Although the area has changed, the historic St. Rita Catholic Church continues to serve the community.
INDIANAPOLIS — My trip as part of WTHR’s Black History Month tour took Anne Marie Tiernon and I to historic St. Rita Catholic Church on Dr. Andrew J. Brown Avenue. I had walked past this beautiful church for years, but was unaware of its history and importance to the black community in town.
Our guide, Sampson Levingston, said that in 1919 the church – an extension of St. Bridget’s Catholic Church – began meeting in a Knights of Columbus chapel and, after a series of changes, moved at its current location in 1958.
Over the years the church has hosted a school and weekly dances which have attracted hundreds of people.
As early as 1935, Father Bernard Strange began the effort to segregate Catholic schools in Indianapolis. This same priest also opened sports leagues in the Martindale neighborhood in an effort to stop juvenile delinquency and instill a sense of community.
In the 1960s, after Martindale was declared a poverty area, the church partnered with other areas of Brightwood to fund Martindale area citizen service to address poverty, housing issues health and crime and deterioration of property in the neighborhood.
Even though the neighborhood has changed, the church continues. It still offers weekly worship services, but under the direction of Parish Life Coordinator, Sister Gail Trippett. It also offers other outreach ministries, from courses on breaking the cycle of poverty to helping its participants through the St. Vincent DePaul Society.
Anne Marie and I were so impressed not only by the beauty of the building but also by the testimony of the church itself. After more than 100 years, through periods of poverty, neighborhood change, and economic ups and downs, St. Rita is still a vital part of Martindale-Brightwood and plans to be for decades to come. I will never pass by this magnificent building again without being encouraged after learning about its rich history.
