History of Sacred Heart Church, Peoria

1878: Sacred Heart was founded by the Capuchin Fathers, with Fr. Anthony Schuermann, O.M. Cap., serving as the first pastor and Fr. Titus Steiner, O.M.Cap., as his assistant. They were commissioned by Bishop Spalding to organize the parish.

September 4, 1878: Fr. Anthony bought lots 6, 7, and 8 with a frontage on Madison and Fulton Streets spanning 171 feet. The property was purchased for the sum of $20,000. The first services were held in the newly acquired residence on the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
September 19, 1879: The contract to build Sacred Heart Church, School, and Monastery was awarded to Meint F. Meints, and all three buildings were completed within 90 days.
1883: Arrangements were made with Schlaudecker for the installation of a pipe organ.
October 6, 1879: Fr. Anthony Schuermann blessed the cornerstone.
1879: The Ursuline sisters purchased the Griswalld residence and served as teachers in Sacred Heart School from 1880 until 1890.
January 11, 1880: Sacred Heart Church was dedicated.
1892: The little frame house on the corner was removed.
1893: Franciscan Minors assumed pastoral care of Sacred Heart until June 2015.
1895: The frame church, which had previously faced Madison Street, was moved to face Fulton Street, allowing more space for the construction of a substantial rectory and school. Immediately after the church was relocated, it underwent redecoration.
August 21, 1904: Services were held for the last time in this church.
May 21, 1905: The cornerstone for the new church was set.
October 21, 1906: The cornerstone from the first church was inserted in the new building near the side entrance, and the new church was dedicated.
1912: The Henebery estate generously donated funds for the purchase of a new organ.
April 1931: Special devotions in honor of St. Anthony began to be held every Tuesday.
2005: The start of St. Anthony devotions: The Sacred Heart Sandwich Program begins informally when a friar shares a sandwich with a hungry man. This act of kindness continues to grow when Fr. Clair Bourdereaux, O.F.M. asks parishioners to stay after Mass to make more sandwiches. A sack lunch contains a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a cookie. The homeless affectionately call it the "Ring A Bell" program. The Church underwent a full renovation under the leadership of Fr. Larry Zurek, OFM. The Church remodel includes a separate porch where the homeless pick up their lunch.
2010: The Sacred Heart Sandwich Program moved from Sacred Heart to St. Joseph Hall and became Sophia's Angels Kitchen in honor of a young girl who died.
2015: The pastoral leadership of Sacred Heart was returned to diocesan priests, marking the return of Franciscan Friars, and Sacred Heart became part of the Heart of Peoria Catholic Community.