About Sacred Heart · Annawan, Illinois
Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic parish in the small village of Annawan, in rural Henry County, Illinois, in the Diocese of Peoria. According to GCatholic, the parish was established in 1893, and it has long served the farming communities of Annawan Township alongside neighboring parishes. In recent years it has been clustered with St. Anthony of Padua in Atkinson and St. Patrick in Sheffield, sharing the website theheartandthelily.org and a pastor. Father S. Stephen Engelbrecht, ordained in 2000 and pastor since 2014, currently ministers to all three communities. In 2025 the Diocese of Peoria announced that Sacred Heart would be merged into a new parish with St. Anthony as the primary worship site and that the Annawan church building would no longer be used.
- Established
- 1893
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Rev. S. Stephen Engelbrecht
- Diocese
- Diocese of Peoria (Roman Catholic)
Why belong here
Sacred Heart has long been the Catholic heart of Annawan and the surrounding Henry County farmland, where families knew one another across generations and gathered for weekly Mass and the sacraments. The parish has maintained the traditional Catholic devotional life of small-town Illinois — Sunday and weekday Mass, the sacrament of reconciliation, and annual May Crowning of the Blessed Virgin — even as it shared clergy and resources with neighboring St. Anthony of Atkinson and St. Patrick of Sheffield. For well over a century it offered a quiet, faithful place to worship and is associated with the historic Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Annawan. Although the Diocese of Peoria has announced that Sacred Heart will close in 2025 and merge into the new Atkinson-based parish, it remains a touchstone parish for families with deep roots in Annawan Township.
Mass times at Sacred Heart
Weekly Mass schedule
About Sacred Heart, Annawan
Sacred Heart Catholic Church is a small rural parish in the village of Annawan, Henry County, Illinois, established in 1893 and part of the Diocese of Peoria. It has long served farming families of Annawan Township and has been clustered in recent years with St. Anthony of Padua in Atkinson and St. Patrick in Sheffield, sharing clergy and the website theheartandthelily.org. In 2025 the Diocese of Peoria announced a merger of the three parishes into one new parish with St. Anthony as the primary worship site; Sacred Heart's Annawan church building is no longer in use for worship under that plan.
History
According to GCatholic, Sacred Heart of Annawan traces its origins to 1893, the year of its establishment in the Diocese of Peoria. Mid-20th-century Annawan Township plat maps show a 'Sacred Heart Church & School' on the village, with Rev. Father Charles Martell as the priest in residence — evidence that the parish once operated a school alongside the church. For generations it ministered to the Catholics of Annawan and the surrounding rural area, and for several years before the merger it hosted the weekend Mass shared by the Atkinson–Sheffield–Annawan Catholic community.
- Established 1893 (per GCatholic)
- Historically operated a parish school (Sacred Heart Church & School)
- Father Charles Martell named on historical Annawan Township maps
- Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery adjacent to the parish grounds
2025 Merger and the Growing Disciples Plan
In May 2024 Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria wrote to Sacred Heart parishioners that, as part of the diocese's Growing Disciples program, St. Anthony in Atkinson, Sacred Heart in Annawan, and St. Patrick in Sheffield would be merged into one new parish, with St. Anthony as the primary worship site. The new parish will also care for the Shrine of St. Mary of the Fields, and Sacred Heart in Annawan will no longer be used for worship. The change was set to take effect at the end of June 2025.
- Bishop Louis Tylka announced the merger in a May 2024 letter
- Part of the diocesan Growing Disciples program
- St. Anthony (Atkinson) named primary worship site of the new parish
- New parish will also care for the Shrine of St. Mary of the Fields
Pastor and Clergy
Sacred Heart is currently served by Rev. S. Stephen Engelbrecht, a priest of the Diocese of Peoria ordained on May 27, 2000 and born in Jacksonville, Illinois. He was named pastor of St. Anthony in Atkinson in 2013 and pastor of Sacred Heart in Annawan in 2014, and serves as Vicar Forane of the Kewanee Vicariate. In the 2025 priest assignments, Father Engelbrecht was named pastor of St. Patrick in Sheffield as well, remaining pastor of St. Anthony and Sacred Heart. Rev. Albert Mwita Mung'aho was appointed administrator of St. Patrick under the merger.
- Rev. S. Stephen Engelbrecht — Pastor, ordained May 27, 2000
- Pastor of St. Anthony (Atkinson) since 2013; Pastor of Sacred Heart (Annawan) since 2014
- Vicar Forane, Kewanee Vicariate (since 2013)
- Incardinated in the Diocese of Peoria
- Rev. Albert Mwita Mung'aho appointed administrator of St. Patrick (Sheffield)
Mass and Sacraments
In the years before the merger, Sacred Heart Annawan hosted Sunday Mass at 8:00 am and a Wednesday daily Mass at 7:30 am, with the sacrament of reconciliation available by appointment. The clustered parish website theheartandthelily.org also lists Saturday vigil and Sunday Masses at St. Anthony (Atkinson) and St. Patrick (Sheffield), as well as Saturday and Sunday reconciliation windows at those sites, reflecting the way the three parishes shared sacramental life.
- Sunday Mass — 8:00 am at Sacred Heart
- Wednesday Daily Mass — 7:30 am at Sacred Heart
- Reconciliation: by appointment with the priest
- Sacramental life shared with St. Anthony (Atkinson) and St. Patrick (Sheffield) under one website
Devotions and Parish Life
Sacred Heart maintained the traditional devotional rhythm of small-town Illinois Catholic parishes, including the annual May Crowning of the Blessed Virgin, held at the 8:00 am Mass in May. The parish calendar on theheartandthelily.org lists the May Crowning as a Sacred Heart event. Beyond that, little is published online about parish societies, councils, or specific lay ministries — consistent with the lean online footprint of a small rural mission church.
- Annual May Crowning at the 8:00 am Mass (May 2025 event on the parish calendar)
Contact, Location, and Practical Information
Sacred Heart is located at 305 W. South Avenue in Annawan, Illinois (mailing ZIP 61234), in Henry County. The parish office, shared with St. Anthony of Atkinson, is reached at (309) 935-6911 (church) or (309) 936-7900 (parish office). Online giving for Sacred Heart is handled through OSV Hub at osvhub.com/sacredheartchurch/funds. The shared parish website is theheartandthelily.org and bulletins are published there as well.
- Address: 305 W. South Avenue, Annawan, IL 61234
- Church phone: (309) 935-6911
- Parish office: (309) 936-7900 (shared with St. Anthony, Atkinson)
- Online giving: osvhub.com/sacredheartchurch/funds
- Website: theheartandthelily.org (shared with St. Anthony & St. Patrick)
Diocese and Wider Church Context
Sacred Heart belongs to the Diocese of Peoria, a Latin-rite Catholic diocese serving central Illinois. Its current bishop is Louis Tylka, who announced the Growing Disciples consolidation that includes Sacred Heart. The parish sits within the Kewanee Vicariate, for which Father Engelbrecht serves as Vicar Forane. The diocesan priest directory (cdop.org) confirms Father Engelbrecht's assignment to both St. Anthony and Sacred Heart and lists his earlier pastorates at St. Patrick of Andalusia (2009) and elsewhere in the diocese.
- Diocese of Peoria (Latin Rite)
- Bishop Louis Tylka
- Kewanee Vicariate — Father Engelbrecht serves as Vicar Forane
Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
A Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery is recorded in Henry County cemetery records at the parish address, 305 W. South Avenue, Annawan, IL 61234. It is one of several Catholic cemeteries serving the Kewanee-area Catholic population and stands as a continuing physical reminder of the parish's long presence in Annawan Township.
- Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery, 305 W. South Ave., Annawan, IL 61234
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Charles Martell
Listed in historical Annawan Township plat map as priest of Sacred Heart Church & School.
- Rev. S. Stephen Engelbrecht2014–present
Also pastor of St. Anthony (Atkinson) from 2013; in 2025 named pastor of the new merged parish that will include St. Patrick (Sheffield).