Growing up in Augusta, Georgia, I always found it strange that the Sacred Heart Cultural Center downtown was originally a Catholic Church. I even fainted in there once when I was eleven (but because I locked my knees during choir rehearsal, not due to my shock that the beautiful structure no longer was a Catholic Church).
I would wonder, how can a Catholic Church shut down? How can a building built as a church now be used for receptions, concerts and dances? My young mind could not grasp the concept.
Sacred Heart was designed by the Dutch Jesuit Brother Cornelius Otten. Construction began in 1897 and was completed by December 2, 1900. In 1971 Sacred Heart closed when the three downtown parishes merged. Sacred Heart and Immaculate Conception closed while Saint Patrick remained and was renamed the Church of the Most Holy Trinity. I often wonder if the name was chosen not just to give glory to the Triune God but to recall the merging of these three parishes.
Brother Otten designed other churches in the southeast that thankfully still function as places of worship. Brother Otten was instrumental in designing and building churches throughout the Jesuit province of New Orleans. Fortunately I have been able to visit two of his masterpieces, Saint Joseph in Macon (1903) and Sacred Heart in Tampa (1905).
I’ve been to Saint Joseph many times since it’s in my diocese. Last week I had the opportunity to officiate a wedding at Sacred Heart in Tampa. Of the three churches, Sacred Heart, Tampa has the largest dome bringing in plenty of light, has a stone exterior rather than brick, and does not stand alone but is surrounded by a parking garage and office buildings. All the pictures of this post are from there.
Staffed by Jesuit priests until 2005, it is now staffed by Franciscans.
All the pictures are mine, all rights reserved.
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