page_title: Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (Houston)
section_title: History of Sacred Heart Parish
hierarchical_section_title: Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (Houston) / History of Sacred Heart Parish
caption_attribution_description: English: The old Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral in Houston Español: La antigua Concatedral del Sagrado Corazón
context_page_description: The Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is a place of worship located at 1111 St. Joseph Parkway in downtown Houston. The co-cathedral seats 1,820 people in its 32,000-square-foot sanctuary. Together with the venerable St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica in Galveston, Sacred Heart serves more than 1.2 million Roman Catholics in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
context_section_description: The third Bishop of Galveston, Nicholas A. Gallagher, established Sacred Heart parish in downtown Houston as the fourth parish in the city on November 22, 1896, to serve the growing Catholic population. The Reverend Thomas Keaney, became the first pastor of Sacred Heart Church.
  On March 11, 1897, Keaney purchased property facing Pierce and Fannin Streets and architect Olle J. Lorehn drew plans for a gothic-style church.  However, construction on Lorehn's design would not begin until 1911. To serve the congregation in the interim, a small church was built on the corner of Pierce and San Jacinto Streets. Bishop Gallagher laid the cornerstone for the temporary sanctuary on May 16, 1897, and dedicated it on November 6, 1897.
  On June 11, 1911, Bishop Gallagher laid the cornerstone of the present Sacred Heart Church. The church was dedicated to God’s service on April 14, 1912, at a final cost of $96,669. The new Sacred Heart Church accommodated 800 people, and was three stories. After the completion of the new Sacred Heart, the temporary church became the school building.
  Father Morgan J. Crow, the fourth pastor of Sacred Heart, constructed a two-story, brick rectory that was completed and occupied in 1920 to replace the wooden structure. In 1922, the original church building was demolished to make way for a new school building at a cost of $52,800.
  Monsignor Jerome A. Rapp, the fifth pastor of Sacred Heart (1927–1952), oversaw much of the interior decoration of the church including acquiring statuary.  His successor, Monsignor John J. Roach, installed central heating and air-conditioning in 1953 and in 1954, expanded the parish footprint by acquiring adjacent property at Fannin and Calhoun Streets.  With this purchase, the parish owned an entire city block.
  Monsignor Roach had the exteriors of the church and school refurbished in 1957, enlarged the sacristy and made other alterations in addition to constructing a new rectory.  In 1964, he oversaw renovation of the interior of Sacred Heart.
  The final interior renovation of the Co-Cathedral was completed in 1990 with the rededication on March 25, 1990, by Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza.  Changes included a new episcopal chair and a total of three new mosaics that were designed and made in Italy. The first mosaic is of Christ the pantocrator above the episcopal chair represents Jesus as the shepherd and teacher of the church. The second mosaic is a Eucharistic symbol taken from the miracle of the multiplication of the five loaves and two fish. Above this mosaic is the Coat of Arms for the late Pope John Paul II. The third mosaic depicts a baptismal theme and the death and resurrection of Christ. The three mosaics were installed by Italo Botti of Chicago.
  Under Father Troy Gately, in December 2006, the Co-Cathedral parish purchased the former Federal Reserve Bank Building, adjacent to the new Co-Cathedral for $5 million, and named it Cathedral Centre.  It will replace the 1922 Sacred Heart School building to house classrooms, offices, parish hall, youth rooms, child care center, music rooms, library, and a cafeteria. The parish is expected to spend another $2 million on renovations for the new Cathedral Centre.
caption: The old Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
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