What if I told you that Sacred Heart Chapel has been a spiritual home for Washington D.C. residents since 1899? The Shrine of the Sacred Heart is more than just a building. It is a vibrant community hub.
The Shrine of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic parish. It was established in the Mount Pleasant/Columbia Heights neighborhood. The parish church is a large domed Byzantine structure. It was modeled after the Cathedral in Ravenna, Italy.
The current church is the second home for the Shrine of the Sacred Heart community. The original red brick structure was dedicated in 1901. The current structure was completed in 1922. Both buildings were influenced by the City Beautiful architectural movement. This movement shaped Washington from 1901 to 1910.
Initially, the parish was part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. This was before the Archdiocese of Washington was established in 1939.
The church is located at 3211 Sacred Heart Way. This was formerly Pine Street NW. It is nestled between Mt. Pleasant and Columbia Heights. It is just off 16th Street Northwest. This street was a dividing line in racially divided Washington after the 1968 riots.
The original parish church stood at the corner of 14th Street and Park Road Northwest. This is where the Tivoli Theater is now. The current church was established in the 1920s. Murphy & Olmsted designed the building. John Joseph Earley was the architectural sculptor.
Earley used an innovative technique. He beautified concrete by infusing it with fragmented quartz stones. He scraped the surface during drying to expose the stones as the concrete set. This technique is known today as the Mo-Sai Technique. You can also see this technique in Earley’s work at Meridian Hill Park.
Local tradition says the church was built on a spur off 16th Street. Many mainline Protestant churches were on 16th Street. Their leaders objected to a Roman Catholic church joining them.
Wealthy patrons built the church. They reportedly raised the funds in three weeks. Today, it serves many lower-income immigrant families. Many are Latin American especially Salvadoran-Americans. The parish celebrates Mass in Spanish, Portuguese, English, Haitian Creole, and Vietnamese. On Holy Thursday, Easter, and Christmas, vigil Masses are in four languages.
Priests of the Franciscan Capuchin Order administer the church. The current pastor is Fr. Emilio Biosca Agüero OFM Cap. In 2010, Fr. Moises Villalta became the first Salvadoran-American pastor.
Sacred Heart has a long history of social justice ministry. It frequently hosts the District’s labor Mass on the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. It is also home to the Hermano Pedro homeless outreach program. The parish houses devotions to Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Óscar Romero. Romero was canonized in October 2018.
Flags representing the nations of birth and ancestry hang from the choir loft. This reflects the diverse congregation of Sacred Heart.
Since 1967, Sacred Heart Catholic Church has offered liturgical services in Spanish. It acts as a gathering space for the Hispanic community in Mount Pleasant.
Clerical workers from the church immersed themselves in the neighborhood. They worked with youth, political organizers, and residents on various projects. Sacred Heart hosted events like English classes and community meetings. It even housed the GALA Hispanic Theatre group.
Sacred Heart continues to engage with the community. It adapts its mission to meet the neighborhood’s needs.
So, as you stand before the Shrine of the Sacred Heart remember its rich history. It is a testament to community faith and architectural innovation.