About Sacred Heart · Camden, Mississippi
Sacred Heart Catholic Mission is a historically African-American Catholic parish in the rural community of Camden, Mississippi (Madison County), about 40 miles north of Jackson. It was founded in 1944 by the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinitarians) as a mission serving Black Catholics of northeast Madison County, who had previously been directed to the segregated Immaculate Conception parish. After the old mission was closed in the 1970s in the name of integration, parishioners campaigned for decades for a new church of their own; the present 7,000-square-foot brick-and-steel church and family center was dedicated and consecrated by Bishop Joseph N. Latino on March 25, 2007. Today the parish is best known for its social outreach — a senior meals program, a food pantry, an after-school program, a day care, a credit union and other ministries that anchor community life in one of the poorest corners of Mississippi.
- Established
- 1944
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Rev. Guy Wilson, ST (Missionary Servant of the Most Holy Trinity)
- Diocese
- Catholic Diocese of Jackson
Why belong here
Sacred Heart is a small but extraordinarily outward-turned parish: in a rural Mississippi town with no other major institutional anchor, the parish campus houses a senior meals program feeding dozens of elders every weekday, a food pantry serving more than a thousand families a month, an after-school program, sports leagues, a day care, a credit union, an income-tax service and a clinic. It is a place where the Catholic faith is lived as concrete service to neighbors of any denomination. For Catholics in northeast Madison County, or anyone drawn to Black Catholic history and Trinitarian mission spirituality, Sacred Heart offers a weekly Sunday Mass plus weekday Masses, a deeply rooted community that has fought to worship in its own church, and a campus that doubles as the social safety net of Camden.
Mass times at Sacred Heart
Weekly Mass schedule
History of Sacred Heart Catholic Mission, Camden
Sacred Heart was founded in 1944 by the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinitarians), the same year Father Andrew Lawrence, ST, came to Mississippi to take responsibility for Immaculate Conception and its mission stations. Father Lawrence also founded the Sacred Heart Agricultural School in nearby Sulphur Springs for African-American youths, which at its peak enrolled more than 140 students and was highly praised by the Mississippi Department of Education before being destroyed by fire in 1954. The mission was closed in the 1970s in the name of integration, sending Black Catholics to a predominantly white parish, and parishioners waited roughly three decades for a church of their own. The current church was dedicated and consecrated by Bishop Joseph N. Latino on March 25, 2007, and Immaculate Conception was closed later that year so the parish could fully relocate to the Sacred Heart campus.
- 1944 — Sacred Heart Mission established on Sulphur Springs Road near Camden by the Trinitarians.
- 1944 — Sacred Heart Agricultural School founded in Sulphur Springs.
- 1954 — Sacred Heart School destroyed by fire.
- 1970s — Original Sacred Heart Mission closed in the name of integration.
- March 25, 2007 — New Sacred Heart Catholic Church dedicated and consecrated by Bishop Joseph N. Latino.
- April 8, 2007 — First Easter in the new church; ten new members entered the Church.
- 2007 — Immaculate Conception closed; parish fully relocates to Sacred Heart campus.
- March 26, 2017 — Parish celebrates the 10th anniversary of its 'rebirth'.
- Nov. 13, 2021 — Sacred Heart hosts the diocesan celebration of 100 years of Trinity Missions.
The Trinitarian Connection and Sister Thea Bowman
Sacred Heart is one of a cluster of Mississippi parishes staffed since 1944 by the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinitarians), including Holy Child Jesus in Canton, St. Therese in Kosciusko, St. Anne in Carthage and Holy Rosary Indian Mission in Philadelphia. This Trinitarian network is the same one that educated Bertha Bowman at Holy Child Jesus in Canton; she would later become Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA, whose canonization cause is supported by the Diocese of Jackson. In 2007, artist Mary Davidson — who had just installed a 'Black Christ' sculpture behind the altar at Sacred Heart — was asked by a Camden parishioner if she would one day sculpt Sister Thea; she went on to create the bronze statue of Sister Thea Bowman now at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson.
- Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinitarians) have staffed Sacred Heart since 1944.
- Current and former Trinitarian priests serving the Camden area include Fathers Andrew Lawrence, Mike Barth, Guy Wilson, Odel Medina, Gustavo Amell, Raul Ventura, Alexis Zuniga Velasquez and Robert 'Bob' Goodyear.
- Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman (Bertha Bowman) attended Trinitarian schools in Canton and is honored throughout the Trinitarian Mississippi parishes.
Parish Staff
Sacred Heart is pastored by the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity and supported by the Sisters of Mercy and parish staff. According to the Diocese of Jackson parish finder, the current leadership team includes a Trinitarian pastor and missionary and a Mercy pastoral minister.
- Rev. Guy Wilson, ST — Pastor
- Rev. Alexis Zuniga Velasquez, ST — Missionary
- Sister Mary Anne Poeschl, RSM — Pastoral Minister
- Cherie Evans — manager of the Sacred Heart Family Center
- Sister Donna Gunn — coordinator of special projects (per 2013 housing announcement)
Campus and Architecture
The parish sits on a 110-acre campus in rural northeast Madison County. The 2007 church is a 7,000-square-foot brick-and-steel building with seating for more than 200, and the adjoining family center contains a multipurpose gym, game room, kitchen, youth office, fitness center and meeting rooms. Three stained-glass windows, a blue-stone altar, decorative metal grating and a steel baldacchino over an octagonal baptismal pool came from the closed Trinitarian seminary in Lynchburg, Virginia, while a 'Black Christ' sculpture by artist Mary Davidson stands behind the altar.
- 110-acre campus at 1493 Highway 17, Camden.
- 7,000-square-foot brick-and-steel church seating 200+.
- Stained-glass windows, blue-stone altar and baldacchino from Lynchburg, VA Trinitarian seminary.
- Octagonal baptismal pool beneath the baldacchino.
- Mary Davidson 'Black Christ' sculpture behind the altar (2007).
Social Outreach and the Sacred Heart Family Center
Sacred Heart is best known outside the diocese for the social ministries operated out of its Family Center, which Catholic Extension Society has called a 'hub of activity' that on a daily basis manifests the works of mercy. The food pantry distributes to about 1,250 families each month, while the senior meals program serves 75–85 hot lunches every weekday, with other seniors delivering meals to homebound neighbors in a 'meals-on-wheels' model. The parish also runs an after-school program, sports program, day care, credit union, income-tax service and clinic.
- Food pantry: monthly distribution to ~1,250 families plus daily emergency and walk-on requests.
- Senior meals: 75–85 lunches served Monday–Friday; delivered to homebound seniors by other seniors.
- After-school program, day care, sports program, clinic, credit union, income-tax assistance.
- Senior housing: 42-unit affordable complex built 2013–14 on 11 acres donated by the Trinitarians, adjacent to the Family Center.
Sacraments and Faith Formation
Sacred Heart celebrates the seven sacraments typical of a Roman Catholic parish, with baptism celebrated in the distinctive octagonal pool under the baldacchino at the front of the church. Sacramental preparation for children and RCIA for adults are coordinated through the Trinitarian parish cluster in the Diocese of Jackson. The sick and homebound may call the parish office to receive the Anointing of the Sick.
- Sunday and weekday Eucharist.
- Baptism at the octagonal baptismal pool.
- Confirmation, First Communion, RCIA.
- Anointing of the Sick on request.
How to Visit and Get Involved
Visitors are warmly welcomed. Mass is celebrated at 9:00 AM Sunday and 7:30 AM Tuesday and Thursday. The parish office can be reached at (662) 468-2354 (fax 662-468-2488) or at [email protected], and the website sacredheartcamdenms.com has current information. Volunteers and donors are especially vital to the parish's food-pantry and senior-meals programs, which the parish identifies as its primary works of mercy to the wider Camden community.
- Phone: (662) 468-2354 | Fax: (662) 468-2488
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.sacredheartcamdenms.com/
- Address: 1493 Highway 17, Camden, MS 39045 (mailing 1497 Highway 17, Camden, MS 39045-9524)
- Volunteer opportunities: senior meals, food pantry, after-school program, senior housing support.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Andrew Lawrence, ST1944–
First Missionary Servant of the Most Holy Trinity assigned to Mississippi; in 1944 took responsibility for Immaculate Conception and its missions, including Sacred Heart on Sulphur Springs Road near Camden. Founded the Sacred Heart Agricultural School in Sulphur Springs in 1944.
- Rev. Mike (Michael) Barth, STserving 2007 dedication as pastor
Trinitarian priest who was pastor at the March 25, 2007 dedication and consecration of the new Sacred Heart church by Bishop Joseph N. Latino; described the community's decades-long wait as 'almost like a dream deferred.' Later named general custodian / Chief Operating Officer of Trinity Missions.
- Rev. Guy Wilson, STcurrent pastor (Diocese of Jackson parish finder)
Current pastor; created a ceramic necklace in memory of the 2021 Trinitarian centennial for each attendee; email [email protected].