Sacred Heart Parish History
Sacred Heart Parish includesSacred Heart Church in Middleborough and St. Rose of Lima Church in Rochester. Wwe are in a collaborative with St. Martha & Mary, in Lakeville. The collaborative seeks to provide united efforts in meeting the needs of the wider community.
In 2005, St. Rose of Lima Parish was merged with Sacred Heart Parish in Middleborough. Today, Masses are celebrated at both locations. Staff members share responsibilities and parishioners have many opportunities to come together with one another, sharing in ministry and fellowship.
Sacred Heart Church In Middleborough
In 1870, church services were held monthly in the hall over the general store of Colonel Peter H. Pierce, the current site of the Middleborough Police Department. In the small hall over the store, as they sat upon boxes and crates, they optimistically prayed, with steadfast faith for a Catholic Church in Middleborough. Their prayers were answered in 1873 when land was acquired for the purpose of constructing a Catholic Church in Middleborough. The actual building however, was postponed for seven years due to financial problems. On July 12, 1881, Archbishop John Joseph Williams blessed the cornerstone and dedicated the small, humble but attractive wooden building: the Sacred Heart Church. In 1885 Sacred Heart was declared a separate parish.
The beautiful, redbrick building of English Gothic architecture that is standing today was built in the years 1917-18. On June 9, 1918, His Eminence, William Cardinal O'Connell, blessed the cornerstone and performed the dedication. Sacred Heart Church has grown a great deal since 1881. Nearby the church that stands today, there is the Rectory, the Fr. Shea Center and Parish Hall which is host to many church events. The church also owns land on Wood St. for use as a cemetery: St. Mary's Cemetery. Since 1891 St. Mary's Cemetery has provided us an opportunity to show respect for our beloved dead.
Sacred Heart'sStain Glass Window Slideshow.
Source: The Middleborough Antiquarian Volume XI, September 1969, Number I, pp. 6-8
St. Rose of Lima Church in Rochester
With no Catholic Church in Rochester prior to 1961, many families first traveled to Sacred Heart in Middleborough, and later Mass was offered in Rochester at the Rochester Grange. St. Rose was dedicated by Richard Cardinal Cushing on October 12, 1961. Cardinal Cushing chose the name of St. Rose of Lima "to commemorate his first appointment as papal legates to the Eucharistic Congress in Lima, Peru." St. Rose of Lima is the patron saint of all the Americas and the North American hemisphere's first saint. She was canonized in 1671 by Pope Clement I. St. Rose was a 17th century missionary in Peru.
From 1961–1980 St. Rose of Lima was a mission church to Sts. Martha and Mary in Lakeville. The country church commands a memorable view of rolling fields and stately pines of the surrounding countryside. In 1980, Humberto Cardinal Medeiros established the parish of St. Rose of Lima, the first and only Catholic church in Rochester.
