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| By Michelle Symington MetroWest Reminder Assistant Editor AGAWAM Although the celebration is months away, Sacred Heart Church has already begun planning for its 60th anniversary and is hoping members of the Parish and the community can help. The church is looking for people to provide information about the church's founding and old photos that captured events that took place at the church over the past 60 years. Mary Ann Govoni, a part-time employee in the church's office and a parishioner for 47 years, said that she has some information about the history of the church and is looking for more. She added that the information will be used to create a souvenir booklet for the 60th anniversary celebration that will take place in October. She said a similar booklet was created for the 50th anniversary celebration. As Govoni went through some of the information on file at the church, she explained that the original Sacred Heart Church was built in 1946 on Williams Street in Feeding Hills, which could hold about 60 people, she added. She said Sacred Heart was a mission church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Springfield and was staffed by Stigmatine priests, which was an order of priests, before being turned over to the Springfield Diocese about 16 years ago. She said, while the church is celebrating 60 years of existence, the current church on Springfield Street is 50 years old. Govoni said that people began to move to the Agawam and Feeding Hills area and the church became too small to hold all of the parishioners. Sacred Heart Church can now hold 600 people and has a big religious education program which consists of 550 students. The church also has an athletic association, which has existed for years. Govoni said she has some photographs of different Sacred Heart Teams from 1957, for example. She said she also has photographs of old bazaars put on by the church and of the church's bowling team. She said that many of the older members of the church have passed away and she is hoping some of their family members may have some photographs to contribute to the church's celebration. In addition to collecting information, Govoni said the church has already begun planning for the event because they hope to invite local and state officials as well as Bishop Timothy McDonnell. She said she wanted to get the word out early. She added that the church has sent a notice to the Vatican in Rome in hopes that Sacred Heart will receive some recognition for its 60th anniversary. She said planning for such an event is a lot of work. Although all of the details have not been finalized, the celebration is planned for Oct. 15 with an 11 a.m. Mass of Thanksgiving at the church. A Parish dinner at Oak Ridge Golf Club in Feeding Hills will follow the Mass and will take place from 1 - 5 p.m. There will be a cost for tickets, but that has yet to be determined. Anyone interested in providing information about the church can drop items off at the Rectory, located at 1103 Springfield Street Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. The Rectory is closed on Fridays. Anyone with information may also call Judy Potter at 786-5751. |