About Sacred Heart · Foreman, Arkansas
Sacred Heart Church is a small Roman Catholic mission parish in Foreman, Arkansas, in the Diocese of Little Rock (Ouachita Deanery). It is the oldest still-active mission church in the state, tracing its origins to 1844 when the pioneer priest Father Thomas Donohoe began ministering in the community then known as Rocky Comfort. Today about 30 worshippers gather each Sunday in the brick-and-frame building on Bell Street, which has been the parish's home since 1939, and the mission is served by priests from St. Edward Church in Texarkana.
- Established
- 1844
- Patron
- The Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Fr. William Burmester
- Diocese
- Diocese of Little Rock (Ouachita Deanery)
Why belong here
Sacred Heart in Foreman offers a rare opportunity to belong to what is recognized as the oldest still-active Catholic mission church in Arkansas, with roots reaching back to 1844. The parish is small — about 30 people gather for Sunday Mass — and the spirit is very much a working family: parishioners volunteer to mow the lawn, clean the church, play the organ, do the bookkeeping, and share breakfast together after Mass each week. Religious education is taught by fellow parishioners, and the community is welcoming newcomers arriving for jobs at the local Ash Grove Cement plant, making it an especially good time to join this historic little mission served from St. Edward Church in Texarkana.
Mass times at Sacred Heart
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 8:30 a.m.
Parish Identity & Mission
Sacred Heart is a mission parish of the Diocese of Little Rock, placed in the Ouachita Deanery and attended from St. Edward Church in Texarkana. It is widely recognized as the oldest still-active Catholic mission church in the state of Arkansas, with a continuous Catholic presence on this stretch of southwest Arkansas going back to 1844. Despite its small size — roughly 30 people at Sunday Mass — it remains a living parish with a full sacramental life.
- Diocese: Diocese of Little Rock
- Deanery: Ouachita Deanery
- County: Little River County, Arkansas
- Status: Mission (attended from St. Edward Church, Texarkana)
- Established: 1844 (as Holy Cross Church in Rocky Comfort)
History of the Parish
The parish was born in 1844 when Bishop Andrew J. Byrne and Father Thomas Donohoe, the first priest to regularly visit, came to the hamlet of Rocky Comfort and founded a mission called Holy Cross. The Taaffe family, especially George and Sarah Jane Taaffe, were central to its early life: Sarah Jane died in 1845 just two days before Bishop Byrne arrived on mule-back, and George responded by donating 40 acres and a log church to the diocese. That acreage became Holy Cross Cemetery. The original church was destroyed by the Arkansas state militia in 1868 during Reconstruction and rebuilt with a state legislative appropriation of $1,000, with Father P.H. Garaghty supervising construction of a frame church in 1870. When the town relocated northeast toward the railroad and renamed itself Foreman, the Catholic community followed. In 1939 the parish rose again at its present Bell Street location under the new name Sacred Heart, and the building's original pews and Stations of the Cross still serve worshippers today.
- 1843: Diocese of Little Rock erected (Nov 28) by Pope Gregory XVI
- 1844: Bishop Byrne and Fr. Thomas Donohoe visit Rocky Comfort; Holy Cross mission founded
- 1845: Sarah Jane Taaffe dies; Bishop Byrne arrives by mule; George Taaffe donates 40 acres and log church
- 1868: Arkansas state militia destroys Holy Cross; blockhouse built on site
- 1873: Arkansas Legislature appropriates $1,000 to rebuild
- 1870: Fr. P.H. Garaghty supervises construction of a frame church
- Community shifts 2.5 miles northeast to the railroad and becomes Foreman
- 1939: Sacred Heart Church built at present Bell Street location with original pews and Stations of the Cross
- Until 2000: Attended from St. Barbara Church, De Queen
- Since 2000: Attended from St. Edward Church, Texarkana
Clergy & Staff
Sacred Heart's current pastor is Fr. William Burmester, with Fr. Joseph Nguyen serving as Associate Pastor, both listed on the Diocese of Little Rock's official parish directory. Becky Ermann serves as Director of Faith Formation. The mission is administered and supplied by the team at St. Edward Church in Texarkana, and a member of the Taaffe founding family, John Hunter Taaffe, has long served as the parish's unofficial historian and record-keeper.
- Fr. William Burmester — Pastor
- Fr. Joseph Nguyen — Associate Pastor
- Becky Ermann — Director of Faith Formation
- Parish office reaches through St. Edward Church, Texarkana
Parish Life & Ministries
Sacred Heart's parish life is built on the work of its small but committed membership. After Sunday Mass, parishioners gather for a weekly breakfast together — a long-standing tradition. Religious education is provided by two parishioners serving as catechists, and sacramental roles are filled by lay lectors, ushers, and Eucharistic ministers. Volunteer labor keeps the property and operations running: members mow the lawn, clean the church, play the organ, and manage the parish's bookkeeping.
- Lectors
- Ushers
- Eucharistic Ministers
- Faith Formation (Director: Becky Ermann)
- Parishioner catechists for religious education
- Weekly breakfast after Sunday Mass
- Volunteer grounds and maintenance team
- Parish organist and bookkeeping volunteers
Holy Cross Cemetery
A short drive from the church off Arkansas Highway 108 (also described as off Highway 32), Holy Cross Cemetery — also called the Catholic Cemetery — sits on land donated by George Taaffe to the Diocese of Little Rock in 1845. It remains an active, well-kept burial ground and is the resting place of Sarah Jane Taaffe (d. 1845) and generations of Catholic families who shaped the parish. The cemetery is the most tangible link between today's Sacred Heart congregation and the parish's 1844 beginnings.
- 40 acres donated to the Diocese of Little Rock by George Taaffe in 1845
- Burial place of Sarah Jane Taaffe (d. 1845)
- Active cemetery still in use today
- Located off Arkansas Highway 108 / Highway 32 in Little River County
Community & Recent Growth
Foreman is a town of roughly 1,100 in southwest Arkansas, and Sacred Heart's congregation has historically hovered in the high-20s to low-30s on a Sunday morning. After decades of gradual decline following World War II, the parish has welcomed an influx of new families in recent years as Ash Grove Cement expanded its local manufacturing operations. Several Hispanic households have joined the parish, and inquiries from prospective Catholics are on the rise, prompting planning for cosmetic upgrades to the church building including a new roof, fresh interior and exterior paint, and new carpeting.
- Foreman, AR population: about 1,100
- 2006 parish count: 17 households / 41 individuals
- New families arriving via Ash Grove Cement plant expansion
- Recent Hispanic family arrivals
- Planned cosmetic work: new roof, interior and exterior paint, new carpeting
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Thomas Donohoe1844–
First priest to regularly visit the Holy Cross mission in Rocky Comfort; traveled with Bishop Andrew J. Byrne.
- Fr. P.H. Garaghtycirca 1867–1870s
Appointed by Bishop Edward Fitzgerald; supervised construction of the 1870 frame church after Reconstruction-era militia destruction.
- Fr. Vincent Fluscheas of 2008
Pastor of St. Edward in Texarkana; celebrated Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart on a rotating basis.
- Fr. Lawrence Chellaianas of 2008
Indian priest resident at St. Edward; chaplain at St. Michael Hospital in Texarkana, Texas; alternated Sunday Masses at Sacred Heart.
- Fr. William Burmestercurrent
Current pastor (Diocese of Little Rock listing).