Sacred Heart Catholic Church

The first Catholic mass was said in Boone, Iowa in 1860 for two Catholic families.  A frame church in West Boone was dedicated in 1865 to St Joseph, and later changed to St. Patrick after the acquisition of a parish cemetery to St. Patrick.  A new frame church was built in the larger community of Boone on the corner or 12^th and Marshall Streets in 1880, and the church was renamed Church of the Sacred Heart.  The parsonage burned in 1891, and was replaced with a brick structure that same year.  In 1894, a cornerstone was laid for the current Sacred Heart church, which is a large Romanesque stone structure.  It was dedicated in December of 1894.

Mallin decorated Sacred Heart church in 1937, for the Rev. John J. Ryan, who served as the church pastor between 1931 and 1964.   Sacred Heart is listed in Mallin’s brochures, and Mallin sent postcards to his family in Chicago from Boone in 1937, with a photo of the church on the postcard.  There is also a bank deposit from Sacred Heart in 1937.

Mr. Jerry Manriquez, who has a website dedicated to the history of the Sacred Heart Schools. provided some photos of the church interiors from 1951 school newsletters and from his wedding in the church in 1961.    The 1951 photos show the same decorations in the archway of the sanctuary and the same mural as in 1961.  However, the stenciling on the walls next to the sanctuary were removed by 1961.  Mr. Manriquez remembers scaffolding being in the church in the mid to late 1950s, so some redecorating may have been done at that time.    The cherubs in the altar archway were one of Mallin’s common decorations seen in many of his churches.

The church was redecorated in 1989 with gold leaf stenciling and color, so none of Mallin’s decorations remain.   The 100^th anniversary of the church was celebrated in 1994.   The church is still active and has 2,100 parishioners.

Thanks to Jerry Manriquez for providing photos of the Mallin church decorations.

References

Church of the Sacred Heart, Boone, Iowa.  History of the Church of the Sacred Heart-Boone, Iowa. https://www.sacredhrt.org/history

Boone, Iowa –Sacred Heart High School and Boone High School Year Books.   http://boonesacheart.manriquez.net/