Week Ninety-Two - Sacred Heart (Bellevue)
Note: I forgot to publish an entry! There it was, all nice and neat, ready to go, and there was me, thinking, "What's this draft doing on my list of posts?" Hence, the previous "Week Ninety" is now "Week Ninety-One," and "Week Ninety" is the previously forgotten entry. Meanwhile . . .
11:00 Sunday morning mass, Sacred Heart. Why do I always think Bellevue is farther away than it really is? Dumb Cincinnati girl that I am, a quick Mapquest search brings me back to reality every time - it's right there on the other side of the Big Mac bridge. Joe's Crab Shack, Buckhead, The Party Source - all right there, all Bellevue, just like Sacred Heart Church.
This was my third "Sacred Heart" Church . . . this one, a part of "Divine Mercy Parish." Okay, try to stay with me here, kids, 'cause things are gonna get confusing. The original Sacred Heart Church, the first Catholic parish in Bellevue, was erected in 1874, but to meet the needs of the growing parish, a larger church, the one I visited this weekend, was built in 1892. Saint Anthony of Padua Church was the second parish in the city of Bellevue. Established in 1889, Saint Anthony's was founded to meet the needs of the English-speaking Catholics of the community, Sacred Heart being a German-speaking parish. Love that. Meanwhile, in Dayton, Kentucky, several attempts at a third Catholic church in the area were destroyed by flooding, but amazingly, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Church, built in 1914, survived persistent river threats and still stands today.
Flash forward to 2001 when demographics were working against these parishes. As young parishioners moved to the suburbs, the number of school children declined, and most of the remaining parishioners had reached their senior years. A task force was convened from the memberships of Sacred Heart, St. Anthony, and St. Bernard parishes to discuss the future. Two long years later, it was decided that a single parish in Bellevue would be created from Sacred Heart and St. Bernard under the name Divine Mercy Parish. Apparently, poor St. Anthony had drawn the short straw, and the last mass at that church was celebrated in June, 2003.
A history of St. Anthony indicates that members of Divine Mercy Parish would worship at Sacred Heart, but the bulletin I picked up at Sacred Heart indicates a staggered weekend mass schedule that clearly alternates between Sacred Heart and St. Bernard. Benediction is offered at both churches on two different days as well. I thought it was funny to read that both churches even offer their own "prayer hotline." Seriously, would it really matter which one you called?
And so, while I'll never get to see St. Anthony's of Bellevue, I have added Dayton's St. Bernard to The List. This weekend, however, it was all Sacred Heart, and I have to say, I really, really liked this church. Not a particularly big church, Sacred Heart still has to a lot to look at and admire, namely, the main altar, perhaps the most beautiful I've seen. Imported from Austria, the spires of the altar reach a height of thirty-three feet, but what really makes it splendid is the guilding on the spires. The gold ornamentation and the hand-carved statues make it truly, truly beautiful. I've never seen anything like it.
There are a lot of statues at Sacred Heart. St. Francis, St. Therese, and a unique statue of, what else, the Sacred Heart all caught my eye. Large stations of the cross imported from Germany are also impressive. Pictures depicting the life of Christ line the walls of the church just above the wainscoting. They looked darkened and aged but were a unique feature that I had never seen before. The stained glass windows weren't my favorite, but I'll forgive them because I'm still thinking about the altar.
A small adult choir led the congregation and gave a nice performance The hymns seemed to float upward just perfectly. My daughter and I couldn't decide if the presiding priest had an accent or not. Either way, I liked to hear him speak. Much like everyone there, he was casual and friendly in his homily. He also gave the most reverent and sincere Final Doxology ever. It seems odd to say that, but it was so noticeable I had to mention it.
Entering Sacred Heart Church, there was once again a brief moment of panic when several little girls in First Communion dresses and little boys in suits were spotted. It wasn't a First Communion celebration, however - it was a May Crowning. This was my lucky day because I like May Crownings. I like the whole idea of devoting the month of May to Mary. There were lots of flowers for Mary on this particular Sunday, and all the big May Crowning hits were included: "On This Day, O Beautiful Mother," "Bring Flowers of the Fairest." It was nice.
Maybe it was the rare sunshine on Sunday. Maybe it was the May Crowning. Maybe I was just in a good mood. Whatever it was, it was a good morning.
DURATION: One hour and five minutes
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