History & Significance
Cathedral · Est. Parish established 1905; present cathedral dedicated 1967; elevated to cathedral 1975
Sacred Heart Parish was established in Pensacola's East Hill in 1905 under Bishop Edward Allen of Mobile; its first church (1907) was rebuilt after the 1906 hurricane. The present brick church was dedicated by Archbishop Thomas Toolen of Mobile on May 18, 1967. When Pope Paul VI established the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee in 1975, Sacred Heart was elevated to cathedral, becoming the seat of the new diocese's first bishop, René Gracida. It serves the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, which also has a co-cathedral in Tallahassee.
Modern interpretation of the Romanesque Basilica style (brick)
- •Seat (cathedral) of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, established by Pope Paul VI in 1975
- •Sacred Heart Parish was founded in 1905; the present church was dedicated on May 18, 1967 by Archbishop Thomas Toolen of Mobile
- •The diocese also maintains the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Tallahassee
- •René Henry Gracida was installed as the first bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee in 1975
- •The original 1907 Sacred Heart church building (a separate structure, now a concert hall) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
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