The Sacred Heart Church was built and dedicated by Bishop E. O’Hara, D.D., of Kansas City, Missouri in the year 1946. The original church was located at 519 N. Main in Bolivar. For approximately one year, Monsignor C.J. Francka, of Karlin, held Mass once a month at Sacred Heart in Bolivar, while serving the St. Wenceslaus Church in Karlin (St. Wenceslaus would later become a part of the Sacred Heart Parish in 1962). For a short time after that, Fr. W. Curran of Osceola, Missouri held Mass twice a month. In July of 1949, Father Clement Ilmberger came to Karlin as an associate and to care for the missions in Bolivar and Greenfield. Since this time, Holy Mass has been celebrated every Sunday in Bolivar.
Upon Fr. Ilmberger’s arrival the mission church had only the bare necessities required for mass. Due to neglect, the church was badly in need of repair. There were only six pews in the church and there were only eight parishioners to occupy them. Fr. Ilmberger worked hard, and due to his wonderful personality, people came from all directions to attend Mass. Never was a stranger welcomed more warmly than by Fr. Ilmberger. At the close of each Mass, he was at the front door to greet everyone and invite them to come back.
In a short time, 9 pews were added, and two more soon after. The little mission church grew and began taking on a new look as the mission-style Tabernacle was replaced by a new golden one, and many things were added. The Altar Society and the Holy Name Society were organized and became active. On June 3, 1950, the mission purchased a building from Mr. Paul Schooley to be used for a parish hall. During Fr. Ilmberger’s first year and a half stay, he bought the hall, which was originally an old metal clad skating rink. When it was moved into the neighborhood, a feeling of religious intolerance and a misunderstanding of the Catholic Community led someone to try and burn the hall down one night.
In this building, money was raised by card parties, dances and various entertainments. An annual chicken dinner was the biggest affair of the year. The ladies of the Altar Society also held chili suppers, rummage, and bake sales to raise money. All the work to restore and repair the parish was donated by the men of the parish, with the ladies serving hot dinners on these work days. According to church records of Fr. Clem, in June of 1950 the parish included 27 households. There had been no death in the parish as of that date.
Fr. John Rynish became priest in 1952. He also endeared himself to all the people that worked hard along with the men. During his two-year stay, new stations of the cross replaced the old wooden plaques and a beautiful statue of the Sacred Heart was placed at the left side of the altar.
The parish now had 43 families with a regular pastor. Fr. Eugene Deragowski celebrated Mass every Sunday at 8:00am, and two masses were held every 2nd and 4th Sunday. Each Mass was well attended. When Fr. Deragowski had been in the parish 10 months ten acres on the west side of Bolivar were purchased and plans began to build a new church with rectory attached.
In June of 1957, the pastor was placed in charge of two more missions: Golden City and Conway, Missouri. To help him take care of this territory, which now entailed five counties, he was given Father Norman Rotert, on loan for two years from the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. The official name of this territory was The Sacred Heart Mission Center. Masses were scheduled every Sunday at 7:00 and 11:00 in Bolivar, 8:00am in Conway, 9:30am in Buffalo, 9:00 in Greenfield, and 10:30am in Golden City.
Due to the increase in membership and to fulfill the obligation of proving a suitable residence for the pastor, the first bishop of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese, Bishop Charles H. Helmsing approved plans for a new church and rectory in April, 1957. Final Plans by the architect, Eugene F. Johnson, of Springfield, were sent to the contractors, for open bidding. The contract was awarded to Art Norstrand on November 26.
Construction of the New Church began December 26, 1957. The Church was dedicated by the Most Reverend Archbishop William D. O’Brien. D.D., of Chicago, on August 31, 1958. The new church was located on a ten-acre site at 1405 W. Fair Play in Bolivar. At this time, this building included a sanctuary and a rectory.
Fr. James Seyer was pastor in 1960-61. He replaced Fr. Deragowski. In 1961, Father William Winkelmann became pastor. And the housekeeper quarters were added in 1961-62 while Fr. Winkelmann was pastor. Later after the new rectory was built, these quarters were turned into parish offices and Parish School of Religion (PSR) classrooms.
Between 1962 and 1963, shortly after celebrating 50 years in Karlin, Polk County, MO, St Wenceslaus Catholic Church became a part of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Sacred treasures from St. Wenceslaus still can be seen today at Sacred Heart. Standing tall in our foyer as you come out of the church is the statue of St. Wenceslaus which was the middle statue in the altarpiece (or reredos) of the old Karlin church. Also the bell in our new church bell tower once rang over the fields of Karlin at St. Wenceslaus. The beautiful tabernacle that has been placed in the center of the church behind the altar and is the current resting place the Precious Body and Blood of our Lord at Sacred Heart was also a part of the St. Wenceslaus Church. In July of 1965, the sanctuary was remodeled at Sacred Heart.
Later, Fr. McKenna moved the rectory into a double-wide trailer that was used through 1996. And in 1986, a multi-purpose building was built north of the church building. This church hall has been named McKenna Hall, in honor of our deceased pastor who served as our pastor during the construction of this building. The debt for this building was retired in the summer of 1993.
After the death of Father McKenna in August 1986, Father William Hodgson became the pastor of Sacred Heart until 1992. In 1992, Father Gregory Zatina became priest and it was under his service to our parish that the new and current rectory was built in 1996.
In 1999, the turn of the century, Fr. J. Patrick Wissman, became our priest. He was lovingly known to Sacred Heart community as Father Pat. In 2004, Fr. Pat, began conversation and fundraising for building our current church. After many plans, and almost 10 years of planning and fundraising, our current and beautiful church was dedicated by the Most Reverend Bishop James V. Johnston. Jr., D.D., J.C.L., Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau on September 27th, 2014. Father Pat retired on October 1st, 2014, and remains a part of our parish as a retired priest; you can usually find him singing in the choir at 10:30 Mass. Since his retirement, you can also find him downtown at the local Art Sync Gallery displaying his artwork.
In October 2014, missionary priest Fr. Jose T. Thundathil Antoney, from a Carmelite Order in India, became our priest and served our community through July of 2018. It was during this time that the loan from the diocese for the new Church was repaid in full.
In July of 2018, Fr. Scott M Sunnenberg became our current priest. Father Scott, also serves as the Vocation Director for the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese. From 2019-2020, after raising the money during an iGiveCatholic fundraiser on Giving Tuesday, we remodeled the old Sanctuary and have turned this space into office space for Father Scott and Mary, a Day Chapel, a choir room, and a multi-purpose meeting room.
In 2020, a year, most alive will not forget, brought new troubles. The Coronavirus broke out worldwide and caused the shut down of most of the world. In March of 2020, a general dispensation closed the doors to churches across the US and in our diocese. Priests went to holding Mass online and people had to watch from their homes. Slowly, by the end of the summer, the church was opened, but every two pews were permitted for seating and all had to wear a mask. Later, the pews were blocked off every other pew. After a little over a year, on Palm Sunday 2021, the general dispensation was lifted.
In February 2021, a major cold front moved into the Bolivar area bringing wind-chill temperatures into the negative teens. This caused pipes to freeze in McKenna Hall, which caused a complete re-construction of the the hall. Work on the Hall was completed in the Summer of 2021. Also in the Spring of 2021, money from the iGiveCatholic fundraiser, was used to successfully fix the severe drainage issues in the front of the new church.
In the Spring of 2021, the Most Reverend Bishop Rice, appointed Fr Scott Sunnenberg to be the Dean of Deanery 3. Deanery 3 is currently comprised of the following parishes: Bolivar, Humansville, Buffalo, Bennett Springs, Lebanon, Conway, Marshfield, Stockton, and El Dorado Springs.
In 2021, Sacred Heart celebrated 75 years in Bolivar, MO. As we look forward to the future, we expect God has great things in store for our Parish
Saturday Mass Schedule:
4:00 PM-ST. CATHERINE SIENNA MISSION PARISH (HUMANSVILLE)
6:30 PM-SACRED HEART (BOLIVAR)
Sunday Mass Schedule
8:00 AM-SACRED HEART (BOLIVAR)
10:30 AM-SACRED HEART (BOLIVAR)
Sacred Heart Catholic Church: 1405 W Fair Play St, Bolivar, MO, 65613
Office Hours:
8:00 AM-4:00PM (Closed for Lunch from 12:00PM-1:00PM and on Holy Days)
Phone Number: 417-326-5596