Sacred Heart Church-Edinburg dedicates new sanctuary

The Valley Catholic
EDINBURG — For more than a decade, the faithful of Sacred Heart Church in Edinburg dreamed of building a new sanctuary.The dream became a reality on Nov. 4 when Bishop Daniel E. Flores blessed and dedicated a new 19,348-square-foot church.

The new church is located on the northeast corner of N. 15th St. and E. Kuhn St. and seats more than 900.

“I thank the community, for your perseverance, for your willingness to sacrifice, for your willingness to have a dream and to work to make it possible and to see this day,” the bishop said.

Concelebrants of the Mass included Sacred Heart Church pastor Father Robert Charlton and Parochial Vicar Richard Lifrak of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary as well as several other priests from their community, who traveled to Edinburg from all points for the celebration.

In his letters, St. Paul says the will of the Father is to re-orient, redirect all things towards Christ Jesus, Bishop Flores said in his homily.

“We enter this world in creation, as experience teaches us and as the Scriptures make clear, as somewhat disordered,” the bishop said. “Creation is looking for a place to turn, to find its direction to orient itself. We look at the rising sun to find out where we are.”

The bishop continued, “That’s what will happen in this church.

Young children, men and women, old and young will come into these doors and celebrate this re-orienting of everything towards God.

We come in and face the altar because it is a symbol of Christ. We are fed at this altar. Our children will be confirmed at this altar. Our adults and children will be baptized in this place so that they can be directed, re-oriented.”

Sacred Heart Church began collecting funds for a new sanctuary or expansion 12 years ago under the guidance of then-pastor Father Michael Annunziato, who led the church from 1990-2005.

Plans and fundraising for the new church continued when Father Charlton arrived at the parish.

The new church was built by McAllen-based Texas Descon, L.P. and was designed by Rike-Ogden-Figueroa-Allex Architects, Inc. Springwood Studios of Troy, N.Y. was commissioned to design and construct the altar furnishings.

The total cost of the project was $4.75 million.

“I’m really thrilled, I’m really happy with the way things turned out,” Father Charlton said. “I think we achieved what we wanted which was, in part, to bring the Rio Grande Valley into the building so we tried to do that with color, texture and some of the elements that appear in the stained glass windows, such as local flora and fauna. We succeeded also in creating a space that people are going to love to pray in. It all came together beautifully.”

Father Annunziato, who now serves as a chaplain at a Catholic nursing home in Fairhaven, Mass., said he likes that the people are closer to the altar now than they were in the old church.

“In the old church, the people who sat in the back bench were more than 100 feet away from the altar,” he noted. “The semi-circular seating around the altar gives them a better view of the sacrificial table and of all the wonderful things that are happening. It leads to a much better liturgy.

“You have to hand it to Father Bob. He really built a wonderful place.”

At the end of the Mass, Father Charlton announced that the church is debt free, even with the new church.

“Even in wealthy communities, they wind up with big mortgages,” he said. “Clearly, our section of Edinburg is not a wealthy area but people are highly committed and very generous. People have made terrific sacrifices.”

Established in 1911, Sacred Heart Church in McAllen was the home church for Catholics in central Hidalgo County. From McAllen, Father Alfonso Jalbert of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate traveled to Edinburg to celebrate Mass and offer religious education at least once a month.

A small wooden chapel, called the Edinburg Catholic Mission, was built in 1916, establishing the first formal Catholic community in Edinburg.

That same year, the Sisters of Mercy established a residence in Edinburg and taught in local public schools for a short time. At the time, the state prohibited religious personnel from teaching in tax supported schools. The Sisters turned their focus on religious education, preparing children for First Holy Communion, training altar servers, rehearsing with the choir and more.

In 1921, the Sisters opened a Catholic school, which was an overwhelming success. The school attracted many of their former students from the public schools. On the first day of classes, student enrollment topped 300. The school remained open until 1972.

Sacred Heart Church was named a parish in 1927 in response to the growth of the Catholic population in Edinburg. In 1947, a larger mission-style church was constructed, which served the community until this new church was built. The old church will now be renovated and used as a parish hall.

Sacred Heart Church was administered by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate until August 4, 1977 when it was placed under the care of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Father Gerard Shanley was named pastor of the church by Bishop John J. Fitzpatrick.

“God himself takes possession of this building and says, ‘Here I dwell because here my people dwell,’” Bishop Flores said. “And the Good News that we announce to the world is that God is with his people. Our mission is to invite others to come through those doors so they can reorient their lives to the mystery of Christ. That is our mission and that is the mission that Sacred Heart Parish has been fulfilling for many years and which by its growth and its zeal will continue to fulfill in years to come.”