St. Peter the Apostle Church to be sold by archdiocese

Non-Catholic church to purchase historic church and adjacent buildings

"It is monumental, on a par in terms of design importance with many of the city's noted buildings," she said. "And it played such an important role for the archdiocese, who hired a leading architect and spared no expense building it."

Ward, a founder of the Irish Shrine on Lemmon Street, said volunteers have offered to do routine cleaning and maintenance at St. Peter's. They raised funds for a recent painting project. And rental income from an adjacent building can defray some of the costs of upkeep, he said.

"We want St. Peter's to survive," Ward said. "You can't put places like this back together again once you have dismantled them. We are trying to support a historic Catholic monument. This church can support itself. It really is in excellent condition."

The Irish Shrine is moving forward with plans for a Mass at St. Peter's this spring for its members.

"We will clean the church and find a priest," Ward said. "But we might not have an altar or pews."

Baltimore Sun reporter Jessica Anderson contributed to this article.

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