About Our Lady of Grace

The Catholic Moment: January 15, 2023

Follow Christ.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” - Matthew 16:24-26

As a Catholic parish, we seek first the kingdom of God as taught by Jesus of Nazareth. Even in the face of decisions that oppose selfish desires or what our culture deems wise, we choose to act on Jesus’ teachings and example. He is our way, truth, and life.

Worship & Serve.

Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.” - Luke 22:19

Jesus clearly asked us to remember his sacrifice, and we memorialize him in celebrating the Eucharist and washing the feet of our neighbors. In our prayer and Sacrament, we humble ourselves and offer ourselves to God. In our ser-vice and justice work, we humble ourselves and offer ourselves to God.

Welcome with Joy.

“I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one an-other.” - John 13:35

Our parish is a family of families. This community shows hospitality to all our parishioners and visitors as if they were Christ themselves. We strive to be an authentic community that is noticeably joyful because of how we see Christ in one another.

Grow Disciples.

Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:18-20

Through our faith formation programs and Catholic school, we cultivate discipleship in our parishioners. We participate in this gradual nurturing of faith with the hope that our community will be made up of those who earnestly seek holiness throughout their lives.

In 1944, the Montfort Fathers from New York founded Our Lady of Grace. A large brick house served as the rectory with Masses taking place in the living room. Our first parish Mass was on September 15, 1944, for 14 families. Father Thomas Kelly, SMM, was the founding pastor of Our Lady of Grace, the only permanent parish in Hamilton County at the time. Sacred Heart in Cicero was then a mission church.

In 1945, Our Lady of Grace purchased a church building previously owned by Seventh Day Adventists on 11th Street. The first Mass for this building that seated 120 people occurred on December 8, 1945, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

In 1947, a three-room, six-grade school was opened and staffed by Sisters of St. Joseph from Tipton. In 1955, a group from the parish split and created a new church in Carmel, Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish.

In 1974, Our Lady of Grace moved to a new building on 10th Street that sat 350. This building is still present and currently is in use by another Christian denomination.

By 1980, another Catholic parish had formed from Our Lady of Grace: St. Louis de Montfort parish in Fishers. At this point, our parish had 425 families and was growing quickly. Additionally, the De Montfort Fathers returned to New York and diocesan priests took over OLG and SLDM in 1983.

In 1985, Our Lady of Grace's Parish Council commissioned a county-wide study of Catholic population and projected immense growth in the area through 2005. Though many options were debated, including creating a second parish, OLG decided to purchase property and build a much larger facility at 191st Street and State Road 37, our current location.

On September 8, 1991, Our Lady of Grace was dedicated at our current site with Bishop William Higi joining in for a cross-town procession.

In 2000, Our Lady of Grace reopened our school that had been closed since 1974. This school has served children ages 2-14 in Catholic education ever since.

As of 2017, our parish population is over 1800 families.

Our Lady of Grace is pastorate of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana. Our diocese was established in 1944 and includes areas of Indiana north of Indianapolis and south of Gary and Fort Wayne/South Bend.