This artist rendering shows the proposed parish ministry center at St. Mary Parish in Iowa City.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
IOWA CITY — St. Mary of the Visitation Parish recently embarked on a $10 million, three-year capital campaign to upgrade existing structures and build a parish ministry center on campus.
The 157-year-old church building, which was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1980, is located in “the heart of the city,” Father Andrew Rauenbuehler, the parish’s pastor, told the congregation during a homily in September. “Few parishes have the opportunity to engage with and to evangelize their wider community than St. Mary’s does, simply because of where we find ourselves.” Father Samuel Mazzuchelli purchased downtown land in 1840 and designed a small frame building that would serve as a church until the current, brick structure was completed in 1869, according to parish records.
Informed by studies, conversations, committee discussions, architectural evaluations and prayer over the past year, the first phase of the “Foundations in Faith” campaign establishes three goals for updating and preserving structures on the downtown campus:
- Repair, restore and enhance the interior. This $2 million project aims to preserve the beauty and historic character of the church by restoring plaster, painted surfaces, woodwork, statues and architectural details. Pews and flooring will be replaced with safety, comfort and durability in mind.
- Increase accessibility. The parish is planning $2 million worth of improvements to make the structure more welcoming and accessible to visitors of all ages and abilities. These include ADA-compliant, family-friendly restrooms on the main level, an improved stairway connection between the church and parish hall, and an expanded west-side entrance with an elevator providing access to upper and lower levels.
- Parish hall renewal. This $1 million project will update lighting, flooring, paint and ceiling features, enhance gathering and presentation areas, renovate and expand restrooms and address long-term building maintenance needs.
“We want this church to remain a place of beauty and transcendence, a place that lifts the heart toward God,” Father Rauenbuehler said. “We want there to be as few barriers as possible for someone to come here, worship here and to call St. Mary’s their home.”
For phase two, the parish is seeking approval to build a $5 million parish ministry center to replace the parish office complex. Recent evaluations revealed substantial structural deficiencies, as well as functional limitations that no longer adequately support the needs of St. Mary’s growing parish ministries and educational activities. “What it would take to rebuild the foundations of (the offices) is both logistically and practically incredibly difficult, not to mention the financial burden that we would take on without gaining anything more for our community,” the pastor explained. “Rather than invest substantially simply to preserve (them), we have an opportunity to build something beautiful and functional for many generations to come.” Preliminary designs include parish administrative offices, meeting rooms and ministry spaces.
Last month, the Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission denied the parish’s request to demolish the aged office buildings. Supporters are encouraged to join the parish’s appeal to the Iowa City City Council Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. in City Hall.
About $6 million has been raised so far, said Rachel Santos, parish business manager. For more information and updates go to www.icstmary.org.
