Blog Post 4

Sacred Heart Church

When people think of classifying a city or a big town, they think of the famous landmarks that lie there, the history that has happened there and the people that live there. They think of everything significant that has happened in that city, but they don’t necessarily think of the small things that make the community a whole. When we think of New Philadelphia, we think of the Schoenbrunn Village, the Quaker Cinema, The Daily Grind and so many other places that associate with New Philadelphia. However, we don’t think of the small businesses or churches that make up the rest of the town. One small part of New Philadelphia that can be tied together is Sacred Heart Church.

 Back in 1891, Fr. Anastasius Muller came from St. Joseph Church in Dover to New Philadelphia to teach the young children. He held classes on a rented property between Public Square and High Ave. The next year he would move to a room above Urfers Store on East High. By 1893, there were at least twenty-seven Catholic families that wanted to have a small community church local in New Philadelphia. Advances would be made to buy a small lot for 900 dollars on the corner of Fair and Third Street.  Later in 1894, the German Reformed Church would be purchased for 3,000 dollars and was remodeled to be used as a Catholic Church on June 9, 1895; this church would later be labeled as Sacred Heart Church.

Calvary Cemetery

On September 16, 1907, they would purchase the three and a half acres of land adjacent to the building to be used as the Calvary Cemetery (creepy, I know); four more acres were added in 1927. Then in 1910, a school room would open to allow nuns to come from Dover to teach those the Catholic religion. To accommodate the sisters, Sacred Heart would purchase additional land to build a convent and would round out all of Third Street to Third Drive. In 1925, the Bishop would correspond with the Capuchin Provincial to create a new church for the community and move it to the center of the lot with no basement. In 1927, the final approval for construction was signed, and by August 28, they began to build. The development would end on July 25, 1928, with a total of 96,108 dollars.

Inside Sacred Heart

There were many other small additions to this momentous journey of Sacred Heart Church. The would expand the school to accommodate more students, build a music room so the choir could practice, and build a parish hall for meetings and parties. Between 2016 and 2017, Sacred Heart would tear down the Parish Hall/ Schoolhouse and begin to construct a new parish hall that would be more accommodating to the elderly of the church. Inside the church: there would be stained glass
windows, a mosaic of Jesus at the front of the church, pillars that have the four main gospels carved into them, a giant pipe organ on the balcony of the church and wooden pews lined up in rows for people to hear the gospel. Not only has the outside of Sacred Heart been renovated, but the inside has as well.

Sacred Heart Church is one of those churches that not everyone knows about, yet it is part of the New Philadelphia community. They spent millions of dollars to give back to the community and to allow more people join the church. They gave us a school for families who wanted their children to know more about God. They gave them a music room for the choir and band to enjoy. Sacred Heart is one of a small part that makes New Philadelphia a community, and that is something worth sharing.