Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish
Sunday 8:45 AM Mass - 816 W. 26th St. Erie, PA 16508
FAITH, MISSION, & VALUES
Our Faith
We believe in God, the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by
the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
on the third day he rose again
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand
of God the Father almighty;
he will come to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church,
the Communion of Saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen
Our Mission
Sacred Heart is a welcoming Catholic community caring for the needs of the Parish and Others in the spirit of Jesus.
OUR VALUES
Eucharist
Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life….in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch. Holy Communion provides an intimate union between Christ Jesus, the Head of the Body and us, and the members of his Body. The Eucharist is the fulfillment of the Baptismal grace, which unites and conjoins us to the Church: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:16-17).
Fellowship
We recognize that church is not a place we go to. It is the people. As members of the Body of Christ, we acknowledge that everyone who participates in our parish worship, events or outreach services sees Jesus through us. Therefore we strive to make all who enter through our doors feel welcomed, loved, and accepted.
Discipleship
Just as we cannot practice Christianity without other people, the Gospel is not supposed to remain private. As baptized Catholics we accept that it is the responsibility of each and every one of us to evangelize the message that is the “heart of the Gospel,” to everyone we meet. That message is the joyful proclamation that Jesus loves them, gave his life to save them and seeks to live at their side each day to strengthen and free them. Informal evangelization is how we live our daily lives witnessing Christ’s love and taking every opportunity to be Christ to others.
Service
Pope Francis directs us to get beyond a “simple welfare mentality” to passionate and compassionate love of the poor as persons loved by God. We value compassion that moves us to action. That action begins with filling the basic needs of the poor. It continues with working toward human equality and decency in our community and world.
History
In 1890, a group of men of German descent petitioned Bishop Mullen to establish a new congregation in southwest Erie. At this time, the population of Erie was 37,000 but it balanced to 60,000 due largely to the flow of German immigrants mostly from southern Germany and, therefore, Catholic. Shortly after his ordination, the Reverend Francis J. Bender was appointed the founding pastor in 1894. He would spend his entire priesthood as pastor at Sacred Heart Parish.
On May 14, 1899, a new church was dedicated by Bishop John E. Fitzmaurice. The first school was a former public school that was purchased by Father Bender for $200.00 and moved to 25th and Plum Streets. In the summer of 1913, the former public school was remodeled into a convent for the Sisters of St. Joseph. In its place was constructed a modern eight room school for $28,000! Father Bender moved into a new rectory in April, 1905. With the phenomenal growth of the parish, the church (1920) was enlarged and four classrooms added to the school in 1924.
However, it remained for Monsignor Bender’s successor, Monsignor Vitus J. Reiser to construct the present church and rectory in the early 1950’s. He broke ground for his last building project which included eight new classrooms and a youth center on January 1, 1960. Monsignor Reiser credited his success at the parish to his deep devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
With the passing of Monsignor Reiser on April 20, 1967, he was followed by the Reverend Joseph J. Grode who upgraded the sanctuary of the church according to what was perceived to be the directives of Vatican II.