Indianapolis was founded in 1921 by the Indiana General Assembly to be the capital city of the new state of Indiana. The first Catholic parish of Holy Cross, later renamed St. John the Evangelist, was founded in 1837. The Catholic population of the nation and the city grew rapidly thanks to immigration from Ireland and Germany. Population growth accelerated in Indianapolis with the arrival of the railroads beginning in 1847. Catholic parishes sprang up on all sides of the city. Street cars and later automobiles spurred the growth of neighborhoods in all directions from the original core of the city, the Mile Square. The flood-proof higher ground and the distance from industrial centers made the Northside attractive to middle-class and upper-middle class families. By the time the city turned a century old in 1921, the residential areas were developing north of Maple Road/38th Street with fashionable houses. A group of Catholics petitioned Bishop Joseph Chartrand (1870-1933) to form a new parish to serve the rapidly growing Catholic population on the far Northside. Under the leadership of Father Alphonse Smith (1893-1935), Saint Joan of Arc parish was founded in 1921 to serve the spiritual, educational, and social needs of Northside Catholics. The parish extended from 32nd Street all the way to the Hamilton County line. Land was purchased at 42nd Street and Central Avenue and included the triangle of land between Ruckle Street and Park Avenue.
The new parish was named for the newly canonized saint; Joan of Arc had been added to the canon of saints in 1920. The patroness of the parish was born in Domrémy, France, in 1412. She was an illiterate peasant who obeyed God. While history recounts her miracles on the battlefield, she did more for the spirit of France. She revived the flagging confidence of the people in their own ability to resist the English invaders and called upon them to amend their lives. Joan died in 1430, having been convicted of witchcraft and scandalous living and she was burned at the stake in Rouen. She was vindicated in 1449. Her feast day is May 30. Worthy of note is the fact that Joan of Arc was a teenager at the time she saved her country during the Hundred Years War. St. Joan of Arc is depicted in the artwork of the church interior three times.
In 1921 a church was constructed on the triangle of land bound by 42nd and Ruckle Streets and Park Avenue. The school was completed in time for enrollment in January 1922, staffed by the Sisters of Providence. The parish, with its school, was the catalyst for more Catholics moving into the neighborhood. The original church was the work of architect John Hagel. It was distinguished by its Spanish Mission style as exhibited by the stucco finish and curvilinear gables. By 1928 the school was enlarged and plans were made for a large, permanent church under the leadership of second pastor Msgr. Maurice O’Connor (1884-1939).
The distinguished Chicago architect and ecclesiologist Henry J. Schlacks (1867-1938) was selected to produce a design for a monumental limestone Roman Basilica with an impressive Italian campanile. Schlacks trained at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and on study tours of Italy and Germany. His designs for Catholic churches, schools, and convents can be found throughout the Chicago area. His design served as a spiritual, cultural and political statement. It appears as if it were plucked up from the streets of Rome and placed at 42nd and Central as a Catholic beacon. It stands out in comparison to neighboring Protestant churches built in the Gothic style. St. Joan of Arc Church is distinctly a Catholic building, built in the era when the anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan boasted a Klan governor, a Klan mayor, and a Klan public school board. The design boldly stated that Catholics were here to stay.
After the successful 1928 fund-raising campaign, work commenced immediately on the new church. Ground was broken on November 6, 1928, followed twelve days later by the laying of the cornerstone. Fourteen months later the church was dedicated on December 15, 1929. High- quality furnishings and artwork adorned the interior with marble altars, Italian altar mosaics, German stained-glass windows, high-altar Italian baldacchino, oak pews, and four confessionals.
With prosperity following the Depression and the Second World War, the church was decorated in 1950 by the Passalaqua Studios of Cincinnati. Ceilings, pilasters, and the arcade were painted with symbols of the faith. Wood wainscoting on the aisle walls was added to allow for a more comfortable surface to lean against for late-comers who found no empty seats in the pews. The present rectory was constructed in 1969, the design work of McGuire and Shook. It accommodated the four priests that served the large, active parish.
The tumultuous 1960s brought changes to society as a whole as well to the parish. Families moved from the city to the suburbs, joining the new parishes that were formed. Liturgical changes of the Second Vatican Council as well as a decline in vocations impacted the Church. There were fewer priests and fewer Sisters of Providence teaching in the school. At St. Joan of Arc the liturgical changes were weathered without the radical destruction of artwork and furnishings that befell many other Catholic churches.
The parish experienced the beginning of a revival in the late 1980s with the inauguration of the French Market festival/fête, which has grown into a major event of the Northside.
In 2015, the parish began a fundraising capital campaign that ultimately raised 5 million dollars that was needed to restore the church. From 2017-2019 the work included the restoration of the windows, the wall and ceiling artwork, and the 14 Stations of the Cross. Other work included the repair and refinishing of pews, installation of a terrazzo floor, improved restrooms, a new confessional room and, the installation of air conditioning, and improved lighting. The local architectural firm of Schmidt Associates planned the restoration that was executed by Brandt Construction Company. Conrad Schmidt Studios of Milwaukee restored the ceiling and wall paintings. Easter Conservation Services of Indianapolis restored the fourteen Stations of the Cross paintings. The Winterich Company of Cleveland, Ohio, restored the clerestory windows.These improvements were implemented with an eye to the future generations who will worship in this holy place.
William L. Selm, 2023
Bibliography
Henn, Carl W., Jr. Fifty Years at St. Joan of Arc Church, 1921-1971.Indianapolis: Pierson Printing Co., 1972.
“Impressive Rites Dedicate Church,” The Indianapolis Star, 16 December 1929, p.8.
“Magnificent New Edifice on North Side to be Blessed by Bishop Sunday,“ The Indiana Catholic & Record, 13 December 1929, p.1.
“New North Side Catholic Church Will be Dedicated in December,” The Indianapolis News, 29 November 1929, pt.2, p.1.
Twenty-fifth Anniversary St. Joan of Arc Parish, Indianapolis, Indiana.Indianapolis: np, 1946.
Zander, Jean and Brenda Henry. Every Heart an Altar. Indianapolis: St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, 2017.
e of Technology (MIT) and on study tours of Italy and Germany. His designs for Catholic churches, schools, and convents can be found throughout the Chicago area. His design served as a spiritual, cultural and political statement. It appears as if it were plucked up from the streets of Rome and placed at 42nd and Central as a Catholic beacon. It stands out in comparison to neighboring Protestant churches built in the Gothic style. St. Joan of Arc Church is distinctly a Catholic building, built in the era when the anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan boasted a Klan governor, a Klan mayor, and a Klan public school board. The design boldly stated that Catholics were here to stay.
With prosperity following the Depression and the Second World War, the church was decorated in 1950 by the Passalaqua Studios of Cincinnati. Ceilings, pilasters, and the arcade were painted with symbols of the faith. Wood wainscoting on the aisle walls was added to allow for a more comfortable surface to lean against for late-comers who found no empty seats in the pews. The present rectory was constructed in 1969, the design work of McGuire and Shook. It accommodated the four priests that served the large, active parish.
