*Correction: We were told by the parishioners that they are only looking to restore and endow the church, not to purchase it.
Manitowoc’s Community Development Authority believes a historic church does not meet the criteria for demolition.
The authority voted unanimously to deny a Certificate of Appropriateness to demolish St. Boniface Church because certain criteria had to be met.
The denial was due to the church’s historical and cultural significance, the downtown Manitowoc guidelines, among other factors.
Community Development Director Adam Tegan tells SeehaferNews.com that the denial of the demo was only part of the city’s process.
“It’s only tied to the certificate of appropriateness, which is a step due it being in the downtown design overlay district,” he noted. “So, staff makes a recommendation, Community Development Authority either approves that or denies that.”
With the denial, St. Francis of Assisi Parish, which owns St. Boniface, can decide what to do next after the CDA’s decision.
“They have the ability to appeal that to the city council,” Tegan explained. “And then, if for example, that was the decision they did not want to hear, they have the ability to appeal it to the courts.”
Parishioners who want to save St. Boniface also came to the Community Development Authority meeting.
Lee Kummer told the committee that a group has been working to raise funds to restore and endow the church.*
Kummer also spoke to the Manitowoc County Historical Society’s involvement and read a letter he said was from Executive Director Amy Meyer.
“The building is a perfect style of a Gothic-style construction that cannot be seen elsewhere in our skyline,” he read. “As our organization knows all too well, restoration or even adaptive reuse of historic space is never an easy or cheap endeavor. But all effort should be made to preserve the building’s architecture and history for our community’s future generations.”
Committee Member Gene Maloney says he would not like to see the church torn down; it can’t just stay there either.
“It’s going to fall in on itself eventually and we’re all going to have broken hearts as it happens,” he stated. “So something has to be worked out with the owner of the building.”
The parish owns the church but is overseen by the Diocese of Green Bay.
3rd District Alderman Mike Cummings was also in favor of denying the demolition, with St. Boniface falling within his district.
We asked a member of St. Francis of Assisi Parish for comment on the denial, but they said they can’t say much right now.
The only comment made is that “they trust the process.”
The last Catholic Mass held at St. Boniface was in 2013. A 2023 decree from Green Bay Bishop David Ricken asked for the closure of the church, saying it was “no longer necessary for the care of souls.”
The parishioners who wanted to save the church appealed the decision to Rome, but the Catholic Church’s Supreme Court upheld the decree.
St. Francis of Assisi Parish has been selling items from the church as it prepares for demolition.
