About Sacred Heart of Jesus · Atlanta, Georgia
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, at the intersection of Peachtree Street NE and Peachtree Center Avenue. Originally established in 1880 as the parish of Saints Peter and Paul — Atlanta's second Catholic parish — it was entrusted to the Marist Fathers in 1897 and rededicated as Sacred Heart of Jesus on May 1, 1898 in Walter T. Downing's French Romanesque church. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and elevated to a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, it serves a congregation of about 1,300 families and offers the only regularly scheduled Spanish Mass in Atlanta's urban core.
- Established
- 1880
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Very Rev. John T. Howren (Rector)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Atlanta
Why belong here
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus offers something rare in downtown Atlanta: a historically significant Catholic community in the heart of the city with a strong tradition of service to the urban poor. The parish runs a long-standing Thursday morning food and coffee outreach to the homeless, an active Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference, a Prayer Shawl Ministry, jail and hospital visits, and the only regularly scheduled Spanish Mass in Atlanta's urban core. Its downtown location draws a uniquely diverse congregation of roughly 1,300 families — including young professionals, longtime parishioners, Hispanic Catholics, and Emory-area students — and supports vibrant young-adult ("Cor Unum"), faith-formation (K–12), OCIA (formerly RCIA), children's choir, principal choir, and contemporary "Hearts on Fire" music ministries, all within a stunning National Register–listed French Romanesque landmark.
Mass times at Sacred Heart of Jesus
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Friday 11:00 a.m.
- Saturday 3:00 p.m.
Adoration times
- Tuesday 12:45–3:00 p.m. — Exposition of the Eucharist in the Marist Chapel of St. Peter Chanel (ring the office doorbell for access)
History & Heritage
From its 1880 founding as Atlanta's second Catholic parish (Sts. Peter and Paul) to its 2010 elevation as a minor basilica, Sacred Heart has been central to the Catholic life of downtown Atlanta for more than 140 years. The parish's heritage is preserved through its National Register–listed 1898 Walter T. Downing building, its Marist-era archives, a 125th Anniversary commemorative booklet, and ongoing programming such as community church tours and the Cornerstone 125/150 anniversary committee looking ahead to 2030 (the 150th anniversary of the parish's founding).
- 1880 — Founded as Sts. Peter and Paul at Marietta & Alexander Streets (Atlanta's second Catholic parish)
- May 6, 1897 — Entrusted to the Marist Fathers by Bishop Thomas A. Becker
- November 21, 1897 — Cornerstone laid; Father Benjamin Keiley preaches
- May 1, 1898 — Church dedicated by Bishop Becker; rededicated as Sacred Heart of Jesus
- 1899 — First Hook & Hastings organ installed and blessed with Rossini's Stabat Mater
- 1902 — 28 Mayer Studios (Munich & New York) stained-glass windows installed
- 1907 — First renovation: copper steeples and Paulo Pavesich frescoes
- 1909 — Sisters of St. Joseph open Sacred Heart Elementary School
- 1911 — Pastor Rev. John E. Gunn, SM consecrated Sixth Bishop of Natchez at Sacred Heart
- 1913 — Sisters of St. Joseph open Sacred Heart High School for Girls
- 1920 — Consecration Liturgy celebrated after the building was paid in full
- 1965 — Pastoral care returned from the Marists to the Archdiocese of Atlanta
- 1976 — Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (May 13)
- 1978 — Firebombing through a basement window
- 1995 — Mother Teresa of Calcutta celebrates Mass at Sacred Heart (June 12)
- 1998 — First regularly scheduled Spanish Mass in the Archdiocese of Atlanta begins here
- 2010 — Elevated to a Minor Basilica by Pope Benedict XVI (February 22)
- 2023 — 125th Anniversary of the Dedication celebrated with a time capsule to be opened in 2148
Architecture & Art
Walter T. Downing's church is a synthesis of French and northern-Italian Romanesque elements drawn from the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries. The plan is built on a 13-foot module: a groin-vaulted vestibule leads into a 26-foot-wide nave with a ribbed barrel vault on iron columns wrapped in terra cotta, side aisles with groin vaults, a triforium gallery, and a half-cylindrical apse with an ambulatory. Twin towers with octagonal upper stories on block bases flank the western façade; their steeples were originally shingled and re-faced in copper in 1907. The 28 Mayer Studios stained-glass windows (1902) and Paulo Pavesich's frescoes (1907) give the interior much of its character.
- Architect: Walter Thomas Downing (one of the most notable Southern architects of the early twentieth century)
- Style: French Romanesque with Romanesque Revival elements
- Materials: Terra cotta, iron, marble (vestibule), wood, brick; copper sheathing on steeples (post-1907)
- Stained glass: 28 windows (1902) by Mayer Studios of Munich and New York — 14 along the nave walls and seven pairs in the apse clerestory
- Frescoes by Paulo Pavesich (1907) — apse lattice in ivory, violet and gold; curved altar walls in oriental tapestry motif
- First organ: Hook & Hastings (1899), originally in a smaller choir loft beneath the rose window
- Six Philippine-mahogany confessionals installed in 1908
- Sacristy enlarged to present configuration in 1917; exterior refaced in 1961
Faith Formation & Sacramental Preparation
Faith formation at Sacred Heart is parish-based rather than school-based, reaching children and adults through Sunday-morning classes, OCIA, and sacramental-preparation programs. The parish partners with families to bring children into the sacraments of initiation and continues to support adult catechesis.
- Faith Formation for Children & Youth (K–12) — Sundays 11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m. during the school year
- OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) — for unbaptized adults and baptized adults seeking Confirmation
- Baptism Preparation — monthly Sunday-afternoon classes (mandatory for parents of children under 12)
- First Reconciliation and First Communion preparation for children
- Confirmation preparation for youth and adults
Music & Liturgical Arts
Sacred Heart maintains both a traditional principal choir and a contemporary ensemble, supported by a parish organist-choir director. Music ministers lead the congregation at the principal Sunday Masses, Christmas Midnight Mass, the Sacred Paschal Triduum and Easter Sunday.
- Basilica Principal Choir — leads the 10:00 a.m. Sunday Mass; rehearses Wednesdays 7:30 p.m. and Sundays 9:30 a.m.; sings Christmas Midnight Mass and the Triduum
- Basilica Children's Choir (K–12) — rehearses after Sunday Religious Education classes; lunch provided
- "Hearts on Fire" Contemporary Music Ensemble — leads the 5:00 p.m. Sunday Mass
- Parish Organist & Choir Director: William E. (Billy) Krape
- Liturgical Readers (Lectors) proclaim the First and Second Readings from the Ambo
Outreach & Social Justice
Service to the poor and marginalized has been a consistent ministerial priority at Sacred Heart from the Marist era through the present. The parish runs a long-standing Thursday-morning food and coffee outreach to the homeless, an active Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference, hospital and jail ministries, a Respect Life ministry, and a Prayer Shawl Ministry that knits and crochets shawls, blankets and baby items for parishioners and the outreach community.
- Thursday Food Distribution — preparation Wednesdays, distribution Thursdays beginning 9:00 a.m.
- Society of St. Vincent de Paul — direct aid (food, clothing, housing, bill assistance) to neighbors in need
- Respect Life Ministry — education and participation in pro-life events around Atlanta
- Hospital Ministry to Emory Midtown
- Jail visits
- Prayer Shawl Ministry — third Sunday of each month, 9:00–10:00 a.m., Jim Walsh classroom
Parish Life & Young Adults
Beyond Mass, the Basilica sustains a robust parish life through small-group fellowship, hospitality ministries, and a vibrant young-adult community. The "Cor Unum" (One Heart) Young Adult Community meets weekly for a Faith Circle and gathers monthly after the 5:00 p.m. Mass for food and fellowship.
- "Cor Unum" Young Adults — Sunday Faith Circle ~4:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall; monthly social after the 5:00 p.m. Mass on the third Sunday
- Greeters — meet and greet prior to each weekend Mass
- Ushers
- Wedding Guild — directs the many weddings at the Basilica
- Offertory Counters — tally weekend donations on Monday mornings
- Altar Servers — youth and adults who have received First Eucharist, with quarterly training
Clergy, Staff & Leadership
The parish is led by a rector and supported by three deacons, a pastoral administrator, and a team of lay staff and volunteer advisory committees. The advisory structure — including a Pastoral Team, Leadership Team, Finance Committee, Legacy Committee, "For Such a Time as This" Ambassadors, and the Cornerstone 125/150 anniversary committee — provides strategic and operational oversight.
- Administrator: Monsignor Albert Jowdy (ordained 1984 for the Archdiocese of Atlanta; named Chaplain to His Holiness by Pope Benedict XVI in 2013; prefers 'Father Al')
- Rector: Very Rev. John T. Howren (since 2020)
- Deacon Mike Balfour (Pastoral Administrator, 404.974.2232)
- Deacon Pablo Cepeda
- Deacon Marino Gonzalez (Liturgical & Outreach Ministries, 404.974.2235)
- Kelly Schreckenberger — Pastoral Administrator
- William E. (Billy) Krape — Organist & Choir Director
- Peggy Ballou — Registrar
- Michelle Rivers — Controller
- Robert Rivers — OCIA & Faith Formation
- Ralph Bailey — Wedding Coordinator
- Humberto Quintas — Maintenance Supervisor
Visiting the Basilica
Located at the corner of Peachtree Street NE and Peachtree Center Avenue in downtown Atlanta, the Basilica is a National Register–listed landmark easily reached by MARTA (Five Points / Peachtree Center stations) and surrounded by downtown parking decks. Visitors during Mass times can experience the 1898 French Romanesque interior with its Mayer stained glass and Pavesich frescoes; outside Mass times, the parish periodically offers community church tours and visitors can ring the office doorbell to access Exposition in the Marist Chapel of St. Peter Chanel.
- Address: 353 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA 30308
- Phone: (404) 522-6800
- Office Hours: Monday–Thursday, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
- MARTA: Five Points or Peachtree Center station
- Notable interior elements: Mayer Studios stained-glass windows, Pavesich frescoes, Hook & Hastings organ, Marist Chapel of St. Peter Chanel, commemorative plaques for Mother Teresa (1995) and Father Michael A. (Tony) Morris
- Side altar to the left of the center aisle houses a relic of the True Cross of Jesus
Notable Sacramental & Devotional Life
The Basilica is home to a number of distinctive devotional and sacramental elements that reflect its 140+ years of Catholic life in Atlanta — from a relic of the True Cross to weekly Eucharistic Exposition and the only urban-core Spanish Mass in the city.
- Weekly Exposition of the Eucharist in the Marist Chapel of St. Peter Chanel (Tuesdays 12:45–3:00 p.m.)
- Relic of the True Cross of Jesus on the side altar to the left of the center aisle
- Plaque commemorating Mother Teresa's June 12, 1995 Mass at Sacred Heart
- Plaque commemorating Father Michael A. (Tony) Morris, pastor 1973–1983
- Twelve-thirty p.m. Sunday Spanish Mass — the only regularly scheduled Spanish Mass in Atlanta's urban core
- "Hearts on Fire" 5:00 p.m. Sunday Mass with contemporary music ensemble
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Patrick H. McMahon1880–1889
First pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul parish
- Rev. John S. McCarthy1889–1890
- Rev. Joseph F. Colbert1890–1897
Last diocesan pastor before the Marists
- Rev. William Gibbons, SM1897–1898
First Marist pastor; requested a leave of absence shortly after the 1898 dedication
- Rev. John E. Gunn, SM1898–1911
Grew the parish from ~340 to ~1,250; consecrated Sixth Bishop of Natchez at Sacred Heart on August 29, 1911
- Rev. George S. Rapier, SM1911–1914
- Rev. Peter McOscar, SM1914–1920
- Rev. James A. Horton, SM1920–1926
- Rev. Michael A. Coffer, SM1926–1932
- Rev. Edward P. McGrath, SM1932–1935
- Rev. James T. Reilly, SM1935–1941
- Rev. William J. Lonergan, SM1941–1944
- Rev. Edward P. McGrath, SM1944–1947
Second term as pastor
- Rev. Harry T. Hayes, SM1947–1956
- Rev. Robert W. Ripp, SM1956–1959
- Rev. Thomas J. Roshetko, SM1959–1965
- Rev. Joseph E. Moylan1965–1966
Transition pastor when Marists returned the parish to the Archdiocese
- Rev. Joseph F. Ware1966–1967
- Rev. John J. Mulroy1967–1973
- Rev. Michael A. (Tony) Morris1973–1983
Led the parish in a period of growth and revitalization; commemorated by a plaque
- Monsignor Daniel J. O'Connor1983–1990
- Sister M. Valentina Sheridan, RSM1990–1991
Religious Sisters of Mercy administrator during a transition period
- Rev. Steven L. Yander1991–1994
- Monsignor Stephen T. Churchwell1994–2002
- Monsignor Frank J. Guista2002–2005
- Very Rev. Thomas J. Meehan2005–2012
- Monsignor Edward J. Thein2012–2020
Led the parish during and after its 2010 elevation to minor basilica
- Very Rev. John T. Howren2020–present
Rector at the time of the 125th Anniversary celebrations; signed the 2023 commemorative booklet
