Catholic or not, there’s reason to root for Tacoma’s Holy Rosary church
Admittedly, I don’t have any real attachment to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church.
Aside, that is, from the attachment I would assume many Tacomans have to the century-old landmark.
I know it’s an iconic and uniquely historic building in a city I love. I also know that city happens to have a sad record of watching its quintessential old buildings get razed and paved over, and every time it happens the impact is real and lasting, with a little bit of our collective story vanishing from more than just the skyline.
Most importantly, it’s become clear in recent months just how much Holy Rosary means to so many people in Tacoma.
That alone makes me care about it.
All of this is a long way of saying that I hope the church stands tall in Tacoma for a very long time.
I really, truly do.
I also have no idea if it will, and, if I’m being honest, I have to admit the odds seem long — at least from afar.
Fully renovating the church would require roughly $18 million, we’ve been repeatedly told. Even just getting the church back up and functioning would take at least $2 million.
Then there’s sizable task of convincing the Archdiocese of Seattle to play along and call off the wrecking ball.
Together, it’s almost enough to make me fear hope is lost.
Until, that is, I remember where I’m writing this from.
If a scrappy city can save a church like Holy Rosary — and places have —Tacoma certainly has a shot, doesn’t it?
I mean, Tacoma is a perpetual underdog, and the good people of this city have seen a challenge or two before. Counting them out now seems premature, right?
Let’s hope so.
Because hope matters — and Jonathan Carp has it.
Big donation stokes hope
Carp is one of three board members of the nonprofit working to save Holy Rosary, which goes by Save Tacoma’s Historic Church.
It’s been a good week for Carp and the grassroots effort he’s helping to lead. As The News Tribune’s Craig Sailor reported, a significant $500,000 donation from the the Jack and Angela Connelly Family Foundation recently rolled in.
Even better, the donation came with a pledge to match all donations given by Aug. 31, 2020 up to the $500,000, meaning the gesture could total $1.5 million by the time things are said and done.
Together with the $400,000 the effort had already collected, it means Save Tacoma’s Historic Church is at least within striking distance of its initial goal — raising enough money to cover the reported cost of initial repairs.
“I felt good when we got the donation, but I was just as hopeful before it came,” said Carp. “I don’t have any doubt that God wants this building preserved.”
Unfortunately, this columnist’s attempts to reach God for comment were unsuccessful.
Brody Hale, however, was more than willing to talk.
Hale isn’t from Tacoma, but he’s taken a vested interest in the fate of Holy Rosary, and the perspective he has to offer is worth listening to.
That’s because Hale, who has helped Catholic churches in similar situations across the country, is working with folks in Tacoma, like Carp, to craft a plan.
That includes answering a question that’s on a number of peoples’ mind:
With a parish that’s greatly diminished from when Holy Rosary was in its prime, what exactly might a new lease on life look like for the church building itself — and why should that matter to your average Tacoma resident?
Put bluntly, $2 million — and certainly $18 million — is a whole lot of money to raise in a city with plenty of needs. If it’s going to take a true community effort to save Holy Rosary, what’s the wider benefit — beyond simply historic preservation.
Hale, a lawyer and practicing Catholic, describes his viewpoint as “forward looking,” and it’s probably the correct vantage point to take.
Hale is well studied in the laws that govern the church as a bureaucracy and the physical churches that bureaucracy oversees.
To have success playing by those rules make two things imperative, he said.
The first is demonstrating to the powers that be an ability to financially maintain the church, likely through a collective group just like Save Tacoma’s Historic Church. Hale believes that Carp and company are well on their way.
The second is devising a plan that keeps Holy Rosary as a Roman Catholic church but likely working to redefine precisely what that means, in part out of a recognition that things have changed and the parish has dwindled over the years.
That is trickier work, though Hale is careful to note that it can take many forms beyond simply housing a parish. There are plenty of ways a church like Holy Rosary can function within the scope of what canon law mandates, he said.
This includes a chapel, shrine or oratory, Hale explained, in addition to being available for mass.
A church as a community asset
Talk of the future brings me back to Carp and our conversation about what, exactly, that might be for Holy Rosary.
While there are some limits to what might be — for instance, don’t expect raves or rock concerts anytime soon — Carp said his group’s goal is to save the church for all of Tacoma, not just those who might worship there.
While Carp emphasizes that the church will remain a church, he said the plan that Save Tacoma’s Landmark Church is advocating also envisions using the building to host events, art shows, lectures and community service efforts — like outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness.
There’s little doubt the church could serve as a grand Tacoma home for all of the above.
“The church is a great big building with a lot of space,” Carp said. “We want to preserve the building as a Catholic church, first and foremost … but we also believe it can become much more of a community asset. We want it to be an asset to the wider Catholic community and the community in general.”
Whether it happens or not, it seems like a vision Tacoma could get behind.
At least it feels like something I could get behind, as little more than a guy who grew up driving by it on Interstate 5.
So now what?
Well, let’s just hope — or pray if you’d prefer — the Archdiocese of Seattle feels the same way.
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 6:10 AM.
