About Sacred Heart Catholic Church · Allegan, Michigan
Sacred Heart Catholic Church is a small mission parish located at 2036 20th Street in Watson Township, northern Allegan County, Michigan. It is the oldest church building in Allegan County and was founded by Irish Catholic settlers in the rolling hill country outside Allegan. Today it operates as a mission church of St. Stanislaus Parish in Dorr under the Diocese of Kalamazoo, and welcomes the faithful every Sunday morning for Mass at 8:30 a.m. followed by coffee and cookies in the parish hall. Sacred Heart shares its clergy and pastoral staff with St. Stanislaus and remains a quiet, country-style worship site with deep Irish roots and a living Catholic heritage dating back more than a century.
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Rev. James Adams (Pastor in solidum of the collaborative of St. Mary's Visitation, St. Stanislaus, and Sacred Heart, appointed July 2023)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Kalamazoo
Why belong here
Sacred Heart is a warm, small country parish tucked into the rolling hills of Watson Township — the oldest church building in Allegan County, with a proud Irish Catholic heritage going back to the 1870s. It is part of the St. Stanislaus & Sacred Heart Catholic Parish family, so visitors and parishioners benefit from the personal welcome of a mission-sized community (Sunday Mass with coffee and cookies in the hall afterward) while having access to the priests, deacons, faith formation, and Catholic school of the parent parish in Dorr. If you are looking for a quiet, traditional Sunday Mass in the country with a real sense of belonging, Sacred Heart is exactly that.
Mass times at Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 8:00 AM (before Mass), or by appointment
About Sacred Heart Church
Sacred Heart is a mission church of St. Stanislaus Catholic Parish in Dorr, Michigan, located at 2036 20th Street in Watson Township, Allegan County. The parish describes itself as the oldest church building in Allegan County, with a strong Irish ethnic heritage dating to the 1870s. Worshippers gather every Sunday morning for Mass at 8:30 a.m., with confession beforehand at 8:00 a.m., and stay afterward for coffee and cookies in the parish hall. The mission shares its pastors, deacons, and parish staff with the parent St. Stanislaus Parish, and the office phone is answered through St. Stanislaus (269-793-7268, ext. 133).
- Type: Mission church of St. Stanislaus Parish, Dorr
- Location: 2036 20th Street, Watson Township, Allegan MI 49010
- Diocese: Kalamazoo
- Sunday Mass: 8:30 a.m.
- Confessions: Sunday 8:00 a.m. or by appointment
History & Irish Heritage
Sacred Heart traces its origins to Irish Catholic pioneers who settled the rolling hills of Watson Township in the second half of the nineteenth century. The adjacent Sacred Heart (St. Mary's) Cemetery preserves that heritage, with burials of Irish-born families — Flynn, Ward, Maloney, Nolan, Bracelin, Marron, Goldspring and others — laid to rest in the 1870s and 1880s. The current church building, still in use, is the oldest standing church building in Allegan County.
- Oldest church building in Allegan County
- Irish ethnic heritage; parish still proudly identifies with it today
- Adjacent Sacred Heart / St. Mary's Cemetery on 20th Street & 121st Avenue
Becoming a Mission of St. Stanislaus (1980)
In 1980, Bishop Donovan of the Diocese of Kalamazoo formally attached Sacred Heart as a mission church of St. Stanislaus Parish in Hilliards/Dorr and appointed Father Dennis Boylan — already pastor of St. Stanislaus — to oversee both communities. This pastoral arrangement has continued in various forms ever since and is the structure the parish still operates under today.
- 1980: Sacred Heart becomes mission of St. Stanislaus Parish under Bishop Donovan
- Father Dennis Boylan named pastor of St. Stanislaus with Sacred Heart as mission
2023 Collaborative Reorganization
On July 5, 2023, Bishop Paul J. Bradley announced new priestly assignments grouping Sacred Heart with St. Stanislaus (Dorr) and St. Mary's Visitation (New Salem) into a collaborative of parishes. Rev. James Adams was appointed Pastor in solidum of the three parishes, with Rev. Stephen J. Rodrigo serving as Canonical Pastor / Senior Parochial Vicar and Rev. Christopher Derda as Administrator.
- Rev. James Adams — Pastor in solidum of the collaborative
- Rev. Stephen J. Rodrigo — Canonical Pastor / Senior Parochial Vicar
- Rev. Christopher Derda — Administrator
- Collaborative: St. Mary's Visitation (New Salem), St. Stanislaus (Dorr), Sacred Heart (Watson)
Clergy & Staff
Sacred Heart is served by the priests and deacons of the St. Stanislaus & Sacred Heart Catholic Parish and the wider collaborative. Parish staff shared between the mission and the parent parish are listed on the official site.
- Rev. James Adams — Pastor in solidum
- Rev. Stephen J. Rodrigo — Canonical Pastor / Senior Parochial Vicar
- Rev. Christopher Derda — Administrator
- Deacon Russ Pogodzinski
- Deacon Karen Steenwyk (also Parish Secretary)
- Karen Steenwyk — Parish Secretary
- Kay Kunz — Business Manager
- Sheryl O'Connor — Director of Religious Education
- Shannon Murphy — Principal (St. Stanislaus School)
- Lori Fifelski — Secretary
Parish Life & Fellowship
Sacred Heart describes itself as a small, friendly mission church in the rolling hills of northern Allegan County — the kind of place where you can stop in for Sunday Mass and stay for fellowship. The parish web page specifically invites visitors to come for Sunday morning Mass and then join the community for coffee and cookies in the Hall afterward.
- Open invitation to visitors and traveling Catholics
- Coffee-and-cookies fellowship in the parish hall every Sunday
- Parish registration handled through St. Stanislaus Parish office
Parent Parish: St. Stanislaus, Dorr
Sacred Heart is administered as a mission of St. Stanislaus Catholic Parish in Dorr, Michigan. The parent parish was founded in 1892 by Polish Catholic pioneers in Hilliards (now Dorr) and is proud of its deep Polish roots. St. Stanislaus offers Mass on Saturday evening at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m., and Eucharistic Adoration on Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.
- St. Stanislaus Parish — 1871 136th Avenue, Dorr, MI 49323
- Founded 1892; deep Polish heritage
- Weekend Mass: Saturday 4:30 p.m., Sunday 10:30 a.m.
- Eucharistic Adoration: Thursdays 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- Parish phone: 269-793-7268
Sacred Heart Cemetery
Adjoining the church is Sacred Heart Cemetery, also historically known as St. Mary's Cemetery, located at 121st Avenue and 20th Street in Watson Township. It contains the graves of the Irish Catholic families who founded the parish community in the 19th century and remains an active Catholic cemetery serving the mission parish today.
- Also known as: St. Mary's Cemetery
- Location: 121st Avenue and 20th Street, Watson Township
- Holds burials of Irish-born pioneers from the 1870s and 1880s
Visit, Register & Contact
All administrative and sacramental matters for Sacred Heart are handled through the St. Stanislaus Parish office. A printable New Parishioner Registration Form is available on the parish website for those wishing to formally join.
- Office: St. Stanislaus Parish, 1871 136th Avenue, Dorr, MI 49323
- Phone for Sacred Heart: 269-793-7268 ext 133
- New Parishioner Registration Form available online at st-stanschurch.net
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Dennis Boylanfrom 1980
Appointed by Bishop Donovan as pastor of St. Stanislaus Parish and given Sacred Heart in Watson Township as its mission church.