Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, one of the few remaining Black parishes in Louisville, Kentucky, will close at the end of the year amid declining membership, rising maintenance costs, and a shortage of priests.
The Archdiocese of Louisville announced the news on Nov. 24, describing the move as a response to the parishioners’ own request.
“After carefully assessing the status of parish operations, the leadership at Immaculate Heart of Mary concluded that the parish is no longer viable on its own,” a statement reads, “due to an aging membership, excessive financial obligations related to property maintenance, aging buildings in need of repair, and a reduction in financial resources to maintain the parish.”
Founded in 1953 in what was then known as “Little Africa” in Louisville’s West End, Immaculate Heart Church originally met in a house during an era of deep segregation in Louisville, with urban renewal greatly reshaping the area as a concentrated African-American district centered on housing projects.
One of them, the Cotter Homes, temporarily hosted Immaculate Heart’s Masses until parishioners constructed their first permanent church edifice in 1955, adding a school as well. The parish was staffed by the Verona Fathers, also known as the Comboni Missionaries, and the school by Dominican sisters. The latter was later merged with other local Black Catholic schools and closed in 1989.
Immaculate Heart Church continued to thrive through the late 20th century, forming a gospel choir in 1975 and completing a renovation in 2002. The parish also became well known for serving the local neighborhood with various forms of outreach. According to the archdiocese, the parish has since suffered from a declining Catholic population in Park Duvalle.
“In recent years, the number of parishioners has dropped significantly,” reads the official decree closing the parish.
“The number of parishioners does not allow for the care of the church facility and property, which has fallen into disrepair.”
The parish made headlines in 2021 after a parishioner-led revolt highlighted criticisms of the church’s then-pastor Fr Christopher Rhodes, who was accused of mismanaging a cluster of Black Catholic parishes including Immaculate Heart. A source told BCM at the time that even as the controversy unfolded, parish engagement was low at Immaculate Heart.
The archdiocese has since closed one of the other parishes in the cluster, Christ the King Catholic Church, with its territory transferred to Immaculate Heart this spring, At the same time, parishioners sought out a fourth Black parish, St. Martin de Porres Church, to explore a possible merger that would involve the voluntary closure of Immaculate Heart.
A proposal was sent to Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville in July, which he accepted ahead of this fall’s official closure decree.
“A reduction in the number of parishes within close proximity in the area will allow all parishes to increase in size and enjoy greater vitality,” it reads, noting that the decision was made after consultation with the involved parties.
“Duplication of programs and services within a small geographic area will be eliminated, allowing for the more efficient allocation of resources.”
While the parochial territory of Immaculate Heart will transfer to St. Martin de Porres on Dec. 31, official plans for the church property have not been released. Notably, the closure of Christ the King resulted in the property’s donation to Simmons College, a local HBCU, in May.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
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