Exterior Photos of St. John Church

No photos or drawings exist of the original St. John Church building, which was a small frame structure built in 1840.

(It was originally known as the Chapel of the Holy Cross.)

Pictured above is the second St. John Church building which only existed from 1850 until 1871.

It was demolished soon after the present, much larger cathedral-style church was built in 1871.
It was located immediately south of the present church, in the area that is now our parking lot.

The current St. John Catholic Church, built 1867-1871, is the parish’s third church building.
It remains the oldest Catholic church in Indianapolis and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The parish Elementary School is visible to the right of the church.

Aerial photo, circa 1965

from left to right:

The current St. John Church (built 1867-1871), the Archdiocesan Chancery Office Building (built 1964),

the Rectory (east wing built 1863; west wing built 1878), and the former St. John Boy’s School (built 1866), which at the time

of this photo housed the offices of The Criterion, the weekly newspaper of the R. C. Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

The St. John Rectory which contains parish offices and the clergy residence.
The south wing (at right in photo) is the original Rectory and was built in 1863.
The west wing (at left in photo) was added in 1878 to house
the Bishop's residence and the chancery offices of the Diocese.

The south side of the church, showing the Nave, the South Transept and the Apse.
In the background are the Westin Hotel, the Indiana Government Center, and the Hyatt Regency Hotel. 

The east Apse Roof Cross with the west twin steeples in the background.

St. John Academy for girls (1859-1959), the original Chamber of Commerce building,
and St. John Church as they appeared in 1903.
(This view is looking southeast from the intersection of Capitol Avenue and Maryland Street.)

St. John Academy was operated by the Sisters of Providence, founded by Blessed Mother Theodore Guérin at
Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods, (near Terre Haute) in western Indiana.

Mother Theodore Guérin was canonized as Saint Theodora on October 15, 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.

Saint Theodora is the first person with ties to Indiana to be canonized as a saint.

St. John (seen at left) is close to Indianapolis Union Station. Numerous immigrants to Indianapolis arrived here on the railroads in the mid-1800s, including many from Ireland who helped establish our parish. For traveling priests and nuns, the St. John Rectory was a hospitable place where they could rest, pray and have something to eat.

The church and rectory, as seen from the northeast steps of the RCA Dome.

The North Transept Windows viewed from the Plaza Park garage next to St. John’s.

The steeples atop our twin towers stretch 194 feet toward the heavens.