One of the most significant, historic, Christian ministries that serves the local Latino community is the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, the Roman Catholic congregation located on 16th St and Park Rd in Columbia Heights. You’ve probably noticed its beautiful building; it’s even more stunning on the inside.

Earlier today, I had the pleasure of spending time with Father Kevin Thompson, getting to know him and the Catholic church’s ministry to the local Latino community. Today, up to 85-90% of the Sacred Heart community consists of Spanish-speaking Latinos, mostly originally from El Salvador. The church has a long history of social ministries, serving the immigrant community through ministries like the Spanish Catholic Center on Monroe St, which offers ESOL, health, food, employment training, and legal services. The current pastor of Sacred Heart is Fr. Moisés Villalta, the first Salvadoran-American pastor in the history of the  church.

Here’s a slice of the history of Sacred Heart’s relationship with the local Latino community, from a small book about the parish that Fr. Kevin shared with me:

Near the turn of the century, the increase in the number of Catholics in the Mount Pleasant Village, as it was then called, prompted Cardinal James Gibbons to establish a new parish. The Rev. Joseph F. McGee met with a small group in the home of William Holmead on 13th ande Monroe Streets to form the parish. McGee rented what had originally been a community hall on Newton Street, between 14th and 16th Streets. The first Mass was celebrated in that building on October 15, 1899. [The church moved several times: to the Congregational Church on Newton, to a brick church on 14th and Park Road, and ultimately to the beautiful Shrine of the Sacred Heart building on 16th and Park, which was dedicated on December 23, 1922.] …

The first Spanish Mass was celebrated at Sacred Heart in 1941 by Msgr. Augustin Martinez and throughout the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s, Hispanic members of the Diplomatic Corp attended the Shrine and the school [Sacred Heart Academy, opened in 1905 on Park Road]. … The arrival of refugees from the wars and oppression in Central America, Haiti and Vietnam marked a significant change for Sacred Heart in the 1970’s and 80’s. The growing Latino population increased the difficulty to staff the Shrine with Spanish speaking priests. The Shrine seemed to be a logical place for diocesan outreach to Latinos and the Capuchins, because of the missionary facet of their Franciscan charism, were asked to staff the parish. The Capuchins had been staffing McKenna House, a house for destitute men.

Pray for this and other Christian ministries that are providing holistic care to our Latino neighbors!

In light of the intersection between Hispanic Heritage Month and our to build a “cross-cultural community,” Duke is sharing a series of posts this month on topics that may help us learn about our Latino neighbors, with a special focus on notable individuals, features, and events in the history of Latin American Christianity

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