Sacred Heart Parish Prosser WA

Sacred Heart Parish is a Roman Catholic Christian Community. Proclaiming the Gospel values of love and justice, both in worship and in the way we live, we maintain our Catholic identity and communion. In the Spirit of Jesus, we welcome and embrace the wider community, especially the marginalized, neglected, poor, and all those who have been hurt by society and/or the Catholic Church.

Sacred Heart Parish is a Faith Community. Professing our belief in God, in Jesus Christ who died on the cross so that we may have eternal life, and who continues to guide us by the Spirit, we are committed to carrying the message to others within the church and throughout society.

Sacred Heart Parish is a Eucharistic Community. Gathering in God’s gracious love, we believe our celebration of the Eucharist is the most important way to come together as a parish family. We are committed to full, conscious and active participation of all ages in both worship and the life of our parish community. We are to be open to be embraced, nourished, and challenged by God’s good grace and Jesus’ greater sacrifice.

Sacred Heart Parish is a Prophetic Community. Responding to our baptismal call, we encourage one another to live out the baptismal values, identity, and right in our common Christian mission of our baptismal call. We encourage each other to identify and utilize our God-given gifts and talents for the: common good: for the betterment of our families, our neighborhood, our workplace, our society, and the world. Nourished in Word and Sacrament, and united as Disciples of Christ Jesus in our Roman Catholic Church, we grow spiritually through caring for each other and relating the Word of God to our daily lives.

 

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https://www.prossersacredheart.com/  

 

 

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The history of the Catholic Church in Prosser began in the Fall of 1898, when Father Edward Maria Griva of Turin, Italy, started his missionary work in what was then called Yakima Falls, (later, Prosser Falls and finally, Prosser). Father Griva regularly at tended to the spiritual needs of the Catholic people who pioneered this area and offered Holy Mass in their homes.

As the Catholic community grew the need for a church became more urgent. Father accordingly spoke to various individuals about building a church and arranged for a meeting with the Catholic people in Sep-tember, 1899, to discuss his project. Agree-ment on the need for a church was unani-mous so Father Griva lost no time in start-ing a collection for a building fund. Land (two lots) within the town limits was do-nated. The local people were generous with money, and, according to Father Griva's Journal, friends in the East sent him a "very good donation. . .

At the time lumber was cheap, wages were low and Father soon found that he had enough money to go ahead with the project. He decided to pay for the lumber and other materials himself as well as for the wages of the workmen and to contract only for the construction itself. Minute specifications were drawn and the building of the first Catholic Church in Prosser got under way in October, 1899. The large bell, which still hangs in the belfry of the church build-ing, was blessed by Father Griva on October 27, 1899. Work on the church building was progress-ing satisfactorily when Father Griva was transferred early in January, 1900. Father Parodi came to take Father Griva's place. There are no records for this period.

However it is presumed that Father Parodi celebrated the opening of the first Sacred Heart Church in Prosser in the year 1900. In 1913, Sacred Heart Parish was separated from the Diocese of Seattle and placed under the newly created Diocese of Spokane. Prosser was the only town in the county at that time with a resident Pastor. The Rev. Murtaugh P. Shiel was the priest so honored. Father Shiel made a two-room addition to the church for living quarters. This was later converted to a sacristy when the rectory was built in 1922. Father John Hayes was Pastor at the time the rectory was built.

In the Summer of 1941, Father Joseph Sondergeld came to Prosser as Pastor and served the Catholic flock until 1954. In July 1951, Prosser was placed in the new Diocese of Yakima under the jurisdiction of His Excellency, The Most Reverend Joseph P. Dougherty, First Bishop of the Diocese.

Father Martin Soden succeeded Father Sander-geld as Pastor in 1954. During the next few years some improvements were made in the existing church and rectory. However it became apparent that the much beloved Sacred Heart Church on Sheridan Avenue, which had given more than sixty years of faithful service to the Catholic people of Prosser would soon have to be replaced with a new and more adequate structure.

In 1960, Father Soden left Prosser to become Chaplain at Holy Family Nursing Home in Spokane. At this time Father William Shaw took up the duties of Administrator of Sacred Heart Parish. In 1961, at the direction of His Excellency, the Parish began to purchase land for a building site on Highland Drive in the southeast area of the city.

Our present Pastor, Father Francis Smith, came to serve the Catholic people of Prosser in July, 1962. It was during this year that the final land pur-chase was made. The building site now encompass-es eighteen and one-half acres. At the close of 1962, the first concept of the new Sacred Heart Church and Rectory was being formed at the Yakima architectural firm of Doudna, Williams, and Phipps. Nineteen sixty-three was the red letter year when actual construction began on the new buildings.

The excavation began just before the year's end. Nineteen sixty-four was the year of activity. As the concrete arches were lifted on the foundation, the interest of the people quickened and it soon became evident that this would be an edifice of which the Parishioners and the whole community could be justly proud.

The buildings were occupied during the first week of November, 1964, and Father Francis Smith offered the first Holy Sacrifice of the Mass it the new location on November 8 of that year.

Praise and beauty go before Him; holiness and majesty are in His sanctuary. Ps. 95:6

Situated in the southeast area of the City of Prosser the new Sacred Heart Church rises proud-ly above a background of the rolling Horse HeavenHills. The circular roofline of the church is in per-fect harmony with the rounded contours of the surrounding terrain. Dominating the facade of the building complex is a slim white metal cross, which extends above the horizon to stand as visible evi-dence of our continued faith in the redemption of the world through the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The cross surmounts a triple-spired bell tower which is set in an enclosed courtyard at the front of the structure. The three bronze bells were cast in Holland and weigh a total of eighteen hundred pounds. The largest of the bells is named in honor of the Sacred Heart, to Whom the Parish is dedicated. The middle-sized bell is named in honor of St. Joseph, Patron of our Bishop, Joseph P. Dougherty. The third bell is named in honor of St. Francis, Patron Saint of our Pastor, Father Francis Smith.

The three bells ring the Angelus each day at morning, noon and evening. The design of the church incorporates the functional lines of modern architecture with the tradi-tional grace of medieval Gothic arches to give a feel-ing of timeless beauty particularly appropriate to the House of God. These ten-foot concrete arches join at the top to form an interior wall which encircles the nave of the church. The white ceiling is suspended from this interior wall by hidden steel wires. It rises to a pinnacle, forty-five feet high, above the sanctuary where daylight filters down onto the main altar through narrow skylight windows.

The main altar which is the focal point of the inter-ior is of natural walnut constructed in the shape of a ban-quet table. It is a free standing altar at which Mass can be offered facing the congregation. Prominent over the altar is a vibrant hued purple and blue velvet canopy or baldachin, which is a traditional covering or drapery over high altars. The use of a baldachin was introduced into Europe during the Middle Ages through the Crusades. It serves to focus attention on the main altar.

A corridor leads from the Priest's Sacristy at the rear of the church to the rectory. A beautiful, yet functional structure, the rectory contains living area and office for the Pastor, guest facilities, house-keeper's quarters, and a well-equipped, modern kitchen and laundry room.

The interior of the rectory is decorated in the warm desert colors of the surrounding landscape. The Swedish modern furniture is of walnut Sliding glass doors lead from the Pastor's s tudy to an enclosed private courtyard which has been constructed in the manner of an Oriental garden.