Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart had good bones, beautiful stained glass, and a dedicated community. The plaster needed repair and the posthistoric battleship gray and maroon color scheme felt dated. The parish wanted the building itself to invite contemplation and inspire dedication to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Murals depicting the wedding feast at Cana and the supper at Emmaus were designed to flank the altar along with the text “Verbum caro factum est.” Saints associated with the Sacred Heart: St. Bonaventure, St. Claude de la Colombiere, St. John Vianney, St. John Eudes, St. Gertrude the Great are depicted in the clerestory and now accompany parishioners (including students at Sacred Heart school) in their procession towards the altar. A space in the clerestory awaits the anticipated canonization of Father Kaupaun, a Wichita Diocese priest with a cause for Sainthood.

Confessionals that previously looked like utility closets are now surrounded by a simple architectural feature that distinguishes them as the place of a sacrament. The interior surfaces of the renewed Sacred Heart Parish are in excellent condition and display a timeless interior artistry program with rich symbolic imagery that will serve the community for generations to come.