Sacred Hearts Parish, Malden, Massachusetts

Sacred Hearts Church, Malden, Massachusetts

Pillars & Foundations documents a journey through my surrounding communities, as seen through the experience of its religious institutions. My intent is to share exploration, and spread the positivity that I observe. The hope is to provide a window into these organizations allowing those who might not other wise venture in to appreciate these thoughtful, often impactful groups in our midst. Faith centers embody a drive to make a difference which they deliver upon, regardless if it is with one person looking for hope & community, or a recipient of their expansive charitable work.

The church faces west, and is in the shadow in the morning, however the sun seemed to line up perfectly with the crucifix atop the bell tower on the right.

Building & History

I was pleased to find an incredibly detailed history page on Sacred Hearts Parish's webpage that discusses not only the history of the church, but ties it into events going on in Malden and the broader world.  The parish first met in 1890, and began having services in the now gone Barrett Opera House, until 1893 when the basement of the current church was finished enough to allow for Mass. The Gothic Romanesque upper church was first used on Easter Sunday in 1901. For my visit I attended Mass in the upper church. It appears that they use the lower church for Masses during midweek, and I may have to try and attend during holiday as I'd be very curious to see it.

This church is certainly unique with the copper accents on the roof, and the interior that is quite unlike any I've seen in the area. The inside is bright off-whites and golden accents. Ornate ceiling panels really add something unique. Even the fluorescent lights encircling the Corinthian columns of the sanctuary are tasteful, despite clearly being a more recent modern addition. Of interest to church architecture lovers, the architect who began this project was Patrick C. Keely who designed the highly regarded Church of the Gesu in Montreal.  Interestingly, the Wikipedia page for Keely credits an enormous amount of churches to him in Massachusetts, yet amazingly this is the first one of his I've attended. I'll be curious to go to another and compare in the future. A short write up on Keely in the Irish Echo details a faithful, fame-shunning man that asked little in return for his work.

The Parish

Sacred Hearts Parish has a long history in a quickly evolving Malden suburb. It holds Mass in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, altogether with 6 Masses on Sunday alone. The Parish's history page cites how before 1965 all Masses were held in Latin, had how a historic liberalizing of the Catholic Church by Pope Paul VI had an enormous impact of making the church connect better with parishioners. Sacred Hearts reflects and accommodates the diversity of the community and appears to be a very active organization.

The Mass

One special moment occurred when Rev. Mario Guarino honored parishioners involved in catechism programs during the Mass, blessing them and bringing them before the church. It was a large group of people key in teaching children the importance of their faith and helping to ensure they develop ethics so that they can give back to those they'll interact with in their lives.

Fr. Mario focused the homily on how faith should allow focus on the joys of living by freeing people from worries and such burdens. Two readings, James 2:14-18 and Mark 8:27-35 were featured prominently. With the reading from James, the idea is that claiming faith, does not mean it is real. True faith results in actions that reflect it. Related, in Mark, Jesus asks his disciples to follow him to find out who he is, to have faith that there will be salvation despite consequences during the journey.

The Music Director, Denise Glennon, was also recognized for her service to the Parish as she will be taking a reduced part time role in the future. In this Mass she performed cantor duties as well as leading a choir.

Note the covering on the windows. I like the accents under the window on the tower. I find the inside to be much more ornate than the exterior.

Community Impact and Outreach

Affiliated with Sacred Hearts Parish is Cheverus Catholic School, going back to 1908 or almost as long as the church itself, it has educated generations of children from the surrounding area. The school currently offers pre-K through 8th grade.

Various outreach programs are detailed in the bulletin such as the Emmaus Ministry for grieving parents, support of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul through food and toiletry drives, and association with Little Sisters of the Poor which provide service to the elderly poor.

The church also has many Ministries which serve the church community directly.

I suspect this likely was a replacement window. The side stained glass windows appear to have a protective plexi-glass or some sort of covering on them, which is likely necessary. You can't tell from the inside of the church.

These stained glass windows really let a great deal of light in with some white background, while still containing ornate pictures. Note the stations of the cross between the windows. If you observe the top of the column, you can get an idea of what appear to be custom design lights specifically for the church. 

Sacred Hearts Parish is a dynamic part of the Malden community. It continues to be strong through difficult times and the decency and generosity of this parish surely makes Malden stronger for its presence.

Text and photographs by George Parks

Sources are embedded in links