Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Moline, will hold a dual celebration on Sunday, July 17, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Rev. Mark DeSutter’s ordination into the priesthood and the groundbreaking of the parish’s new Gathering Center.
The church at 1307 17th Ave. will host a Mass of Thanksgiving at 11 a.m. Sunday to honor Rev. DeSutter, the church’s pastor since 2014. The Mass, which is open to all, will be followed by a long-awaited groundbreaking ceremony for the new $2.2 million addition, a news release from Sacred Heart said.
A reception will be held after the ceremony from 12:30-2:30 p.m. in Culemans Fellowship Hall on the Sacred Heart/Seton Catholic School campus.
Construction of the new center became a reality thanks to Sacred Heart’s Today Tomorrow Together (TTT) Capital Campaign, which has raised $3.2 million in donations, for a variety of capital projects at Sacred Heart. To date, the church has spent more than $1.3 million on new capital improvements.
“Let’s keep asking for St. Damian to pray for the successful completion of our project. I wish to extend an invitation to all to join us on July 17 to celebrate a major event in the history of Sacred Heart Parish, Moline,” Rev. DeSutter said.
Born in Kewanee, Illinois, Father DeSutter was ordained on May 29, 1982, in the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in history with a minor in philosophy from St. Meinrad College, St. Meinrad, Indiana. He also completed postgraduate work at St. Meinrad School of Theology, receiving a Master of Divinity in 1982.
For 40 years, Rev. DeSutter has served the Diocese of Peoria and the people he has served. His various roles and memberships include: member of Rock Island-Milan Cooperative Ministry, 1982; parochial vicar, St. Pius, Rock Island, 1982; served at Holy Trinity, Bloomington, Illinois, 1985; chaplain at St. John’s Chapel and Newman Foundation, Champaign, Illinois, 1988; St. Francis Newman Center, Macomb, Illinois, 1993; pastor, Blessed Sacrament, Morton, Illinois, 2000; and pastor, Sacred Heart, Moline, 2014.
In conjunction with Rev. DeSutter’ s ruby (40th) anniversary, Sacred Heart also will officially break ground on its new church expansion. The 5,000-square-foot addition, being built on the east side of the church, will include a new covered handicapped-accessible entrance, accessible restrooms, a bride’s room, gift shop, and gathering area.
It is fitting that the Sacred Heart family will come to celebrate its future Gathering Center along with its pastor, who has been the driving force behind seeing this dream project realized. Sacred Heart is indebted to Father DeSutter for his leadership throughout the ambitious capital campaign, the news release said.
In the first 30 months of the TTT campaign, church parishioners pledged $2.375 million toward the original $3 million goal. The campaign also involved Christ the King Catholic Church and the parishes’ Seton Catholic School, both in Moline. Both those institutions have exceeded their goals.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, construction costs rose dramatically prompting Sacred Heart to announce on July 4, 2021, that the capital campaign was extending into a fourth year. Construction costs now are projected to be 40% higher than first estimated. In response, the church’s parishioners now have pledged a total of $3.2 million.
Capital improvements of $1.3 million already have been completed and financed. They include: exterior tuck pointing; restoration of the church’s century-old, iconic stained-glass windows; HVAC replacement in the Lee Parish Center; demolition of the former rectory; and the renovation of the first floor of the Lee Parish Center into comfortable, modern living space for the parish priests.
To donate to the TTT and support the new Gathering Center, call the parish office at (309) 762-2362 or email Father DeSutter at desutter@sacredheartmoline.org.
