.
Holy Family stopped holding weekly Mass in the St. David Church last year just before that church’s HVAC system stopped working.
Blessing said parish officials are working on what to do with the Tenbrook Road campus and St. David Church, adding that the parish can’t afford to maintain two properties.
The St. David Catholic Parish was established in 1963 with its church’s cornerstone blessed in 1964.
The combined parishes were named Holy Family in January 2024 after parishioners voted for their top three choices and submitted them to Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski, who selected the final name.
“We could not do this without each other,” Blessing said of the process of building a new church. “Our hope is for this community to be one family, one holy family. The name that they chose, I think it is very appropriate for our community.”
New church
Blessing said the parish has hired the Steier Group to lead a capital campaign study and a full campaign to raise money to build the new church for the parish.
On Aug. 25, the parish started a planning study for the new church, and parish members have been asked to schedule interviews either in-person or by video conference with a Steier Group representative to discuss what they want in the new church.
Parish families should have received a letter in the mail, along with a fact sheet about the project, that details how they can provide feedback.
“We are relying on the participation of our entire community in the planning study and urge you to share your opinions on this project,” Blessing said in a written statement. “The more feedback we receive, the more informed our parish leaders will be as they make decisions on our next steps.”
Blessing said the Steier Group is expected to present the results of the study on Oct. 10.
“Our intention is to have the capital campaign start after the study is finished,” he said. “We will have feedback from people; they will tell us their thoughts and (tell us about the) support they feel is out in the community for this. The bottom line is we can’t make a determination until we get that information.”
Blessing said he believes the parish will need to raise $6 million to build the new church, with $5 million for construction and the other $1 million to cover other project costs.
Blessing said the parish has hired Musick Construction Co. of St. Louis to build the church, and preliminary plans call for the project to be completed by the end of 2027.
“Musick Construction is analyzing the numbers with the architect,” Blessing said. “We have not gotten into it enough to determine where they are at. We are proceeding with $5 million as the construction budget and hoping that estimate is good.”
Piece of history
The parish had the church’s cornerstone removed on Aug. 18 and during that process, a time capsule was discovered, Blessing said.
“When they removed the cornerstone there was an encaved space where there was a metal box,” he said. “It was exciting to see.”
Blessing said the time capsule contained three newspapers, some coins and the remnants of what appeared to be a note. He said most of the coins were corroded, but one of the coins was from 1850 and another was from 1895.
Blessing said two of three newspapers were printed in German, and one of the German-language papers was called Amerika and was published on April 30, 1895, and the other one was called Der Herald and had a publication date of April 24, 1895.
He said the third paper was printed in English and was called the St. Louis Republic. It’s publication date was April 30, 1895.
“They were just sitting in the box,” Blessing said. “There was nothing wrapping them up. They were rolled up and stuffed in there. We were surprised they did not deteriorate.”
Blessing said the parish contacted the Archdiocese’s archive department, which is expected to inspect and seal the newspapers for preservation. He said the archivists may complete their work in September.
“We want to have (the newspapers) displayed along with the stone, if possible, after the archivists do their work,” he said. “I think people will really enjoy seeing it. It is exciting to see your history.”