Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church - Altoona, Pennsylvania
Posted by: 
ted28285
N 40° 30.328 W 078° 24.130
17T E 720118 N 4487103
Dedicated in 1891 the active Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church is a beautiful sandstone church in Altoona, Pennsylvania
Waymark Code: WM159DJ
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 11/14/2021
Views: 1
From The Church History page:
"The new immigration was largely Catholic, working class, and urban, making the American Catholic Church more than ever the church of the city, the worker, and the immigrant. And the Most Reverend Richard Phelan, Bishop of Pittsburgh, call the Reverend Thomas P. Smith, pastor of Holy Name Church, Ebensburg. to form a new congregation in Altoona. This new congregation was Sacred Heart Parish.
On July 13, 1890, Father Thomas P. Smith, formerly pastor of Holy Name Parish in Ebensburg, celebrated as the newly-appointed pastor, the first Mass in the newly established Sacred Heart Parish in a building on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Twenty-Fourth Street in Altoona. A combination Church-School was opened in the Fall of 1891. The Sisters of Saint Joseph, whose Motherhouse was then at Ebensburg staffed the school. At that time, our area was still part of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Our current rectory (priest’s residence) was built in 1897. Our current Formation Center was built as a combination church and school. A church auditorium, on the first floor, was dedicated to Divine Worship of October 18, 1891. The second floor consisted of six large classrooms.
Visit Instructions:1) A photo of the church is required for visits to a waymark.
2) Please share some comments about your visit.
3) Additional photos are encouraged. If you can have information in addition to that already provided about this church, please share it with us.