Sacred Heart Church, Rectory, School and Convent (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

The Sacred Heart Church, Rectory, School and Convent make up a historic Roman Catholic church complex in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The church was built in the 1870s and 1880s to serve the parish first organized as the St. John the Evangelist Parish in 1842. The cornerstone of the church was laid on 4 October 1874. It was dedicated in 1883, and opened for Divine Service on 12 November 1876. The rectory was added in 1885, and the convent and school followed in 1902. The church is a Medieval Gothic structure designed by P. W. Ford. The complex occupies an entire city block, and has been partly taken over for Cambridge city school administration. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 13 April 1982; #387395. Brief history Under the pastorate of Msgr. John O'Brien the cornerstone of Sacred Heart Church was laid on October 4, 1874 by Archbishop John Joseph Williams. Later Bishop of Portland, Maine, James Augustine Healy, then pastor of St. James in Boston delivered the sermon. The basement of the church opened for services on November 12, 1876. Sacred Heart Church was dedicated on January 28, 1883 with Archbishop Williams presiding, assisted by Bishops Healy of Portland, McMahon of Hartford, and O'Reilly of Springfield. A "Description of the Altar by the Architect" states in part, "The altar of the Sacred Heart Church, for beauty of design and grandeur of effect, has few, if any rivals in the United States." The Sacred Heart Rectory was built in 1895 under Msgr. O'Brien. The Parish School opened in 1902 and was staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph. The High School would close in June 1964 and the elementary school would close in June 1966. The Parish Baptistry, between the rectory and church building, closing off the courtyard, was built in 1906. The Church steeple was razed in June 1962 due to poor structural condition. On June 29, 1963 the church structure suffered a fire. During the fire the roof and most of the original windows were destroyed. Saint John's Literary Institute Within the parish bounds and started under Fr. Carroll, the St. John's Literary Institute was founded in 1852 to provide fellowship, entertainment, and education for East Cambridge's Catholic Community. On January 13, 1942 the building that had been the institute hall and become the Parish Center burned down. A Cambridge Historical Commission marker was placed on a building now occupying the plot where the institute hall once stood. Sacred Heart Review Under the direction of Rev. John O'Brien a parish periodical is assembled, the first issue being published on December 1, 1888. This small periodical would ultimately grow to received national subscribership and maintain a printing office in the parish neighborhood. The Sacred Heart Review ceased publication in 1918 after 1,547 issues, now catalogued by the Boston College Libraries. List of Pastors (Old) St. John's (1842-1876) John Bernard Fitzpatrick (1842-1844) later third bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Rev. Manasses Dougherty (1844-1849) later pastor of St. Peter Church in Cambridge. Rev. George T. Riordan (1849-1851) Rev. Laurence Carroll (1841-1858) Rev. George Haskins, administrator (1858) Rev. Francis X. Brannigan (1859-1861) Rev. John W. Donahoe (1861-1873) Msgr. John A. O'Brien (1873-1917) Sacred Heart and Old St. John's Parish (1876-1934) Msgr. John A. O'Brien (1873-1917) Msgr. Hugh F. Blunt, L.L.D. (1917-1929) later pastor of St. John Parish in North Cambridge. Rev. Joseph P. Mahar (1929-1941) Sacred Heart Parish (1934–2022) Rev. Joseph P. Mahar (1929-1941) Rev. James J. Walsh (1941-1950) Msgr. Michael F. Costello (1950-1975) Rev. Francis C. O'Hare, administrator (1975) Rev. George D. Vartzelis (1975-1984) Rev. John D. O'Donnell (1984-1993) Rev. John P. Tackney (1993-2015) Rev. Walter Carreiro, administrator (2015-2016) Rev. Joseph L. Curran, administrator (2016-2022) East Cambridge Catholic Collaborative (since 2022) Rev. Michael Harrington (2022–Present) See also St. John the Evangelist Church (Cambridge, Massachusetts) National Register of Historic Places listings in Cambridge, Massachusetts Some Aspects of the East Cambridge Story References