SEPTEMBER 30, 2022
mississippicatholic.com
Sacred Heart celebrates 75 years of commitment to Catholic education By Laura Grisham
Sacred Heart School celebrated its legacy of a quality catholic education with a full SOUTHAVEN – The story of Sacred day of activities for students, staff, alumni Heart School dates back 75 years. In the and friends of the school. beginning, Father John Flanagan, SCJ, The day started with a family picnic wrote to Bishop R.O. Gerow in 1944 reand games on campus. Inside, every corquesting a church for the 34 Catholics in ner of the school was filled with pictures, the village of Walls in northwest DeSoto yearbooks and memorabilia from past County. That was the year that the Harris years. Dozens of the school’s former edufamily opened their home to the group cators were on hand to greet alumni and to celebrate the first Mass. Many Sacred reminisce about days gone by. Heart School alumni fondly refer to this Mass was celebrated in the school building as “The Little White House.” gymnasium with Bishop Joseph Kopacz, By the end of 1944, construction as the main celebrant. Alongside him of Sacred Heart Catholic Church was were Father Vien Nguyen, provincial sucomplete. During the dedication of the perior of the U.S. Province of the Priests church, parishioners requested a school of the Sacred Heart (SCJs), Father Jack be built. World War II delayed construcKurps, executive director of Sacred Heart tion of the school due to lack of building Southern Missions (and vice provincial materials. Finally, in the fall of 1947, the work was completed. The School Sisters SOUTHAVEN – Sacred Heart School celebrated 75 years of Catholic education superior) and Father David Szatkowsof St. Francis agreed to send three sisters on Sept. 17. The school opened in 1947 with 17 students. (Photo courtesy of ki, local superior of the SCJ community. More than 400 people attended the litto staff the school. On Sept. 17, 1947, Laura Grisham) urgy. Sacred Heart School opened with 17 stuAccolades were in no short supply for the school or its educators. Father Kurps dents. From that tiny three-room building in Walls, Mississippi, Sacred Heart School has thanked the many dedicated teachers and staff, who through the years, were commitseen many changes over the years. The growth of the student body necessitated the ted to making sure that the children received a good education and made sure that construction of a new building in 1999. A larger, more centrally located site in South- they could succeed. He also recognized the dedication of the School Sisters of St. Francis, who have proaven was chosen. Situated on 16 acres in central DeSoto County, Sacred Heart School serves students from across northern Mississippi and the Memphis-Metropolitan area. vided many teachers throughout the schools’ seven-and-a-half decades of operation. The school offers classes for hundred of students from early childhood development “In the early years, most of the students of Sacred Heart School came from poor backbeginning at age three and continuing through middle school through eighth grade. On Saturday, Sept. 17, exactly 75 years to the day after first opening its doors, – Continued on page 6 –
116 Years of devotion: St. Mary Catholic Church to be honored with historic markers By John Surratt (The Vicksburg Post)
VICKSBURG – For 116 years, St. Mary Catholic Church has been a source of spiritual guidance and education for African American Catholics in Vicksburg and Warren County. Its importance to the community will be remembered on Oct. 16 with a ceremony dedicating two historic markers – one for the church and another for the elementary and high school. The markers, said Benny Terrell, a member of the marker committee, were the idea of the church’s pastor, Father Joseph Nguyen. “He decided that he wanted to do something to recognize St. Mary’s; to highlight the significant contributions of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and St. Mary’s School to the spiritual and educational needs of the Vicksburg community,” he said. “We wanted to cover those things that we have done that have impacted this community and a lot of the minority people in this community.” The original plan, Terrell said, was to unveil the markers in 2021 to celebrate the church’s 115th anniversary, but the impact of COVID-19 delayed the plans.
“We couldn’t get the markers done until 2022 but we decided to go on and do the dedication anyway.” St. Mary’s parish was founded in 1906 by Father Aloysius Heick. The first church was on Holly Street “right behind where United Cleaners is located on Cherry Street, down the hill,” Terrell said. The Sisters of Mercy provided the altar for the first
church, the candlesticks and the priest’s vestments, and the priests at St. Paul Catholic Church provided a place for Heick to stay until St. Mary’s moved to its present location at Main and Second North streets later in 1906 and also started an elementary and high school. The present church was built in 1923. – Continued on page 16 –
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Journey of Hope 7 Catholic Charities latest event with David Magee
Eucharistic Congress 11 Diocese to host Eucharistic Congress in October
U.S. Synod Report 13 USCCB releases summary of synod findings