Hispanic Ministries

Sacred Heart Church is very proud of our tradition of an active Hispanic community!

Our Hispanic Ministries program is designed to serve our Latino community, and to celebrate and share many rich cultural traditions. Programs include: Spanish Mass each week, various outreach and service ministries including ESL classes, special Masses, festivities and novenas throughout the year, and a sacramental preparation program that guides our young Hispanic children as they enter into full communion with our parish community.

The mission of the Hispanic Ministry at Sacred Heart Church is to proclaim the Gospel in the Hispanic/Latino community and to bring all Hispanic Catholics into full, enthusiastic participation in the life and mission of our Church, while strengthening the unity of the One Body of Christ. 

We offer many services for our community:

Mass Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Domingos a la 1:00 p.m.

Baptismal Preparation Classes in Spanish.
Clases de Preparación para el Sacramento del Bautismo en Español

Marriage Preparation in Spanish.
Clases de Preparación para el Sacramento del Matrimonio en Español

Spanish Language Holy Hours
Adoracion al Santisimo con alabanzas y oraciones en Español

Sacrament of Reconciliation in Spanish
El Sacramento de Reconciliacion en Español

Haga Clic Aqui Para Informacion en Español

Sacred Heart Catholic has a long history of devotion and parish participation from the Latino/Hispanic community.  The first major wave of immigrants from Mexico came in the early 1900s to Valley Junction.  Most were employed by the Rock Island Railway and were Spanish speaking.  While census data is hard to obtain, it  is estimated that 25-40 Mexican families called the Valley Junction neighboorhood home.  Bringing their traditions and their faith with them, they quickly assimilated into the life of the church, assisting Mass faithfully, even though Mass was only celebrated in English.  These families put down roots in the area and contributed to the growth of West Des Moines.

The second wave started during the late 1990s and the influx was larger than the first. This time immigrants came from all over Latin America, fleeing war and violence that had plagued the region for years.  Again, seeking the comfort of home, these families began to seek out the Catholic church.  Sacred Heart Catholic began to see a growth in Spanish speaking attendees at the Mass, and then a need to provide sacraments in their native tongue.  Hispanic Ministries has grown from a bilingual Mass once a week, to providing full services in Spanish to parishioners who need it, or prefer to pray in their native tongue.  Parishioners represent all countries, including Mexico, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Venezuela to name a few.  While the countries themselves may have different customs and cultures, they have the common thread of language that unites them all.  Today Sacred Heart boasts three church staffers who speak Spanish and serves a community of about 400 Spanish speaking or bilingual families.