PHOENIX (AZFamily) — In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re revisiting a place in Phoenix you may have driven by, but might not know much about: the historic Sacred Heart Church.
It was built in the 1950’s near 16th Street and Buckeye Road. “It could be just a building, if a contractor built it,” said Abe Arvizu. “But it wasn’t built by a contractor.”
Arvizu is the chairman of the Braun Sacred Heart Center. It’s a non-profit established in the 1980’s to protect the building. The first mass was held there in 1954, and people in the then-Golden Gate barrio helped build it.
“1602 East Maricopa was my address,” he said. “I lived there my whole life until we got booted out.” Arvizu remembers the time well. He grew up in the barrio before he and others were bought out under eminent domain when the airport was expanded. The church is the last remnant of the Golden Gate community.
“My cousins, as young girls, they used to go around on Monday after pay day Friday after the weekend,” Arvizu said. “And they would collect nickels and dimes and pennies to pay for the brick.”
The church is on the National Register of Historic Places. The pews sit empty most of the year, except for Christmas Day mass. There’s no electricity in the building, but generators are brought in for the holiday.
“Our founder was a WWII chaplain,” said Father Estevan Wetzel, the current pastor of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. “I also happened to serve in the Army National Guard, but in my heart I’m just excited about continuing his legacy of service.”
Father Albert Braun originally founded the church. In the last few decades, the diocese had done substantial renovations, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, priorities shifted, and now the restoration is on hold.
“It was like one big family,” Arvizu said. “You know different names, different backgrounds, different religions. But growing up in the barrios they took care of us. We worked together.”
While photographs fade over time, the memories haven’t for Arvizu. “The traditions of the Hispanic people, the traditions of us is actually the voice of the dead.”
The diocese says the church will have mass this Christmas Day.
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