Sondra Hernandez Staff writer September 29, 2024

Conroe’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church — a spiritual and cultural hub for those of the Catholic faith for more than 100 years — will receive a historical marker Monday. 

The Montgomery County Historical Commission will award two markers celebrating the church’s 116-year history. Markers will be in English and Spanish on the church grounds. 

“This special event will honor the rich history, for over 116 years, and longstanding presence of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in the Conroe community,” said Nancy Parsons, director of communications for the church. “The placement of this historical marker recognizes the church’s significant contributions to the spiritual and cultural life of the region.”

The dedication ceremony is set for 6 p.m. Monday at 109 N. Frazier Street in Conroe. 

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History of the church

According to a history of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Sacred Heart Parish’s roots began in 1898. Conroe was a sawmill town in Montgomery County, when Andrew Jackson Madeley invited the Rev. Joseph I. Kline of Plantersville to visit Conroe and offer Mass.

It was a 29-mile trip each way by horseback for Kline. According to the history narrative, that event, has resonated in the history of the church in Conroe as the first known instance of a Catholic priest saying mass in the town.

The first known Mass in Conroe was celebrated in the Andrew J. and Hattie Fitzgerald Madeley home located at the corner of Second Street and Sherman Street near the railroad tracks.

The first church was a small wood frame building located on the west side of South Main Street at the intersection of Avenue G. The McDade family donated the land for the mission church, a plot about three blocks from the courthouse.

This first church was named St. Mary’s of the Woods. 

Role in Conroe’s history

Developer George Strake regularly attended mass at St. Mary’s of the Woods in the early 1930s. Local lore has it that Strake was at mass in December 1931 when a worker from the oil field quietly slipped into church to inform Strake that there was an issue at the well. 

Strake reportedly responded that he’d be out to the well as soon as mass was complete. Later that afternoon oil spewed forth from Strake’s well thus changing the city’s path and bringing great fortune to the area in the mid-1930s. 

In 1935, a brick church was erected at the present site on North Frazier on land partly donated by the James McDade family. Both Strake’s brother-in-law, William Pfifner, and Strake made substantial gifts to the church. 

Robin Bartholet, a 60-year member of Sacred Heart, was a part of the research team putting together a history of the church. Researchers finally solved the mystery of where the first church was located which is now a tire shop on Main Street. However, it is still unknown what happened to the first wooden church. 

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Continued growth of church

She first attended church in the 1930s-era small brick Sacred Heart Catholic Church when she came to Conroe and described it as a small, close community.

A third chapel was built in the 1970s and then in November 2018, a new 1,500-seat church and 200-seat chapel were dedicated on the campus.

As a part of the design for the new church, the 200-seat chapel is a replica of the original St. Mary’s of the Woods church from the early 1900s. The 1935 building and the 1970s-era sanctuary still exist on the property.

The church now serves more than 7,500 families through more than 70 ministry groups. The current priest is Father Nicholas Ramirez. 

The church grounds are also home to Sacred Heart School for grades pre-kindergarten through eighth grade which launched more than 60 years ago. 

“It’s finally come to fruition that we’re a part of Conroe’s beginning history,” Bartholet said of the marker dedication. “It’s an amazing family of people.” 

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