CULLMAN, Ala. – On April 9, 2024, Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church will celebrate 150 years of ministry to Cullman and its surrounding community. Planned festivities between now and October begin with participation in the Cullman County Museum’s April Walking Tours and a parish ministry fair on April 14.
A few highlights of Sacred Heart’s history
A number of Catholic families were already living in north Alabama prior to the construction of the church building. Monsignor John Baasen conducted Masses across the region starting in 1872, and referred to all of north Alabama as “his parish” as Col. John Cullman’s first settlers arrived. In 1873 the Kyle, Madden and Osborn families donated a parcel of land to the Diocese of Mobile for a Catholic church to be built in Cullman.
1874 – The first church building was completed and dedicated as “Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.” In the same year, the South and North Alabama Railroad donated adjoining lots to allow the construction of a rectory and school at the site.
The first building was rudimentary, later described in a 1915 Tribune article: “Located in a grove of woods surrounded by partially burned stumps and underbrush, the crude structure was windowless and had only one door. The rough-hewn floor boards were not fastened down and would often spring up to slap the worshippers faces when stepped on. The walls and altar were unfinished wood. Mother Carolina later covered the altar with white oil cloth and had a chasuble sent from Notre Dame Motherhouse in Milwaukee. Trestles, with rough logs laid across them, served as pews.”
1877 – A second church building, a house for the new pastor and a small convent were built. Fr. James Meurer became the first residential priest as Sacred Heart officially became a Parish Church.
1878 – The Notre Dame Sisters from Milwaukee opened the parish’s school, and Sacred Heart’s mission church St. Boniface opened in Hanceville. The school would get a new building just one year later due to a rapid increase in enrollment.
1887 – Sacred Heart began to be pastored by Benedictine priests.
1891 – The Benedictine Order founded St. Bernard Abbey just outside Cullman, followed the next year by Sacred Heart Convent.
1910 – The parish broke ground on the current church building, and the Diocese of Birmingham’s first chapter of the Knights of Columbus was established in Cullman.
1913 – The cornerstone of the current building was laid.
1915 – The current Sacred Heart Church building was dedicated, though some of its impressive stained glass windows would not arrive from their German manufacturer until after the end of World War I.
1950 – A new stone school building, built to match the church and completed in 1948, was officially dedicated.
1961 – The parish constructed the current rectory.
1977 – Sacred Heart School held its first German festival. Two years later, the City of Cullman would form a committee to oversee the festival, and Cullman’s Oktoberfest celebration was born.
1991 – The parish built its current Family Life Center.
2009 – Fr. Patrick Egan, O.S.B., Sacred Heart’s current pastor, began his duties.
2013 – Sacred Heart celebrated the centennial of its current building.
The parish hopes to conclude its anniversary celebration in October with worship featuring the new organ that has been the centerpiece of an ongoing choir loft renovation.
Parish historian/archivist Mary Hayden Hovater has studied Sacred Heart’s story, and is helping the church prepare for its celebration.
Said Hovater, “It is an honor and a privilege to work in our archives. Every day I get to work in there I discover something new and learn more about our Sacred Heart history, as well as gain a deeper appreciation for the over 2,000 years of Catholic history of which we participate.”
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