Past Updates

Why Are We Building a New Church and Adoration Chapel?

Your Input
During our spring parish-wide planning study to understand your hopes for the future of St. Louis de Montfort, we heard a strong and unified message. People are excited about the direction of our parish and were supportive of the plans to further develop our campus. It was clear that the new church and adoration chapel were seen as the two highest priorities and 92% of participants said they would make a gift to support a campaign. As we move forward, we remember the key reasons WHY our plan is so important.

Growth
Fishers continues to grow quickly, and our parish is growing with it. In the past three years, we have registered nearly 400 new families at SLDM. This increase directly affects how full our Masses are each week, and studies show visitors are less likely to return when a Mass is at or above 70% full. In 2025, the 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Masses have exceeded this level nearly every Sunday. According to the Fishers 2040 Comprehensive Plan, the city expects 30,000 new residents in the next 15 years. A larger church will allow us to welcome new families and remain a visible sign of faith for all who call this community home.

Legacy
We stand on the foundation laid by parishioners whose vision and sacrifice built our current church and school. Now it is our turn to prepare a spiritual home for the next generation. A new church and adoration chapel will continue our story of faith and create places where future generations encounter Christ in prayer and community. In doing this, we will also be able to convert our current church into a social hall giving us adequate space to gather and live our faith together.

Community
A unified campus will make it easier for parishioners to gather for worship and community life. It will help us host key large parish events like the seminarian dinner, back to school nights, the St. Nicholas Breakfast, our Feast Day Celebration, Mary’s Way and the Corpus Christi Celebration. Improved flow and hospitality will ease visitor confusion, support grieving families during funeral meals and strengthen community moments like coffee and donuts, catch up conversations and meaningful parent connections.

Beauty
The new church will draw on beautiful and timeless architectural elements that lift hearts to prayer and teach our faith through design. Our leadership team has studied this closely through research, tours and consultations with Catholic leaders. This vision is rooted in Starved for Wonder, the
pastoral letter on the role of beauty in parish life. A copy of this letter can be found on the homepage of our website, in the narthex, as well as the parish office. Beauty plays a key role in evangelization, and our church should help all who enter encounter God through wonder.

ANNOUNCING OUR CAPITAL CAMPAIGN THEME!
We are excited to share the theme of our capital campaign: Growing Together Toward Heaven. This effort will help us strengthen our parish home and ensure that St. Louis de Montfort continues to be a place where faith, family and service flourish for generations to come.

Fr. Haan's Article
We invite you to read Fr. Haan’s bulletin article HERE ​discussing the meaning of the campaign theme. 

Giving
At this stage, we are not accepting gifts from the wider parish community. We look forward to inviting every parishioner to participate once the campaign launches in January. 

What’s Coming Soon
In the weeks ahead, you’ll receive: 

• Answers to frequently asked questions about the campaign 
• More details about the new church and adoration chapel projects 
• Information on ways to give and when to give 

Stay tuned as we continue preparing for this exciting new chapter for St. Louis de Montfort!

As fall begins, our master plan projects and campaign preparations are building momentum! We are grateful for the progress that has been made and eager to share both recent highlights and what is on the horizon.

Updates

• Campaign Leadership: We are blessed to welcome our newest campaign cabinet members who have generously stepped forward to lead this effort: Phil & Sally Berry, Steve & Julie Ferrucci, Matthew & Maggie Fox, Jim & Lauren Gilkey, Josh & Jennifer Heltsley, Larry & Jerilyn Kunkel, Reid & Amber Leazier, Buddy & Diane LeRose, Mark & Deborah Mader, Johnny & Brandy Roldan, Phil & Gretchen Schott, Christopher & Jen Weldon, Mike Wilhelm, and John & Tina Zimmerman. Their leadership and commitment will be instrumental as we move ahead.
• Design Development: SLDM leadership continues to work closely with our architect and diocesan leaders to refine the scope and scale of our new church and adoration chapel.
• Campaign Communications: Behind the scenes, we are developing key resources including our campaign theme, logo, FAQs, video, case statement, website and pledge materials. These will help us convey a big picture focus while maintaining an attention to detail and continuing our commitment to transparency.

Looking Ahead
In the weeks to come, collaboration will continue among our architect, diocesan leaders, parish leadership and the Steier Group to advance plans with transparency and care. We are excited to continue onboarding our campaign general chairs and cabinet as they prepare to seek the very first commitments that will set the tone for the campaign.

We ask for your continued prayers and encouragement. With every step forward, we draw closer to ensuring that our St. Louis de Montfort community is prepared to carry out God’s mission faithfully and fruitfully for generations to come.