Stunning 125-year-old Catholic church faces the wrecking ball after parishioners struggled to raise $2m for repairs, meaning it must now close

A historic Catholic church faces imminent demolition if its parishioners aren't able to raise $2 million for repairs and maintenance. 

Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Chicago has been around for 125 years, and acted as the primary church for three surrounding neighborhoods of Ashland Avenue. 

The church held its first mass in October 1892 and was physically moved in 1929.  

It took the efforts of 50 men and their horses to pry the 10,000 ton church from its foundation, move it across the street and rotate it 90 degrees. According to a Chicago Ancestry site, the church was moved at a 'foot a minute.'

'It is a magnificent, historically and architecturally significant church,' said church preservation advocate Julie Sawacki on the steps leading to the church's entrance. 'Imagine tearing something so significant down.'

The front façade of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Chicago. The historic building faces certain destruction if $2 million isn't raised for repairs. The archdiocese says there's no viable plan to raise the massive amount of funds

The interior of Our Lady of Lourdes, showing a painted mural in the back of the church

The church in its present form was built in 1916 and moved across a street by 50 men and horses in 1929

The Archdiocese of Chicago told CBS News that attendance at the church's Sunday masses have steadily declined. 

The church simultaneously needs $2 million worth of repairs and without the community's support, its likely it will be demolished. 

There are a group of parishioners, including Hilda Correa, who are desperately trying to save the famed religious landmark. Correa and others say the church attracts tourists, both Christian and non-Christian.

Correa also alluded to the fact that times are hard. Although she didn't specify what she was talking about - perhaps the years-long pandemic or stubborn inflation - Correa says the church is a place of comfort for those who come to visit.

Hilda Correa, left, and Julie Sawacki, right, as well as a number of others passionate about keeping Our Lady of Lourdes alive made impassioned pleas on the steps of the church before its last service on May 19

The wooden pews of the church are seen, along with the altar and the mural above

A close up of the mural, which represents 'The Blessing of Our Lady of Lourdes'

The church altar is pictured, which sits just below the mural 

A cross that sits atop one of the church's steeples.

'The religious aspect is really what's really touching us because losing such a valuable place that people can come especially in these days...'

Our Lady of Lourdes will be holding its final service on May 19, but Preservation Chicago, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving city landmarks, plans to revive the church and make it into a holy shrine.

'The effort here will probably be long and labored, perhaps. There's a lot of different moving parts and a lot of different factors,' said Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller. 

There is a Change.org petition with 1,107 signatures to preserve the church as a historical landmark rather than knocking it down. The goal is to reach 1,500 signatures.