Crews began the final phase to demolish the 130-year-old Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Arnold on Monday.
The church, 2300 Church Road, was built in 1895, and is being torn down because of structural issues. The Holy Family Catholic Parish plans to build a new church.
The Rev. Gerald Blessing, Holy Family’s pastor, said the demolition process is expected to take three weeks. The parish began the demolition process on Aug. 28 when crews removed the cross and bells, as well as the steeple that was damaged by a tornado in March.
“I know this is a somber occasion for a lot of people,” Blessing said near the end of the 9 a.m. Mass on Oct. 5. “We want to honor that. We understand the history that goes into our churches.”
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 Parish was established in 1804, and the St. David Catholic Parish was established in 1963.
Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski issued a decree in June to close both churches.
Holy Family hired Chiodini Architects of St. Louis to design the new church to replace Immaculate Conception. The company’s president, Louis Chiodini, said the new church likely will have a bell tower similar to the Immaculate Conception Church, adding that the old bells may be used in 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, 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.
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 and Archdiocese 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.
“While many understandably expect that it may eventually be sold, any decision of that nature must go through Archdiocesan review and approval,” Blessing said of St. David Sept. 29 on the parish’s website, holyfamilyarnold.org. “We will keep you informed as soon as any official developments are available.”
New church
The parish recently completed a campaign study to gauge whether there will be sufficient financial support to build a new church.
The study closed on Oct. 1, and Blessing said the parish expects to receive the report today, Oct. 9. After the study is reviewed, the report will be shared with parish members later this month.
“The results will guide our architect and builder,” he said in the statement to parish members.
Blessing said the parish hired the Steier Group to lead the capital campaign study, and that company will lead a full campaign to raise money to build the new church for the parish.
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.
“If the (campaign) study results indicate strong support, we would then enter a capital campaign, when parishioners would be invited to make specific financial commitments,” Blessing said in the statement.
Blessing said on Oct. 3 that he did not know how much money had already been raised to build the new church. In the statement to parish members, he said all funds are held in interest-bearing parish accounts until they are needed.
He also said the parish is looking to build the new church either on the same Immaculate Conception Church site or nearby on a gravel lot near Jeffco Boulevard on the Church Road campus.
“We are studying both sites,” Blessing said.