Sacred Heart Croatian Parish, Milwaukee

Our Parish Roots

They came to America and to Milwaukee with not much more than a suitcase and a trunk or two. They came to make a better life for themselves. They sacrificed a lot of what they had to have a place to worship together, gather together, grow together and welcome others. They formed a Family! On April 4th 1917 with the blessing of Archbishop Sebastian Messmer and under the guidance of the Father Placid Belavic, a Croatian Franciscan friar, the Croatian community organized to establish Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. An old German Lutheran Church and Rectory located on 7th and Galena St. was purchased on July 9, 1917. With the deterioration of the area in which the Church was located, it became necessary to find a new location. Parish transferred to its new and present location at 917 N. 49th street during November of 1949, and on November 27th, 1949, the first Mass at our present church was celebrated by Fr. Emmanuel Rajic, our associate pastor at the that time. Much work has been put into the renewal of the spiritual life of the parish through parish missions, renewal programs, lay involvement in the life of the parish and improvements of the liturgical worship spaces. And so it continues, with the parishioners contributing their time, talents and treasures under the guidance of the Croatian Franciscan Fathers. For over its 100 years, Sacred Heart Parish has been and still is, a happy faith-filled community of diverse people united through faith in Jesus Christ.

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Our Share

Through much prayer, planning and conversation, we have identified our greatest needs and initiatives to strengthen our mission and vision for years to come. Our share of the funds raised will be used to begin structural repairs on the church, add accessible entrances, and replace coverings on the stained-glass windows.