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Welcome to the page of the Indianapolis Archdiocesan Archives! We hope you will enjoy these glimpses into the history of our archdiocese!

10/07/2026

St. Mary Parish in Madison celebrated the centennial of its church building in 1951. Archbishop Paul C. Schulte celebrated the centennial Mass.

The former St. Mary Parish was established in 1850 to serve the needs of German-speaking Catholics in Madison. For a few years, before St. Mary Parish in Indianapolis was established in 1857, also to serve German-speaking Catholics, the pastor of St. Mary in Madison would travel to Indianapolis to serve the German community.

A notable feature of St. Mary Parish in Madison was that it operated a Catholic "commercial school," teaching business subjects like typing, shorthand, and rapid calculation. This school was in operation from 1910-1944. The grade school at St. Mary Parish merged with the school at St. Michael Parish to form Pope John XXIII School in 1966.

In 1993, St. Michael and St. Mary parishes in Madison, St. Patrick Parish in North Madison, and St. Anthony Parish in China merged to form Prince of Peace Parish. The St. Mary church building became the primary church building for the new parish, while St. Patrick remains in use as a parish chapel. The St. Michael building is owned by Historic Madison, Inc.

10/03/2026

Today is the feast of St. Theodora Guerin. Though her canonization date was October 15, this year represents 20 years since her canonization. The image seen here is a photo spread that appeared in the Criterion issue following Mother Theodore's canonization. You can find the entire commemorative issue here:https://www.criteriononline.com/files/2006/pdfs/20061020-guerin.pdf

St. Theodora Guerin, pray for us! 🙏

09/29/2026

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Church in Bright, Dearborn County, was dedicated in 2001. Though the parish was officially established the previous year, they originally met for Mass in an elementary school while the construction of the church was being completed. Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein celebrated the dedication liturgy, along with the pastor, Fr. William Marks.

09/24/2026

Today I am excited to be at the beatification of soon-to-be Blessed Fulton J. Sheen. As I have posted about previously, Archbishop Sheen and Archbishop Edward T. O'Meara, who was archbishop of Indianapolis from late 1979-1992, were very close friends. You can learn more about their friendship at: https://www.archindy.org/sheen-omeara

Archbishop Charles C. Thompson is also here to participate in the beatification liturgy. He will be wearing a pectoral cross that belonged to Archbishop Sheen and was passed along to Archbishop O'Meara.

Blessed Fulton Sheen, pray for us!🙏

09/21/2026

Fr. Francis Gavisk was formally invested as a "prothonotary apostolic" at St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis in 1919, gaining the title of "Monsignor."

Msgr. Gavisk was born in Evansville in 1856 and was ordained as a priest on May 30, 1885. He spent his entire priestly career at St. John's. He also served as the diocesan chancellor from 1899 onward, and was vicar general as well, from 1918 onward. Msgr. Gavisk died on October 22, 1932, and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Indianapolis.

09/17/2026

The cornerstone of the new section of St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove was dedicated by Archbishop George J. Biskup in 1972. The addition included a new hospital center, parking garage, and medical arts building.

St. Francis Hospital was established by the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, and the original building was dedicated on July 5, 1914. A north wing was later added to the hospital and dedicated by Archbishop Paul C. Schulte on September 12, 1957.

The hospital center, parking garage, and medical arts building were dedicated on October 3, 1973. A further expansion to the hospital, Bonzel Towers, was dedicated in 1985. St. Francis Hospital celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1988.

In 1995, a new campus of St. Francis Hospital opened on Emerson Avenue in Indianapolis, a few miles from St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove. In 2007, plans were announced to eventually consolidate the hospitals at the new location. This process took place gradually, with the final patient transferred from Beech Grove to the new hospital on March 14, 2012.

09/14/2026

On September 13-14, 2003, Bishop Baraga Days were celebrated in Indianapolis. The events included a Mass at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral, celebrated by Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein, followed by a reception at the Indianapolis Arts Garden. The next day, a Mass was celebrated in Slovenian at the former Holy Trinity Church in Indianapolis, followed by a banquet for the Bishop Baraga Association at the Brickyard Crossing Inn Pavilion at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Bishop Frederic Baraga was born in Slovenia in 1797. He graduated from law school at the University of Vienna in 1821 and then decided to become a priest. He entered the seminary in Ljubljana, Slovenia and was ordained as a priest on September 21, 1823.

In 1830, Fr. Baraga was recruited by Bishop Edward Fenwick of Cincinnati to come to the United States. The plan was for him to minister to Native Americans in Michigan, which was then part of the Diocese of Cincinnati. He arrived in Cincinnati in early 1831, but did not proceed immediately to Michigan, due to the weather. He spent April 12-16, 1831, in Dearborn County, Indiana, ministering to German-speaking Catholics there, and then departed for Michigan on April 21.

In 1837, Fr. Baraga published "Otawa Anamie-Misinaigan," the first book written in the Ottawa language, which included a Catholic catechism and prayer book. He also wrote more than 100 hymns in the Ojibwe language.

Fr. Baraga was appointed titular bishop of Amyzon and vicar apostolic of Upper Michigan on July 28, 1853. He was consecrated as a bishop on November 1, 1853, in Cincinnati at Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral by Archbishop John Purcell. On January 9, 1857, Pop Pius IX converted the Vicariate Apostolic of Upper Michigan into the Diocese of Sault Saint Marie, and Bishop Baraga became its first bishop. In 1865, his diocese became the Diocese of Sault Saint Marie & Marquette. Bishop Baraga died in Marquette on January 19, 1868.

Bishop Baraga's cause of canonization was opened in 1952 and he was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI on May 10, 2012.

09/11/2026

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorism attacks.

At the time of the attacks, a group of pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis was staying at a hotel in North Bergen, New Jersey, just across the river from New York City. They had been scheduled to depart from the Newark airport on a trip to Switzerland, Austria, and Germany on September 10, but their flight was delayed due to weather and an airport fire.

The rescheduled flight was intended to depart on the afternoon of September 11, but after all flights in the U.S. were grounded, they were never able to depart. Fr. Patrick Beidelman, who was traveling with the pilgrims, celebrated a Mass for them at the hotel that day. The pilgrims were able to return to Indianapolis by bus on September 12.

Victims of the attack with ties to the archdiocese included Stacey Peak, a Tell City native who entered the Church as an adult in 1994 and moved to Manhattan for work in 1999. Her office was located in the north tower of the World Trade Center. Also killed that day was Indianapolis-native Lt. General Timothy J. Maude, who was a member of the Latin School class of 1965. He had been stationed in Washington, D.C. since 1998, and was killed when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, where his office was located.

Here in Indianapolis, Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein celebrated a special Mass at SS. Peter & Paul Cathedral at noon on September 11. That evening, the archbishop, along with Fr. Rick Ginther and religious leaders from around the area, gathered at Christ Church Cathedral downtown for an interfaith prayer service. At the prayer service, Archbishop Buechlein prayed, "O God, look with compassion on the whole human family. Take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts. Break down the walls that separate us."

As we remember this sad day in our history, let us echo Archbishop Buechlein's prayer for peace, and may we remember also to pray for all those who lost their lives that day or in the war that followed. 🙏

09/08/2026

Today is the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. St. Mary Parish in North Vernon is dedicated under the title of today's feast day.

St. Mary Parish was founded in 1861, following the foundation of other parishes in Jennings County. Though the construction of the church began in that year, it was delayed by the Civil War, and not completed until 1868. The parish served German and Irish immigrants. Due to differences in language, these groups were often served separately in the early years, both in the parish school and in separate altar societies. A clock tower was added to the church in 1897, and a new school built in 1908.

Fr. August J. Sprigler, pastor of the parish from 1920-1934, was known for organizing lectures against the activities of the Ku Klux Klan, which was prevalent in Indiana during the 1920s. Due to his efforts, Harry Meloy was elected mayor of Vernon on an anti-Klan ticket. Additionally, Meloy converted to Catholicism on his deathbed in 1934.

St. Mary Parish celebrated its 125th anniversary in 1986, and a parish center was added in 1989. St. Mary Parish is now linked to St. Joseph and St. Anne Parishes in Jennings County.

09/03/2026

Today is , so we'd like to introduce you to a few priests from our history who sported beards!

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Indianapolis, IN
46202

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