History of Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The present parish was formed in 1999 by the merger of two parishes.

Sacred Heart Parish, the first for French Canadians in New Bedford was founded in 1876. The wooden Gothic church was dedicated in 1877. The parish school opened in 1886 with the Sisters of the Holy Cross in charge.

Holy Name Parish was established in 1909. The new parish received from St. Lawrence Parish St. Joseph's School and St. Mary's Church on County Street built as a mission chapel.

A new church was dedicated on April 19, 1941, and now serves the merged parish. When St. Boniface Parish closed in 1987 the parish registers were transferred to Holy Name Parish. The former parish had been established in 1906 for people of German and Austrian background and was in the care of the Sacred Hearts Community from the beginning.

From Bearing Fruit by Streams of Water : A History of the Diocese of Fall River