About Sacred Heart · Tekoa, Washington
Sacred Heart Catholic Church is a small Roman Catholic parish serving the farming community of Tekoa in eastern Washington's Palouse region (Whitman County). Established in 1893, it is one of the oldest parishes in the Diocese of Spokane and serves as a faithful anchor for rural Catholics in the Inland Northwest. The parish sits along the wheat-and-lentil hills and is clustered with the nearby missions of St. Catherine in Oakesdale and St. Joseph in Rockford. Today the parish is pastored by Rev. Maria Lazar, HGN, of the Handmaids of the Good News, and offers Sunday Mass for the local community.
- Established
- 1893
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Rev. Maria Lazar, HGN
- Diocese
- Diocese of Spokane
Why belong here
Sacred Heart offers rural eastern Washington Catholics a faithful Sunday Mass in a tight-knit farming community where the parish has been the spiritual home of Palouse families for more than 130 years. As part of a tri-parish cluster with St. Catherine in Oakesdale and St. Joseph in Rockford, it brings experienced religious-order pastoral leadership (the Handmaids of the Good News) to small-town Catholics who might otherwise have no nearby parish. The parish also stewards a historic Catholic cemetery donated in 1895, connecting today's members to generations of ancestors in the faith.
Mass times at Sacred Heart
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish History
Sacred Heart was established in 1893 in the railroad and wheat town of Tekoa, in the heart of the Palouse country. By 1910 the parish was listed among the town's churches in historical accounts, with its original building constructed at a cost of $2,500. The parish's sacramental registers — baptism, confirmation, marriage, and death — survive continuously from 1893 to 2010 in the Diocese of Spokane's archival collection.
- Founded 1893
- Original church built for $2,500 (per HistoryLink.org)
- Sacramental registers 1893–2010 preserved in Diocese of Spokane collection
Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
In 1895, just two years after the parish's founding, Frank P. Connell donated land for the parish cemetery two miles northeast of Tekoa. The Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery (Sec. 18, Twp 20N, R46E) served the rural Catholic community through the mid-twentieth century; its surviving index lists 43 burials from 1895 to 1959. The transcription was donated to the Washington State Archives.
- Land donated 1895 by Frank P. Connell
- Located 2 miles NE of Tekoa, Whitman County
- 43 recorded burials, 1895–1959
- Records held by Washington State Digital Archives
Pastoral Leadership
Sacred Heart is currently served by Rev. Maria Lazar, HGN, a member of the Handmaids of the Good News religious congregation. She serves as pastor of a three-parish cluster: Sacred Heart in Tekoa, St. Catherine in Oakesdale, and St. Joseph in Rockford. The parish office address for the cluster is 6910 S. Ben Burr Rd., Spokane, WA 99223.
- Rev. Maria Lazar, HGN — Pastor
- Cluster parishes: Sacred Heart (Tekoa), St. Catherine (Oakesdale), St. Joseph (Rockford)
- Cluster office: 6910 S. Ben Burr Rd., Spokane, WA 99223 — (509) 448-1224
Visit and Contact
The church is located at 822 N. Washington Street in Tekoa, Washington. The mailing address is PO Box 957, Tekoa, WA 99033. Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish by phone at (509) 284-3001 and stay connected through the parish's official Facebook page.
- Address: 822 N. Washington Street, Tekoa, WA 99033
- Mailing: PO Box 957, Tekoa, WA 99033
- Phone: (509) 284-3001
- Facebook: facebook.com/p/Sacred-Heart-Catholic-Church-Tekoa-61569605991833/
Parish Governance
Sacred Heart Catholic Parish – Tekoa is registered with the Washington State Secretary of State as a nonprofit corporation (UBI 602725416), incorporated May 10, 2007. The registered agent of record is Victor Blazovich at the Diocese of Spokane's Mission Avenue offices.
- Sacred Heart Catholic Parish – Tekoa (UBI 602725416)
- Nonprofit corporation, incorporated May 10, 2007
- Registered agent: Victor Blazovich