Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 1307 17th Ave., Moline, will celebrate the long-awaited opening of its new Gathering Center with a Mass and formal blessing on Saturday, March 18, starting at 4 p.m.
A formal blessing will follow at 5 p.m. in the Gathering Center, where there will be a brief prayer service, recognition of the parish leadership, presentation of a time capsule, and a reception with hors d-oeuvres and libations, according to a church release. Sacred Heart parishioners and the public are invited. The Most Reverend Bishop Louis Tylka of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria will preside over the Mass commemorating the center’s completion.
He will be joined by Father Mark DeSutter, Sacred Heart’s pastor, who helped lead the historic church’s fundraising and planning efforts. The Gathering Center’s opening comes ahead of what will be the 100th anniversary of the church’s dedication in April 2023. The $2.3 million Gathering Center, a 5,000-square-foot addition to the century-old church, includes a spacious gathering area for the parish to come together before and after liturgies.
It also improves the church’s accessibility to ensure Sacred Heart is welcoming to all. In addition to the gathering space, the addition includes a covered handicapped-accessible entrance, modern and accessible restrooms, a bride’s room/lounge, a holding kitchen, a new Blessings Gift Shop and a confessional, the release said. The church’s original rectory was demolished to make way for the expansion. The Gathering Center was built by Hodge Construction Co. Inc., Moline, general contractor.
The architect was Streamline Architects, P.L.C. During the celebration, Sacred Heart will recognize and honor the construction team as well as the dedicated parishioners who volunteered to lead Sacred Heart’s Today Tomorrow Together (TTT) capital campaign.
The church broke ground in July 2022 on the new addition. The Gathering Center is the result of a successful four-year TTT campaign, which aimed to raise $3 million for improvements to the Sacred Heart campus. The campaign, which began before the COVID pandemic, was held in conjunction with Seton Catholic School, also located on the Sacred Heart campus, and Christ the King Catholic Church, Moline.
The trio’s overall goal was $5 million. Sacred Heart’s campaign actually was part of eight years of fundraising and three phases of capital improvements for the Moline church, which traces its roots to Moline’s Belgian community in the early 1900s.
Besides the challenges that COVID restrictions placed on the church’s ability to gather during the pandemic, related supply chain issues also drove up the project’s original construction costs dramatically. To cover the nearly 40% increase, Sacred Heart extended its TTT Campaign into a fourth year in the summer of 2021.
Through 2022, it raised more than $3.25 million, surpassing its original $3-million goal. Late last year, Sacred Heart launched a Centennial Debt Reduction Drive in conjunction with its upcoming anniversary. The campaign is raising funds to cover other costs related to furnishing and equipping the new Gathering Center as well as retiring the church’s debt. So far, this drive has received nearly $290,000 in pledges toward its $600,000 goal.
To make a donation or learn more about the Centennial Campaign, visit the church website HERE.
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