Sacred Heart Parish traces its origin to the first Mass in Clay County, celebrated in 1872 at the home of Joseph Maurer. A small church, built at the corner of W Fifth St. and Third Ave. W, was utilized by the parish until a new building was constructed in 1917, under the leadership of Fr. Bernard Hunt. In 1925, Fr. Michael Wendl was named pastor and held the position for the next 34 years, guiding the parish through a period of tremendous growth. The original school building opened in 1950 featuring 149 students in grades K-8. By 1959, enrollment peaked with a total of 337 students.
Beginning with the campaign to build the school in 1950, the parish conducted three capital drives over a 17-year period to fund the growing Catholic community in Spencer. The current church, convent and rectory were completed in 1964, in time for Christmas Eve Mass with church dedication held five months later. A new school building was completed and opened in 1969 with 215 students.
Over the ensuing decades, the parish campus continued to grow meeting the needs of an expanding faith community. Today our parish features over 800 registered families with 188 students enrolled in school. We continue to follow the path of our founders by spreading the Good News through faith formation, education, stewardship and service.