About Sacred Heart · West Warwick, Rhode Island
Church of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic parish in the Natick village of West Warwick, Rhode Island, within the Diocese of Providence. Founded in 1929 to serve the Italian immigrant families who came to work at the Knight textile mills on the Pawtuxet River, the parish has long been an anchor of Catholic life on Providence Street. The parish is listed by the Rhode Island Secretary of State's office as 'Church of Sacred Heart,' incorporated as a domestic non-profit on December 16, 1937, with its principal office at 820 Providence Street. It continues to welcome worshippers with a weekly Saturday Vigil Mass and Sunday Mass, alongside weekday Masses, confessions before the Vigil, and a chapel open for personal prayer Monday through Thursday.
- Established
- 1929
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Diocese
- Diocese of Providence
Why belong here
Sacred Heart continues the devotional and cultural traditions of West Warwick's historic Italian-American community, with a 1929 church, weekly Vigil and Sunday Mass, weekday Masses, and a chapel open Monday through Thursday for personal prayer. The parish is small and welcoming, and in recent years has been linked pastorally with neighboring St. Joseph's — another good reason to drop in, attend Mass, or call the rectory to find out how to get involved.
Mass times at Sacred Heart
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:15 PM – 4:45 PM
Adoration times
- Chapel is open for personal prayer Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM
About the Parish
Church of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic parish in the Natick village of West Warwick, Rhode Island, belonging to the Diocese of Providence. The parish was founded in 1929 to serve Italian immigrant families who came to work in the Knight textile mills, and it remains an active worship site on Providence Street.
- Founded: 1929
- Patron: Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Diocese: Providence
- Address: 820 Providence Street, West Warwick, RI 02893
History
Sacred Heart was built in 1929 to serve West Warwick's Italian-American community, which had grown rapidly around the B.B. & R. Knight mills on the Pawtuxet River. The parish was formally incorporated in Rhode Island on December 16, 1937. The original 1928–29 stuccoed church was joined over time by a 1951 convent (now the rectory) and a 1958 school (now offices), creating a campus the Society of Architectural Historians calls 'an exceptional example of smalltown grandeur evolved through time by simple means.' Father Anthony DeAngelis was assigned here in 1936 and stayed more than four decades, until 1979.
- 1929 — Sacred Heart Church constructed in Natick
- 1936 — Fr. Anthony DeAngelis assigned to the parish
- 1937 — Incorporated as 'Church of Sacred Heart'
- 1951 — Convent added (later converted to rectory)
- 1958 — School added (later converted to offices)
- 1979 — Fr. DeAngelis retires after 43 years
- 2001 — Fr. Richard A. Bucci named pastor
- 2024 — Fr. Bucci dies March 22; parish subsequently linked pastorally with St. Joseph's
Italian-American Heritage
Sacred Heart was established as an Italian national parish during the great wave of Italian immigration to the Pawtuxet Valley's mill villages. Workers and their families worshipped in their own language and kept devotional traditions alive for the next generation.
- Served immigrants at the B.B. & R. Knight mills
- One of the Italian national parishes in the Diocese of Providence
Architecture
The Sacred Heart complex at 840 Providence Street is built in a plain, unadorned style derived from houselike shapes, with elemental gables and hoods over doors. Buildings are stuccoed, sited symmetrically, and set well back from the street behind stairs and terracing. The Society of Architectural Historians (Buildings of Rhode Island) credits the remarkable homogeneity of the campus to the consistent design principles followed across the original church, the 1951 convent/rectory, and the 1958 school/offices.
- 1928–29 original stuccoed church
- 1951 convent (now rectory)
- 1958 school (now parish offices)
- Symmetrical siting behind a composition of stairs and terracing
Sacramental Schedule
Confessions are heard before the Saturday Vigil, and the chapel is open for personal prayer several days a week.
- Confessions: Saturday 4:15–4:45 PM
- Chapel open for personal prayer: Monday–Thursday 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Contact
Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office by phone or email, or visit at the parish address on Providence Street.
- Address: 820 Providence Street, West Warwick, RI 02893
- Phone: (401) 821-4184
- Email: [email protected]
Visiting and Getting Involved
Call the rectory at (401) 821-4184 for the most current information about Mass times, devotions, sacraments, and parish activities. The parish continues to be pastorally linked with neighboring St. Joseph's Church in West Warwick, and visitors are warmly welcomed.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Anthony DeAngelis1936–1979
Assigned to Sacred Heart in 1936; served more than four decades, the longest-known pastorate of the parish.
- Rev. Richard A. Bucci2001–2024
Ordained July 2, 1973 at St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, by Bishop James A. Hickey. Served as assistant pastor at parishes in Providence, Bristol, Cranston and Warwick before becoming Administrator of SS. Peter and Paul Parish, West Warwick (1993–2001). Named pastor of Sacred Heart in 2001; died March 22, 2024.