A Brief History of Sacred Heart Catholic School

 

    Sacred Heart Catholic School is a parochial school located in the small North Texas community of Muenster.  The community was established in 1889 by Emil and August Flusche. The brothers previously established communities in Iowa and Kansas.  In seeking persons for their colonies, the Flusches specifically sought out German Catholics. When the contract of sale was drawn up for the land that became the Muenster townsite, the sellers agreed to donate twenty-five acres of land for the establishment of a Catholic school and church, cemetery, and park.  

​

    On December 8, 1889, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the first Catholic Mass was celebrated in Muenster.  The event marks the official birth of Muenster. On January 1, 1890, a meeting of the town's settlers was held. The attendees made plans to first build a school followed by a rectory and church for their nascent parish.  By the spring a 14 X 24 wooden structure was erected. Sacred Heart Catholic School was born.

​

    Sacred Heart Catholic Church and School have a relationship with the Benedictine order that goes back over a century.  In 1893, the first Benedictine priest, Rev. Bonaventure Binzeger, arrived from Subiaco Abbey. In 1895, Father Bonaventure reached out to the Benedictine Sisters of Jonesboro, Arkansas, and asked them to come teach in the parish’s Catholic school.  The Benedictine priests of Subiaco continued to provide priests for the parish until the 1990s. However, the Benedictine Sisters continue to support the school as teachers and support staff.

​

    As the parish and community grew, the original wooden school building was expanded.  However, by the late 1910’s the building was no longer adequate to meet the needs of the teachers and students.  In 1919, Rev. Frowin Koerdt, O.S.B, began to raise funds for the building of a new building to house the parish school.  The new building, magnificent for its times has a red brick façade and included eight classrooms, an auditorium, library, restrooms, and electric lighting among other items.  The building first held classes for the 1925-26 school year and continues to be used for grades one through eight.

​

    In its early years, Sacred Heart Catholic School only provided an education through grade eight.  By the late 1930s, parents and students were pushing for the addition of high school classes. The first high school classes were held in the red brick elementary building, with a grade being added each year.  To make room for the growing high school, renovations were made to the original wooden structure. The high school moved into its new home for the 1938-39 school year, which also marked the year that Sacred Heart Catholic school conducted its first high school graduation, granting diplomas to three students.  A new twenty-five thousand square foot facility became the new home of the high school for the 1954-55 school year. That facility continues to be used for high school classes, with the addition of an athletic complex in 2013.

​

    The 1980s brought additional growth to the educational offerings of Sacred Heart Catholic School.  In 1982 a Montessori program was established off the parish grounds in a converted home. In 1985, new facilities for the Montessori school were built on parish grounds, with expansions to that facility in 2012 for the kindergarten program. With the addition of the Montessori program, Sacred Heart offers a Catholic education to students as young as three years.

​

    Sacred Heart Catholic School has provided an outstanding Catholic education for students since 1890!  Many of the students that attend the school are descendants of the community’s original German Catholic settlers, with some families now in their fifth generation of attendance.  With an eye to the future, the school has fostered relationships with other Catholic churches and elementary schools in the North Texas area. These efforts have resulted in the addition of many new students from outside the community of Muenster.  While many changes have taken place over the years, Sacred Heart Catholic School continues its mission of providing a high-quality, college-preparatory education in which the Catholic faith is not taught simply as an academic subject, but is interwoven into the entire curriculum.