Sacred Heart Parish History

The History of

Sacred Heart Church

Our History

Sacred Heart Parish Was Founded in 1913

​While the Polish population in LaPorte dates back to 1903 with just three families, the numbers steadily grew due to the availability of work. Feeling isolated from the other immigrant Catholic communities because of language barriers, in May of 1913 the Polish community, with the approval of Bishop Herman Alerding of the Fort Wayne Diocese, commissioned Larson-Danielson Construction Company to build a combined church and school structure. The contracted price was $20,000.

As construction of the new building continued, loss of funding and economic hardship nearly prevented its completion.  Much of the work to finish the building fell to the parishioners themselves. Heated only with a potbellied stove and lacking pews, the first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Eve, 1913. Fr. John Osadnik was the first pastor.

Although the lack of funds to install a complete heating system temporarily stopped the construction of the school portion of the building, it was eventually completed and in 1916 Fr. Osadnik invited the Franciscan Sisters of Saint Kunegunda from Chicago to open the school. They served the Sacred Heart School community for 53 years until the school closed in 1969.

"Our Parish was but a seed of immigrants, planted in the fertile soil of a developing community."

  - Our Centennial Celebration, 2013

1971. The original Sacred Heart Church, on the second floor, is replaced by a new building to make it more physically accessible to the parishioners.

As We Grew

Growing and Changing

By 1936, with the parish continuing to grow, an assistant pastor was assigned to help Fr. Ignatius Gapczynski (the fourth pastor of Sacred Heart). There would be two priests assigned to Sacred Heart until 1963. This period was marked with growth and change. As time went on, this deeply Polish church community began to adopt American ways. In the early 1940's sermons were beginning to being delivered in English and the Polish language was no longer taught at the parish school. By 1974, the Polish Mass would be discontinued. 

Various improvements were made to the church building and grounds, enlarging windows and replacing the pipe organ. In 1948, a parishioner donated the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue in honor of the servicemen who gave their lives fighting for their country. In 1952 a shrine dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary was completed. 

In 1969, the Sacred Heart Parish School was closed. With the original church and school building in need of repairs and the building difficult to enter due to the large numbers of stairs, it was decided that a new church should be build to serve the Sacred Heart community. 1970 brought on a fund drive to raise money for the new building. On September 20, 1970, a ground breaking ceremony and celebration was held. The last Mass held in the old church was at 11:30am on October 31, 1971, with the dedication of the new church following at 3:00pm on the same day. 

​​The old church upstairs was converted into a recreational facility and the old school building continued to be used for religious education classes, even though it was in great need of structural repair. The various repairs would exceed the original $20,000 cost of the first church.

"We bid a fond farewell to a trusted friend who knew our greatest joys and deepest sorrows and always greeted us with open arms for nearly 60 years."

  - Our Centennial Celebration, 2013

Where we are Today

Holy Family Parish

Fr. Ian Williams, the 13th pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, was installed on July 8th, 2004. Under the leadership of Fr. Ian, a parish activity center was build to serve the Sacred Heart Community.  He set up the first Facebook page to engage parishioners in the electronic age and enabled E-Giving as a means to financially support the parish. In 2013 Fr. Ian lead the parish in the 100th anniversary celebration of Sacred Heart Parish. Although the parish was no longer a primarily Polish-speaking community, its Polish roots could still be seen in the parish festival and Polish Country Kitchen at the LaPorte County Fair.

In 2016 Fr. Ian was assigned as the pastor of Sacred Heart, St. Joseph, and St.Peter's Churches, thus combining what was once the three distinct ethnic parishes into one vibrant parish community. In July 2021, the three Churches officially combined to become one parish called Holy Family Parish. In March of 2022, Fr. Ian stepped down as pastor and Fr. Nate Edquist was named as parish administrator. Over time, the Mass schedules changed to better reflect this new combined parish structure and the various ministries have worked together to combine their efforts to reach out to the parish and community. 

​The mission of Holy Family Parish is to be a family of God and to form disciples who serve.

"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body...and were all made to drink of one Spirit."

  - 1 Corinthians 12: 12-13

Share by: