Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

It was determined in 1952 that Knoxville needed a third parish to enable the works of an expanding Catholic population. The visionaries who brought Sacred Heart Parish to Bearden were The Most Reverend William L. Adrian, D.D., Bishop of Nashville; The Very Reverend Joseph P. Follman, V.F., Dean of East Tennessee; and The Reverend Christopher P. Murray, Pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Knoxville. The general area of Northshore Drive was selected because it had access to public utilities. Six acres of the William Towle farm were purchased in 1953 for $25,000. The late Monsignor Edward Dolan, P.A., succeeded Father Murray as pastor of Immaculate Conception in May of 1955. Shortly after his arrival in Knoxville, Father Dolan began negotiations with Baumann and Baumann Architects and Emory and Richards General Contractors to complete the entire plant, including church, school, rectory, and convent for $1 million. The parish became an independent church entity on January 1, 1956, numbering 199 families. The official title given to it was The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Father Dolan was appointed its first pastor and took up residence in one finished room of the school on July 18, 1956. He moved into the completed rectory in November 1956 and celebrated the first Mass in the new church at midnight, Christmas, 1956. He served as pastor for 16 more years. Sacred Heart School opened on September 4, 1956, with 132 students and 5 faculty members. The current school enrollment is 605 students and over 80 faculty members.