BY EMMA MILLER
The Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church marks its 140th anniversary in northeastern Queens this year.
“Sacred Heart has been tending to the spiritual and corporal needs of Bayside and northeast Queens for 140 years,” said Monsignor Thomas C. Machalski, Sacred Heart’s pastor.
The Bayside church will celebrate the anniversary with a gala on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m.
The gala includes dinner, dessert, dancing, music and an open bar. The event will be held at the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston.
“The Oct. 20 dinner is a great way to support the church’s work and take note of all the good that has been accomplished throughout these 140 years,” Machalski said.
The anniversary will also be celebrated with a special mass on Sept. 29 at 5 p.m. with the Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn, Reverend Witold Mroziewski. Reverend Monsignor John Casey, a former pastor at Sacred Heart, will be the homilist for the mass.
According to their website, Sacred Heart was established in 1878 as a parish for what is now northeastern Queens. John Loughlin, the first bishop of Brooklyn, founded the church. By 1939, Sacred Heart had six locations across northeastern Queens.
The first Mass in Bayside was on Christmas in 1894. A church was built in the neighborhood soon after, and it opened on April 12, 1896. The church was at what is now the corner of 216th Street and 38th Avenue.
Sacred Heart of Jesus decided to open a school in 1924. Now known as the Sacred Heart Catholic Academy of Bayside, it remains in operation at its location on 38th Avenue.
The school has three sections: early childhood includes Mommy and Me programs, Little Birds for 2-year-olds, Pre-K for All and kindergarten; the lower school is grades one through four; and the upper school is grades five through eight.
The schools focuses not only on education but also on community and Catholic identity.
More information about the school can be found at sacredheartbayside.org; information about the church, at sacredheartbayside-queens.org. Tickets for the gala are $90 per person. Call Cindy Campbell at 718-428-2326 with questions.
