Manitowoc police seek St. Boniface Church trespasser who damaged former church's doors to gain entry

Brandon Reid, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
·2 min read
Still clip from surveillance video showing a suspected trespasser inside St. Boniface Church in Manitowoc.
Still clip from surveillance video showing a suspected trespasser inside St. Boniface Church in Manitowoc.

MANITOWOC – Manitowoc police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a person suspected of trespassing at the old St. Boniface Catholic Church and Rectory, 1110 S. 10th St.

The department said in a post on social media that the suspect damaged several doors to gain access to the building.

The department shared surveillance video on its Facebook page showing the suspect inside the building.

Anyone with information can contact the department’s Shift Commander by calling 920-686-6551 or reporting information anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 920-683-4466 or using the P3 app. Those sharing information should reference case No. 2023-00012281.

St. Boniface has not been the site of regular worship services since the consolidation of St. Francis of Assisi Parish nearly 15 years ago.

Church leaders have previously said the time has come to tear the aging building down rather than watch it slowly collapse but others are working to save the structure.

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St. Boniface Catholic Church building in Manitowoc
St. Boniface Catholic Church building in Manitowoc

Costs to remodel or renovate the church, built in 1885, would top $2.2 million, plus operating costs, Father Douglas LeCaptain of St. Francis of Assisi previously told the Herald Times Reporter.

Although he and elders within the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay understand the nostalgia parishioners have for the site, LeCaptain told the HTR that watching the building fall apart is worse than dismantling it.

St. Boniface Society members have offered to raise $1 million needed to renovate the site and $1 million for an endowment but said parish leaders haven’t agreed to let them pursue the effort. Parish leaders told the HTR in May they still haven’t decided what they’d like to do with the site.

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The society has suggested it could be renovated to be used as a church or space for special events, such as weddings or reunions. They’ve launched a Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/742575039966892.

Reporter Patti Zarling contributed to this report.

Contact Brandon Reid at 920-686-2984 or breid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @breidHTRNews.

This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc police seek St. Boniface Church trespasser who damaged site