Our History

A small wooden church was built on the corner of Hancock and Hunt Street. In September of 1878, Archbishop John Williams dedicated the church as a mission of St. John Parish.

In July 1903, this mission church was set aside as a parish and Reverend J.P. Cuffe was assigned as the first pastor of Sacred Heart Church. By 1919 the burgeoning parish could no longer be contained within the walls of the little wooden church. Funds were raised, and the land on which the church now stands was purchased. In 1924, ground was broken for a new church and rectory. Although the basement of the new church was ready for use by 1926, it took another seven years to complete work on the upper church. Finally by Christmas 1933, the most beautiful church on the South Shore was ready for worship, and at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve the joyous parishioners gathered for their first Mass in the new church.

Over the years Sacred Heart Parish grew and prospered. A variety of activities were started, from the Sodality and Holy Name Society for the adult parishioners to a busy calendar of events for teenagers and young adults. From the beginning, Sacred Heart Parish manifested a strong and caring family and community spirit which continues to this day to permeate its life.

On January 20, 1948, this community spirit was severely tested when a devastating fire destroyed the church. What had taken so many years to build became a raging inferno in a matter of minutes. Almost immediately, however, motivated with intense desire to replace what had been lost, the priests and parishioners began plans to rebuild. The spirit of Sacred Heart Parish was never so apparent. In August 1948, work on the new church was started. On December 18, 1949 the beautiful church that we now occupy was dedicated and stands as a distinct tribute to the spirit of Sacred Heart parishioners.

The year 1961 saw the establishment of Sacred Heart School, with 24 classrooms and an initial enrollment of 3 first grade classes. Each year, three classes were added. The first graduation class was June 1969. The Sisters of St. Joseph agreed to staff the school. A parent teacher organization was formed to assist the school as volunteers and to join with other parish organizations to raise funds. In 1989, a full-day kindergarten class and a morning session were opened. An Extended Day Program began in 2000 to give students the opportunity to be in the same setting while waiting for family to pick them up. This program features play time, activity time and time to do homework. In June of 2010, Sacred Heart School closed its doors as a parish school and the building reopened in September as site of the new Quincy Catholic Academy. This new entitiy was formed from the merger of Sacred Heart School, St. Ann School and St. Mary School. A change in community demographics brings students of different ethnic cultures and religious backgrounds to study at Quincy Catholic Academy. This enables them for the multicultural world in which they live and in which they will be working in this new century.

The Sacred Heart school building continues to be utilized by parish organizations, religious education program, parish monthly dinners, and the Quincy Choral Society. This also reflects the commitment on the part of the parishioners to be of service to the community by providing a well maintained structure.

In 1996 Sacred Heart lost its beloved pastor of twenty years, Reverend Cornelius Heery. That same year, our music director and organist, James Connors, also died. Mr. Connors had also served Sacred Heart Parish for twenty years. There was still reason for great joy during this time as 1996 had three men from our parish ordained to the priesthood. In 1999, Sacred Heart Parish had another of its men enter the seminary. We are now ably served by our pastor, Reverend John W. O’Brien and our pastoral staff.

The neighborhood surrounding our church has benefited from beautification efforts by the City of Quincy. There are new sidewalks and newly paved streets, and attractive lighting and seasonal banners brighten the area. Sacred Heart Parish is grateful that the city extended this effort down Glover Ave. past our school and and rectory. Our church has recently completed several ambitious renovation projects. We did masonry and roof repairs, replaced several pews, restored stained glass windows, installed central air conditioning and new heating, planted new shrubbery, and re-bronzed the central crucifix.

Sacred Heart Parish serves a richly diversified population of North Quincy. Our parish has approximately over 6,000 registered parishioners. With a current population in Quincy of 88,700, Sacred Heart welcomes its newest parishioners: a growing Asian community (now at 30% of the population), Eastern European immigrants, and new Irish. As demographics of age and heritage change, Sacred Heart Parish continues to serve our Catholic community well. Working with our Quincy parishes, Sacred Heart Parish humbly continues its mission of service and hospitality to all.

Pastors of Sacred Heart Parish

• Reverend J. P. Cuffe, 1903-1916
• Reverend Thomas Coughlan, 1916-1922
• Reverend John J. Casey, 1922-1938
• Right Reverend Irving L. Gifford, D.D., 1938-1967
• Right Reverend Richard J. Hawko, 1967-1975
• Reverend Cornelius J. Heery, 1976-1996
• Reverend John W. O'Brien, 1996-

About Our Parish

Deeply committed to Jesus Christ, we endeavor to become a unified community of faith, worship, and service. We strive to be a warm, welcoming and caring parish in which the gifts and talents of all, young and old, are recognized and graciously used to nourish others.