Sacred Heart, Winchester: Parish Life as It Used to Be

By Linda Busetti
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the issue of 8/8/02)

Susan Galbraith worked in the cool, sweet, early morning mountain air pulling weeds from flowerbeds on the grounds of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Winchester. "Sacred Heart Academy is the gem of Winchester," said Galbraith, an academy office worker, as she took a break. Soon the mid-day, July heat would settle on the Shenandoah Valley.

Galbraith proudly shared that valedictorians at three recent public high school graduations in Winchester were all Sacred Heart graduates.

As the fourth oldest parish in the diocese, Sacred Heart has a long history of faith as well as Catholic education.

In the 1820s, Winchester was a Shenandoah Valley market town that Father John Mahony visited every third Sunday. By the 1860s, missions had been established throughout the valley. Sacred Heart of Jesus was a mission of St. Peter Church in Harper’s Ferry, W.Va.

During the Civil War, the little stone church in Winchester was used by Federal troops as a stable and afterwards destroyed.

In 1868, land was purchased for a new church on Loudon Street. Mass was celebrated in private homes and at the Red Lion Tavern until the church was completed.

When Wheeling Bishop John Kain came to dedicate Sacred Heart of Jesus Church on July 28, 1868, he donated a horse that was raffled off to benefit the building fund.

Winchester Catholics worshipped in Sacred Heart Church on Loudon Street for the next 121 years.

Sacred Heart became an independent parish in 1870. One hundred and four years later the parish joined the newly formed Arlington Diocese.

Ground was broken in 1987 for the current church building. Mass was first celebrated there on Palm Sunday of 1989.

Stained-glass windows on either side of the new church’s altar feature St. Francis de Sales and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, each of whom had a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Windows on the pulpit side of the church depict corporal works of mercy. Spiritual works of mercy are represented in windows on the tabernacle side.

The Holy Spirit descending is depicted in the stained-glass window over the church entrance.

"Sacred Heart Parish is unique in that it combines large numbers of parishioners with the neighborly style of the Shenandoah Valley, where people remember your name," Pastor Father Stanley Krempa said.

Winchester is a growth area, says Father Krempa, creating a diverse group of parishioners at six weekend Masses — families who’ve lived in the valley for years, young families in search of affordable housing, a sizable Hispanic community, members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Sons of Italy.

Father Eugene Weber travels from West Virginia to celebrate Sunday Mass and Jose Manuel Escalante coordinates counseling and youth activities for about 300 members of the parish’s Hispanic community.

Sacred Heart has its own mission church, St. Bridget of Ireland, eight miles away in Berryville. St. Bridget’s "Chapel in the Field" was dedicated this past Memorial Day weekend. Father Krempa and Parochial Vicar Father Michael Kelly alternate celebrating Mass at St. Bridget. Already, the church is full on Sundays and by July, seven weddings were scheduled for the chapel, Father Krempa said.

Father Kelly describes Sacred Heart as "multifaceted … The parish has everything. It’s a miniature diocese."

Father Kelly, who participates in Civil War re-enactments, is very much at home in the historic Shenandoah Valley, in spite of the fact his ancestors who preceded him to the valley wore Yankee blue.

Father Krempa notes Sacred Heart is a very active parish with Knights of Columbus who run a soup kitchen in Winchester, Scouts, Legion of Mary, hospital ministry, Confraternity of Christian Mothers and a home schoolers association.

Sacred Heart Academy, which was founded in 1950, has 215 students and projects to hit capacity of 250 within the next two years. Father Krempa credits Principal Kathy Weiss and academy teachers for the school’s success.

Sacred Heart Academy serves a wide geographic area — the next closest Catholic elementary school is St. John the Evangelist in Warrenton, 42 miles away.

"It’s a community within a community," Father Krempa said, noting strong parental support of the school. "One of the great strengths of a parish is Catholic education," said Father Krempa, who hopes to add a wing to Sacred Heart Academy to accommodate a long waiting list of prospective students.

The academy’s middle school students attend classes in the parish’s Muldowney Hall. Adding a new wing would unify the school body and release space in Muldowney for other activities.

Director of religious education Chet Lewandowski oversees instruction of about 500 CCD students who meet in two sessions each week. He is excited about the introduction this fall of a CCD program for high school students that will focus on apologetics.

For several years, Sacred Heart has had a 24-hour Perpetual Adoration Chapel located off the vestibule of the church. Parishioners sign up for an adoration hour. "It’s very impressive to see cars every hour on the hour coming," Father Krempa said. Adorers write their prayer requests — for a daughter to get a good job or a child to be healed — in a book outside the chapel door.

Seven teens, who youth minister Sherry Riley planned to take to World Youth Day, were "commissioned" at Sunday Mass. The youth group meets once a month to socialize and hear talks by Father Kelly, Riley said. Parish youths volunteer in the Knights of Columbus soup kitchen and this fall will participate in gleaning — collecting unharvested fruits and vegetables from local farms for distribution to area needy.

Riley also coordinates a parish nursing and health program.

Deacon Ed Christianson and his wife, Mary, have been parishioners since 1981. She says she has seen very positive changes, especially the addition of the new church in 1989. "The parish is so friendly and so loving," Mary Christianson said. "When I come here it is like a second home."

"It really makes you look forward to coming to Mass, not only to enjoy the homily and Mass, but you are going to be around people who are so friendly," Riley added. "You really look forward to seeing them each Sunday."

"Here you come in together and join as one big family," Mary Christianson said.

"It’s a parish as it used to be," Father Kelly said. "It’s the center of a lot of people’s lives … You don’t see that in too many places."

At a Glance:

Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

120 Keating Dr.

Winchester, Va. 22601-2800

540/662-5858

Pastor: Fr. Stanley Krempa

Parochial Vicar: Fr. Michael C. Kelly

Deacon: Edward L. Christianson

Convent: School Sisters of Notre Dame

140 Keating Dr.

Winchester, Va. 22601

540/662-6687

Mass Schedule:

Sat.: 5:30 p.m. (Vigil)

Sun.: 7:30, 9:15, 11:15 a.m., 2:30 p.m. (Spanish), 5:30 p.m.

School: Sacred Heart Academy

110 Keating Dr.

Principal: Kathleen Weiss

Students: 188

DRE: Chet Lewandowski

540/665-1975

YM: Sherry Riley

Parish Founded: 1870

Parishioners: 5,453

Mission

Saint Bridget of Ireland Mission-Berryville (Clarke County)

Mass Schedule: Sun.: 9 a.m.

Boundaries: Includes all of Clarke and Frederick counties. 

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