Aug 17, 2018 3 min read

Note: This story contains a corrected time for the anniversary Mass.

Sacred Heart of Jesus Polish National Catholic Church in Canonsburg celebrates its 100th anniversary Sunday with a special Mass and luncheon.

While the name of the church has changed – Sacred Heart was called Sts. Peter and Paul Parish when it opened in 1918 – the mission of the church on East College Street has not.

‘”They are faithful. They are dedicated,” said the Rev. Rick Seiler, pastor of the 68-member congregation. “For a small congregation, they are as active as they can be about community outreach.”

The congregation’s outreach efforts include a monthly food collection for Canonsburg United Presbyterian Church food pantry and participation in Family Promise of Southwestern Pennsylvania, a nonprofit organization that connects homeless families with a network of local churches that provides them with shelter, meals and support.

In preparation for the centennial milestone, the church recently underwent a facelift.

The renovation project included plastering and repainting the church interior, and repointing stone and brick on the exterior made possible through an anonymous $20,000 donation and several fundraisers.

One of the church’s two large murals depicting Jesus Christ also underwent restoration when renowned Canonsburg artist James Sulkowski, who painted one of the artworks, repainted a section that was damaged, most likely by cleaning chemicals.

The murals were completed by Sulkowski and his twin brother, Joseph, in 1967, when they were 15 years old.

James painted “Christ in the Garden of Gesthemane” while Joseph completed “Jesus on the Water”.

“It’s great. They’re beautiful,” said Seiler. “They’re one of the things that make the church so unique.”

The church murals were the first ones painted by the brothers, who in 1979 were commissioned by the Saudi Arabian royal family to paint two 5- by 12-foot murals depicting a Saudi battle scene and an academic scene.

“Father Joseph Zieba was a patient of my dad’s, and he asked my dad, ‘Would your boys paint some murals for me?'” Jim Sulkowski recalled. “We couldn’t wait. He let us put our brushes on the wall, we couldn’t wait to get started.”

The anniversary Mass begins at 3 p.m. at the church, and a luncheon at Bella Sera restaurant will follow.

Seiler said it will be a celebration of not only the building itself, but also of the community the church created.

Several generations have experienced baptisms, communions, weddings and funerals inside the church.

Seiler said finances are a constant worry for small churches like Sacred Heart, “but I tell (the congregation) all the time that if we do what God asks us to do – if we’re going to take care of the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, take care of one another, then we’ll be all right. God will provide. As long as we fulfill the mission of the church – forgiving and healing and loving and worrying about others before yourself – we will be there to meet the needs of the community.”