ST. LOUIS—A fire heavily damaged a large abandoned church that is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The two-alarm fire tore through the former St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church overnight. It was built for German Catholic immigrants in 1896 in north St. Louis.

The church has been bought several times and the Last Awakening Outreach Center used both the church and rectory until 2014, according to The Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation.

The church sat vacant until 2020 when a non-profit bought it with the goal to help restore it. 

The building was in peril due to theft, vandalism and decay, according to the historic preservation group. All of the building’s original copper had been stolen and there were holes in the roof. Current costs to repair it are estimated to be about $10 million.

St. Louis city also declared the building a city landmark.