Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church is a Catholic parish of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The parish's origins date to 1837, when it was first named Holy Cross parish. In 1850 it was renamed Saint John the Evangelist parish, and is the oldest Catholic parish in the city and in Marion County, Indiana. Considered the mother of the Catholic parishes in Indianapolis, it played an important role in development of the Catholic Church in the city. Saint John's Church served as the pro-cathedral of the diocese from 1878 until 1906; its rectory served as the bishop's residence and chancery from 1878 until 1892. In 1900 the church served as the site of first episcopal consecration held in Indianapolis.

Although many considered Saint John's a diocesan cathedral, it was never officially named as such. Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral remained the official cathedral and Vincennes, Indiana, as the see city for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana, until March 28, 1898, when the episcopal see was transferred to Indianapolis and became the Diocese of Indianapolis. Diocesan functions continued to be held at Saint John's until Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral was built in 1906. Saint John's rectory continued to house the diocesan chancery until 1968, and served as the metropolitan tribunal for the diocese until 1982. Saint John's Church and rectory were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The present-day Saint John's Church, the parish's third and the second one built on the Georgia Street property, is the main structure in a group of parish buildings on the southwest corner of Georgia Street and Capitol Avenue. Diedrich A. Bohlen, principal and founder of the Indianapolis architectural firm of D. A. Bohlen and Son, designed the rectory (1863), church (1867–71), and a rectory addition (1878). Bohlen's son, Oscar, designed the twin spires and supervised their construction in 1893. The red-brick church has an eclectic style, including elements of French Gothic Revival and American Romanesque Revival architecture. The church has a seating capacity of 3,000. It was the largest church in Indiana when the cornerstone was laid in 1867; it was dedicated on July 2, 1871.

History

Saint Johns parish Holy Cross parish, the predecessor to Saint John the Evangelist, is the oldest Catholic parish in Indianapolis and in Marion County, Indiana. It is considered the mother of the Catholic parishes in Indianapolis, and played an important role in development of the Catholic Church in the city. The parish's origins date to 1837, when Father Vincent Bacquelin held the first regularly celebrated mass in Indianapolis at a local tavern. Father Bacquelin founded Holy Cross parish in November 1837 after the Diocese of Vincennes purchased a lot for the parish's first church on the northwest corner of Washington and California Streets, just south of Military Park. The new frame church, which measured about by , was known as the Chapel of the Holy Cross. The first mass was held in the church on October 11, 1840.

In 1846 Bishop Célestine de la Hailandière purchased three lots on Georgia Street, where it intersects Tennessee Street (present-day Capitol Avenue), for $2,300. The lots served as the site for a cluster of new buildings that would be built for the parish.Horan, p. 44 and 56–56. In 1850 a new brick church measuring by was built on the center lot facing south on Georgia Street, adjacent to the site of the present-day rectory. Father John Guéguen, the parish pastor at the time, changed the name of the parish to Saint John the Evangelist when the new church was completed. (Saint John the Evangelist was Father Bacquelin's patron saint.)Widner, p. 37.

Father Bacquelin's successor, Augustus Bessonies, served as pastor at Saint Johns from 1857 to 1890, when the parish expanded to include a new church, rectory, and school buildings on Georgia Street.Father Bessonies, vicar general of the Diocese of Vincennes after 1872, also served as a diocese administrator from June 1877 to August 1878, and was designated a monsignor in 1884. After Bessonies retired from Saint Johns, he served as pastor at Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Indianapolis from 1892 until his death in 1901. His remains are interred in the Sacred Heart Chapel at Saint Johns Church. See Divita, p. 26, and Horan, pp. 158–59. In 1859 a new parish school was constructed at the corner of Georgia and Tennessee Streets (present-day Capitol Avenue) to house Saint Johns Academy, the city's first Catholic school. Founded by the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, the school opened in September 1859. It remained at the site until Saint Johns Academy for Girls opened at 135 West Maryland Street in January 1874. The Georgia Street school building was later demolished. Saint Johns Academy on Maryland Street closed in 1959, and the building was demolished.Stineman and Porter, p. 33 and 35–39.Horan, pp. 87–88 and 90. In 1863 the parish built a new rectory adjacent to Saint Johns Church, and in 1867 a three-story brick school for boys. The Brothers of the Sacred Heart operated the school until 1929, and the building was later demolished.Stineman and Porter, p. 39.Horan, p. 94.

Construction on the present-day Saint Johns Church began in April 1867, and the main building was completed in 1871. (Due to the expense the twin spires were not added until 1893.) In the early 1870s, when the Bishop of Vincennes, Jacques Maurice de St. Palais, visited Indianapolis, he resided at Saint Johns rectory and used the church as his proto-cathedral.Divita, pp. 21–23.Horan, pp. 113–15 and 119–22. Although the bishop considered making Indianapolis the episcopal see of the Diocese of Vincennes, he deferred the decision to Silas Chatard, his successor.Kennedy, pp. 34–35.

Saint Johns served as the proto-cathedral of the diocese from 1878, when Bishop Silas Chatard established his residence and chancery there, until 1906, when Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral was built in Indianapolis.Divita, p. 25, 29, and 37. Although Bishop St. Palais temporarily resided at Saint Johns when he visited Indianapolis, his successor, Bishop Chatard, formally obtained permission from Pope Leo XIII to establish the bishop's residence at Indianapolis. After Chatard's consecration as Bishop of Vincennes on May 12, 1878, in Rome, Italy, he traveled to Indiana and arrived in Indianapolis on August 17, 1878.Horan, pp. 143–44. Within a month after his arrival in the city, Bishop Chatard commissioned noted Indianapolis architect Diedrich A. Bohlen, principal and founder of the architectural firm of D. A. Bohlen and Son, to design an addition to Saint Johns rectory that would service as the bishop's residence and house the diocesan chancery.Horan, p. 146. The rectory addition served as the bishop's residence from August 1878 until April 18, 1892, when Bishop Chatard moved into the newly built rectory at Fourteenth and Meridian Streets in the Saint Peter and Paul parish.Horan, p. 158.

When Bishop Chatard moved to Indianapolis in 1878, many considered Saint Johns as a diocesan cathedral, but it was never officially named as such.Widner, p. 36 and 188. Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral remained the official cathedral and Vincennes, Indiana, as the see city for the Diocese of Vincennes until March 28, 1898, when Pope Leo XIII officially transferred the episcopal see to Indianapolis and it became the Diocese of Indianapolis.Kennedy, p. 37 and 90. Because Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, the new cathedral for the Diocese of Indianapolis, was not built until 1906, diocesan functions continued to be held at Saint Johns Church in the interim. Bishop Chatard called four diocesan synods (in 1878, 1880, 1886, and 1891) during his residency at Saint Johns.Stineman and Porter, p. 37. Some functions remained at Saint Johns even longer. Its rectory continued to house the diocesan chancery until 1968, and it served as the metropolitan tribunal for the diocese until 1982.Divita, pp. 32–33.

Father Bessonies's successor, Monsignor Francis H. Gavisk became vicar general for the Diocese of Indianapolis and was Saint Johns pastor from 1890 to 1932. He continued work to complete the church in 1893. On May 12, 1903, Bishop Chatard celebrated his Silver Episcopal Jubilee with a Pontifical High Mass at Saint Johns. The celebration marked the last significant diocesan event at the church.Divita, pp. 22–23.

The church was restored for its centennial anniversary in 1971. Saint Johns church and rectory were placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In 1985 Saint Johns church once again served as the proto-cathedral for some liturgical functions of the diocese, including ordinations, when Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral underwent a major renovation.Stineman and Porter, p. 34 and 39.

Church and rectory construction

Saint Johns Church is the main structure in a cluster of parish buildings on the southwest corner of Georgia Street and Capitol Avenue. Construction of these building was completed in phases. Diedrich A. Bohlen designed the rectory (1863), the present-day Saint Johns Church (1867–71), and bishop's residence/rectory addition (1878). (Other D. A. Bohlen-designed buildings related to the parish include Saint Johns school for boys (1867), across the alley from the rectory, and the Saint Johns Academy for Girls (1872–74), on nearby Maryland Street.) Bohlen's son, Oscar, designed the twin spires on the two towers that flank the main facade and supervised their construction. The Bohlen-designed red-brick, two-story rectory (1863), which predates the present-day church, faces south on Georgia Street. The rectory addition built on the site of the old Saint Johns Church was completed in July 1879. The estimated cost to construct the addition and a brick passageway to the church's sacristy was $10,000 at the time of the construction.Horan, p. 147.

Construction on the present-day church, the second one on the Georgia Street site, began in 1867. Funds from private donors and parish fund-raising efforts paid for construction of the church, which cost an estimated $120,000 at the time it was built.Divita, p. 19–21. Unlike the first church on the site, which faced Georgia Street, the present-day church faces west on Capitol Avenue. Bishop St. Palais laid the cornerstone on July 21, 1867. John B. Purcell, Archbishop of Cincinnati, dedicated the new church on July 2, 1871. Due to the expense, the twin spires were not added until 1893. Saint Johns was closed from February 1893 to September 14, 1893, to construct the spires, install a pipe organ, and decorate the interior.

Description The present-day Saint Johns Church has an eclectic style, including elements of French Gothic Revival and American Romanesque Revival architecture.

Exterior and plan The church is constructed of red brick laid in a modified Flemish bond and white limestone corner buttresses over a limestone foundation. It has an arched main entrance, a square cupola, and twin spires. The basic cruciform plan includes a shallow transept, nave, and a half-octagon apse. The sanctuary has a seating capacity of 3,000.Horan, p. 57, 121–122. Saint Johns was the largest church in Indiana when the cornerstone was laid in 1867. The church measures wide, long, and tall. Its twin spires are tall.