A History of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King
Paoli, INDIANA
In the autumn of 1948 a small group of Catholics under the leadership of Fr. Robert Koch organized Our Lady of Perpetual Help Mission in Paoli, IN. They celebrated Mass in an apartment on East Water St. The next year the community moved to a one-room chapel. In August of 1952 the Home Mission Board of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis purchased a concrete block garage a mile east of Paoli and converted it to a chapel with a social room in the rear. At the consecration, the parish was re-named Our Lord Jesus Christ the King. The chapel was remodeled to its current status in 1982-83. The exterior of the building was bricked and a gabled roof installed over the quonset hut roof. The parish hall was added in 1988-89.
Both Our Lady of the Springs church in French Lick, IN and Christ the King parish were staffed by Jesuit priests from West Baden College 10 miles to the west until 1964. When the college closed, the Indianapolis diocese took over responsibility. Christ the King is no longer a Mission Church, but a “Sister Parish” to Our Lady of the Springs, sharing a pastor and many liturgical and social events. Christ the King has 96 registered families at present.