About Sacred Heart (Parish of the Holy Eucharist) · Yarmouth, Maine
Sacred Heart Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish at 326 Main Street in Yarmouth, Maine, founded in the late 1870s to serve Irish Catholic families who had settled along the railroad corridor north of Portland. It is one of four worship sites of the Parish of the Holy Eucharist (POTHE), a clustered parish formed in 2011 under the Diocese of Portland in Maine that also includes Holy Martyrs of North America in Falmouth, St. Jude in Freeport, and St. Gregory the Great in Gray. The present Romanesque stone church was begun in 1920 and dedicated in 1929, built by master stonemason Charles Knight Sr. from local North Yarmouth stone. Sacred Heart is known for its traditional pipe organ and choirs, its annual Festival of Lessons and Carols, and ministries such as the 'Together With Alzheimer's' caregiver support group that meets in its parish hall.
- Established
- 1878
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Rev. Steven G. Cartwright
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland in Maine
Why belong here
Sacred Heart offers the rare combination of a small-town Catholic community and the resources of a larger clustered parish. Weekend Masses are celebrated with traditional pipe organ and choirs — the 8:00 AM Sunday Mass features the Men's Schola, and the 11:00 AM features the full choir. The parish hosts distinctive programs including the 'Together With Alzheimer's' caregiver support group (1st and 3rd Wednesdays) and the Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols, and parishioners benefit from the wider Parish of the Holy Eucharist's faith formation, RCIA, youth ministry, and family life programs.
Mass times at Sacred Heart (Parish of the Holy Eucharist)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 2:30–3:30 PM (Sacred Heart, Yarmouth)
Adoration times
- Saturday 8:45–9:45 AM (Sacred Heart, Yarmouth)
Parish of the Holy Eucharist
Since 2011 Sacred Heart has been one of four worship sites of the Parish of the Holy Eucharist (POTHE), a clustered Roman Catholic parish administered from 266 Foreside Road, Falmouth, ME 04105. The other worship sites are Holy Martyrs of North America in Falmouth, St. Jude in Freeport, and St. Gregory the Great in Gray. The cluster allows Sacred Heart to combine small-parish intimacy with the staffing, faith formation, and sacramental programs of a much larger parish.
- Pastor: Rev. Steven G. Cartwright
- Parochial Vicar: Rev. Joseph Jum
- Senior Priest: Rev. Peter Kaseta, OFM Cap.
- Parish Office: 266 Foreside Rd, Falmouth, ME 04105
- Parish Phone: (207) 847-6890
- Parish Email: [email protected]
- Parish Website: www.pothe.org
History of Sacred Heart
The first Mass in Yarmouth was offered on November 12, 1856, in the home of Patrick Doran. As Irish Catholic railroad families settled in the area, they walked twelve miles to Portland for Sunday worship until 1878, when ten Irish Catholic heads of household — aided by non-Catholic neighbors Cyrus Sargent and Dr. James Bates — built a modest frame church on Cumberland Street dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
- 1856 — First Mass in Yarmouth, at the home of Patrick Doran
- 1878 — First Sacred Heart Church dedicated (wooden frame, Cumberland Street)
- April 1920 — Ground broken for the present stone church
- Labor Day 1921 — Cornerstone laid
- June 5, 1923 — First Mass in the new church, on the Feast of the Sacred Heart
- 1929 — Church formally dedicated
- 1973 — Restoration reveals original wooden beams and rose window
- 1992 — Basement converted to meeting space
- 2011 — Sacred Heart joins the Parish of the Holy Eucharist
The Church Building
The present Sacred Heart is a Romanesque-style stone church built by master stonemason Charles Knight Sr. from stone quarried at his family's North Yarmouth quarry. A 1973 restoration revealed the vaulted wooden-beam ceiling and rose window of founding pastor Fr. Joseph Quinn's original vision, and a later renovation converted the basement into a parish meeting space.
- Style: Romanesque
- Builder: Charles Knight Sr.
- Material: North Yarmouth quarry stone
- Notable features: vaulted wooden-beam ceiling, rose window, rebuilt pipe organ
Music and Liturgy
Sacred Heart is known for its traditional Catholic musical life. The rebuilt pipe organ is used at both Sunday Masses, accompanied by the Men's Schola at 8:00 AM and the full choir at 11:00 AM. The parish also hosts an annual Festival of Lessons and Carols in Advent at Sacred Heart Church.
- Pipe Organ
- Men's Schola (8:00 AM Sunday)
- Parish Choir (11:00 AM Sunday)
- Festival of Lessons and Carols (Advent)
Parish Ministries and Outreach
Through the Parish of the Holy Eucharist, Sacred Heart parishioners participate in faith formation for all ages, RCIA, youth ministry, marriage preparation, and family-life programs. Sacred Heart's hall also hosts the 'Together With Alzheimer's' caregiver support group, an outreach of the parish that has grown since 2014.
- RCIA
- Faith Formation / Lifelong Faith Formation
- Youth Ministry and Adolescent Catechesis
- Marriage Preparation and Enrichment
- Family Life Ministry
- 'Together With Alzheimer's' Caregiver Support Group (1st & 3rd Wed., 7 PM)
Sacraments
The sacraments are celebrated at Sacred Heart and across the Parish of the Holy Eucharist. The diocesan bishop visits Sacred Heart annually to administer Confirmation and First Communion to children of the parish.
- Baptism
- Confirmation and First Eucharist (Bishop James Ruggieri visits annually)
- Eucharist
- Confession / Reconciliation
- Matrimony
- Anointing of the Sick
- RCIA
Visiting Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart is located at 326 Main Street in Yarmouth, Maine, on the same corridor (U.S. Route 1) that carried the Irish Catholic railroad workers who founded the parish in the 19th century. The parish office for the Parish of the Holy Eucharist is at 266 Foreside Road in Falmouth and can be reached at (207) 847-6890.
- Address: 326 Main Street, Yarmouth, ME 04096
- Parish Office: 266 Foreside Rd, Falmouth, ME 04105
- Phone: (207) 847-6890
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.pothe.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Joseph Quinn1910–1937
Founding pastor of the present parish; longest-serving pastor (27 years); original architect of the building's design later restored in 1973.
- Father Edward Walsch1937–1954
- Father James Daly1954–1967
- Father Henry Pender1967–1968
- Father Francis LeTourneau1968–1973
- Father Charles M. Murphy1973–1978
Returned as pastor after earlier service as a curate.
- Father Conrad L'Heureux1978–1984
- Father Roger Chabot1984–1992
Oversaw expansion of the music ministry, adoption of a sister parish in Haiti, an exterior handicapped-access ramp, and installation of the rebuilt pipe organ.
- Father Richard O'Donnell1992–2000
- Msgr. Paul Stefanko2000–2005
- Father Raymond (Ray) Picard2005–2010
- Father Joseph Ford2010–2012
- Father Daniel Greenleaf2012–2019
- Father Philip A. Tracy2019–2022
- Father Steven G. Cartwright2022–present
Current pastor of the Parish of the Holy Eucharist.