About Sacred Heart Catholic Church · Woodbine, Iowa
Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Woodbine, Iowa is a small rural parish of the Diocese of Des Moines, served together with St. Patrick Church in Dunlap (about 10 miles away) as a two-parish community under one pastor. The historic church building, constructed in the early 1900s, sits at 33 7th Street and seats about 100 people, with the parish hall right next door. Visitors are welcomed by a tight-knit group of farming families who gather for weekend Masses, share the sacrament of reconciliation on Saturdays, and volunteer together for major parish milestones like the recent 120th-anniversary renovation.
- Established
- circa 1903 (120th anniversary celebrated in 2023)
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Father Samuel Danso
- Diocese
- Diocese of Des Moines
Why belong here
Sacred Heart is a warm, family-sized rural Catholic community where parishioners really know one another and pitch in together — from digging foundations and hauling steel for the church renovation to bringing food for funeral lunches. Weekend Masses (Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and Sunday at 9:00 a.m.) and daily Masses on Tuesday and Thursday mornings make it easy to keep the Lord in the week, and Saturday confessions at 3:30 p.m. (or by appointment) ensure the sacraments are within reach. The parish is partnered tightly with St. Patrick's in Dunlap, so Mass times and faith-formation opportunities are shared, and the historic church itself — now being thoughtfully expanded in time for its 120th anniversary — is a rare piece of small-town Iowa Catholic heritage.
Mass times at Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:30 PM (also listed as 3:30 PM Saturday on the partner St. Patrick schedule with 5:30 PM Saturday at St. Patrick, Dunlap)
- Available by appointment (Rectory 712-643-5808)
Welcome & About the Parish
Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Woodbine, Iowa, is part of a two-parish cluster with St. Patrick's in Dunlap, under one pastor (currently Father Samuel Danso). The parish welcomes visitors, with registration packets available at the church entrance; newcomers are invited to contact the parish office at 712-643-5115 or the rectory at 712-643-5808, or to download the 'Church by MinistryOne' parish app to stay connected. The website describes its hope that visitors feel at home 'and among friends' — a goal that shapes the small, rural, family-style atmosphere of the cluster.
- Cluster of two parishes: St. Patrick (Dunlap) + Sacred Heart (Woodbine)
- Office hours: Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Office phone 712-643-5115; Rectory 712-643-5808; Email [email protected]
- Parish app: 'Church by MinistryOne' for giving, event registration, and live-streamed Mass
History of the Parish
Sacred Heart in Woodbine traces its origins to the early 1900s; in 2023 the Diocese of Des Moines described the parish's current 120th-anniversary campaign, indicating a founding around 1903. The wood-frame church sat on beams rather than a slab — a small detail that later enabled the 2023 split-and-pull-apart expansion. Through the mid-20th century the parish was closely tied with St. Patrick's in Dunlap; a 1956 history of St. Patrick's Irish Settlement notes Father John J. Reynolds, after twelve years there, as 'now the pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Woodbine, Iowa.'
- Founded c. 1903; 120th anniversary celebrated with the 2023 renovation
- Linked historically with St. Patrick, Dunlap (Father Reynolds served both c. 1950)
- Original 100-seat wood-frame building ('cool historic little church')
The 120th-Anniversary Church Expansion
For its 120th anniversary, Sacred Heart is doing an unusually creative renovation: because the lot has no room to expand to either side (a street on one side, the parish hall on the other), the historic church was split in half and pulled apart so that a new central nave addition could be built between the original halves, with a connector linking the church to the parish hall. The project is supported by the local share of the Ignite! diocesan capital campaign and led by parishioner-builder Todd Heistand, whose late wife Mary was the sister of Father Tom Coenen, a Woodbine priest.
- Church split in half and pulled apart to install new center section
- New basement classrooms, new siding, new roofing, electrical and A/C upgrades
- Accessibility ramp and planned LULA (low-use limited-application) elevator
- Ignite! capital-campaign funding, volunteer labor led by Todd Heistand
- Architect: Rick Emswiler (also designed St. Mary, Hamburg parish classrooms)
Clergy & Pastoral Leadership
Sacred Heart is part of the St. Patrick-Dunlap and Sacred Heart-Woodbine cluster, currently under Father Samuel Danso, who was moved in summer 2024 from the parishes in Chariton, Corydon and Leon. Father Joel McNeil, who preceded him, led the parish through the 2023 church-split/expansion project and the 120th-anniversary preparations; the 1956 St. Patrick's history refers to Father John J. Reynolds as 'now the pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Woodbine,' confirming a long-standing twinning of the two parishes.
- Current pastor: Father Samuel Danso (assigned summer 2024)
- Former pastor: Father Joel McNeil (oversaw 2023 renovation and 120th anniversary)
- Father John J. Reynolds: identified as Sacred Heart's pastor c. 1950 in parish histories
Devotions & Sacramental Life
Beyond the Sunday and weekday Mass schedule, Sacred Heart offers the Sacrament of Reconciliation every Saturday at 3:30 PM (and by appointment), publishes a Spiritual Communion prayer on its homepage for those unable to receive Holy Communion, and marked the 2025 U.S. Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus with a special Friday-evening Mass on June 12, 2025 followed by parish festivities. Father Danso described the consecration in diocesan coverage as 'a privilege' and 'a spiritual journey where we can pray for our dear country.'
- Reconciliation: Saturday 3:30 PM, and by appointment (Rectory 712-643-5808)
- Spiritual Communion prayer published on parish homepage
- Sacred Heart of Jesus feast celebrated locally with annual parish festivities
Giving, Stewardship & Parish App
The parish offers multiple modern giving options while still warmly thanking parishioners for in-pew offerings: online giving through ParishSOFT, text-to-give (Sacred Heart: text 'Give' to 712-800-7956; St. Patrick: 712-221-8850), and the 'Church by MinistryOne' mobile app, which also streams Mass and registers parishioners for parish events. Registration packets for new parishioners are available at the church entrance.
- ParishSOFT Online Giving via the parish website
- Text giving — Sacred Heart: 'Give' to 712-800-7956
- Mobile app 'Church by MinistryOne' — giving, live Mass, event registration
- New-parishioner registration packets at the church entrance
Diocese & Wider Catholic Context
Sacred Heart is one of the parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines, listed on the diocese's parish-and-Mass-times finder with Father Samuel Danso as pastor, the 33 7th St. Woodbine address, and the cluster's Saturday/Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday Mass schedule. It is also recognized in the worldwide Catholic directory GCatholic (Church ID 36136) and in the Wikipedia 'List of churches in the Diocese of Des Moines,' which notes that St. Patrick (Dunlap) and Sacred Heart (Woodbine) have been merged into one parish operation.
- Diocese of Des Moines
- GCatholic Church ID 36136
- Listed in Wikipedia's 'List of churches in the Diocese of Des Moines' as merged with St. Patrick Parish, Dunlap
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father John J. Reynoldsaround 1950
Left St. Patrick's-Irish Settlement in 1950 after twelve years; identified in the 1956 parish history of St. Patrick's as 'now the pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Woodbine, Iowa.'
- Father Joel McNeilthrough approximately 2024
Pastor at the time of the 2023 church-split/expansion project and the 120th-anniversary campaign; later reassigned.
- Father Samuel Dansoassigned summer 2024
Moved from the parishes in Chariton, Corydon and Leon to serve the Dunlap-Woodbine cluster (St. Patrick Dunlap and Sacred Heart Woodbine).