A 'Sacred' tradition turns 150: Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church founded April 9, 1874

Apr. 9—Cullman County was one of the last counties formed in Alabama — organized in 1877 — but has a history which begins about four years earlier, when John G. Cullmann became the agent for the sale of land belonging to the South & North Alabama and Louisville & Nashville railroads.

At that time, the specifics of the county, provided by Genealogy Trails, included 6,312 white and 143 Black people, an area of 590 all-wooded square miles and a county seat of Cullman with a population of 1,600 situated on the South & North Alabama Railroad.

But that wasn't everything found in Cullman County.

German immigrants, increasingly populating the county, voiced a need for ministry and the sacraments, and the German-speaking Benedictines answered.

The land on which Sacred Heart Church is located was deeded to Bishop John Quinlan, bishop of Mobile, in 1873 by the Kyle, Madden and Osborn families for the building of a Catholic church. The records and deeds for these transactions are in the archives of the Diocese of Mobile.

On April 9, 1874, the first church was officially named "Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus." It was blessed by Monsignor Baasen, and far from the building of today, this first church was a log cabin style with no windows and split logs for pews.

The first resident pastor, the German-speaking Father James Meurer, came to Sacred Heart on Oct. 30, 1877. Two days later, the church became an official parish and construction on a second church soon began. The campus for this little white church — with no steeple — also included a small house for the pastor and a small convent for the religious sisters in the parish. The church was completed about December 1878.

Not long after, the Benedictine priests began their tradition of service as parish priests, in 1888, and soon after this, came the foundation of St. Bernard Abbey in 1891 and Sacred Heart Convent in 1892. In 1898, the Benedictine sisters of that convent began to replace the Notre Dame sisters, who, overall, had staffed the school for two decades.

The church and the school continued to grow, and on Oct. 24, 1910, a groundbreaking for a larger church, built of stone, took place. The cornerstone of this German Revival of the Romanesque style-building was laid July 3, 1913, and the third, and current church was dedicated in 1916. The matching stone school standing next to the church was built in the late 1940s.

Today, the pastor of Sacred Heart, Father Patrick Egan, notes that the rich history of the church — and what lies ahead — is one that continues to be in line with its Benedictine heritage.

"The future of the church fits right in with the Benedictine mission," Egan said. "And that is to be a model or icon of Christ wherever we're planted."

The Benedictines, Egan said, have always been educators and built schools wherever they went. This included Cullman County, which at one time has held Benedictine-led grade school, high school, college and even a seminary.

Now, that history of education and more continues with a yearlong church celebration, including several events in April. For more information on those events and the 150th founding of Sacred Heart, visit sacredheartchurchcullman.org.