St. Mary Catholic Church records

The establishment of St. Mary Catholic Church dates to World War I when the pastor and parishioners of St. Lawrence Catholic Church began to plan for a second Catholic parish in Muncie. In July 1930, the Bishop of the Fort Wayne Diocese appointed Father Edgar J. Cyr as pastor of the new parish and designated parish boundaries. In September 1930, construction began on a church building at the corner of West Jackson and Nichols streets. The first Mass was celebrated on December 8, 1930, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, in the basement of the church. The upper floor of the church was not completed until 1958.

In 1944, the parish became part of a newly created Diocese, Lafayette-in-Indiana. In 1949, the parish purchased the Kitselman estate for $250,000. The Kitselman house was renovated to serve as a convent for Sisters who taught at the newly established school. Both buildings were dedicated in 1952. Additional school buildings were dedicated in 1954 and 1956.

Ground was broken for the present St. Mary Church at 2300 W. Jackson Street on May 31, 1963, and the completed building was dedicated on August 15, 1965, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. The new church was consecrated on August 15, 1968. In 1975 a new rectory-administration building was completed, and in 1977 an adjacent 3.4 acres with two buildings were purchased. The Cyr Center, which provided additional classroom space as well as a multipurpose center and gymnasium, was completed in 1984, and the Kitselman sunken gardens were restored to contain the Stations of the Cross in 1990. The Kitselman house was renovated in 1998 and became a home for retired priests.

In 1980, the Parish Council appropriated $12,000 for the establishment of Hospitality House at Ball Memorial Hospital, and a board of directors made up of parishioners and Muncie community members was formed. Hospitality House opened in 1982.