St. Mary's Catholic Church (Indianapolis, Indiana)

St. Mary's Catholic Church (St. Marienkirche) is a Roman Catholic church in Indianapolis, Indiana. The German-speaking parish built their first church in 1858 to serve the city's growing German Catholic population. Services were initially conducted services in Latin and German and retained Old World traditions. The present church at the corner of New Jersey and Vermont streets was completed in 1912. Designed by architect Hermann J. Gaul in the late Gothic Revival style, it follows a cruciform plan modeled after the Cologne Cathedral in Germany. The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.HistoryIn 1856 Reverend Peter Leonard Brandt arrived from Vincennes, Indiana, to establish a German-speaking parish among the German Catholics of Indianapolis. The parish's first permanent pastor was Reverend Simon Siegrist. St. Mary's parish built their first church at 117 East Maryland Street in 1858. Parish priests conducted services in Latin and German, and the church retained Old World traditions. In addition to the area’s German-speaking population, St. Mary's served the neighborhood's Italian immigrants until the Diocese of Indianapolis established Holy Rosary Catholic Church, an Italian national parish in Indianapolis in 1911.