Council Bluffs’ Holy Family Church to be closed and sold – The Daily Nonpareil

The Holy Family Church Preservation Society officially announced the churchs closure after falling short of its fundraising goal earlier this year.

While structurally sound, the church building is badly in need of long-overdue maintenance.

TheHoly Family Church Preservation Society sought to secure $225,000 in pledged donations by July 1, later extended to Aug. 26. The society ultimately received pledges from 85 donors totaling a little more than $95,000, which was too far short of its goal.

As a result, the society was left with the reality it needed to sell the building and surrounding land, which it announced it would do in a Dec. 15 Facebook post.

While the Holy Family Church has closed and will be sold, Corpus Christi Parish is holding a special Mass for the Feast of the Holy Family there on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023.

The church at North 23rd Street and Avenue B was built in 1908 and operated as its own parish until 2011, when Queen of Apostles, Our Lady of Carter Lake and Holy Family merged to form the Corpus Christi Parish.

In April, the Holy Family Church Preservation Society entered into an agreement with Corpus Christi Parish to have the parish fund upkeep of the church while they attempted to raise the needed funding.

In an October 2023 letter to parishioners, Corpus Christi Parish announced its intention to ask the Diocese of Des Moines for permission to sell the Holy Family church building, rectory and nearby land.

The parish is expecting to solicit two bids for two separate parcels the vacant lot between 23rd and 24th streets, and the church, rectory and grassy lot to the east of the rectory.

According to the letter, the church will be sold under covenant to try to prevent unfitting future uses.

In its Facebook post, the Holy Family Church Preservation Society expressed its gratitude for everyone who had supported its efforts to save the church from this fate.

While our campaign was not successful, we want to thank ALL of you for believing that preserving Holy Family Church was indeed a worthwhile mission. We are so very grateful for your past support that allowed the Society to preserve Holy Family these last few years, the society said.

With permission from the diocese, the two parcels will go up for sale in early 2024.

Corpus Christi Parish is holding a special Mass for the Feast of the Holy Family at Holy Family Church at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 31.

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Council Bluffs' Holy Family Church to be closed and sold - The Daily Nonpareil