ANNUAL FESTIVAL

CHURCH OF THE SACRED HEART

NEW BOHEMIA, VIRGINIA

 

This year, 2016, marks the 110th Celebration of the Annual Festival at Church of the Sacred Heart, an event that began in 1906. Church of the Sacred Heart was founded in that year by 29 Czech families who settled in the area and under the leadership of their first pastor, Fr. Jan Konicek, erected the original wooden structure by their own hands, using lumber and timbers sawed from their own woodlands.  Acknowledging Saint Wenceslaus as the patron of the Czech People whose feast day is September 28, the church was dedicated on September 26, 1906 and is recognized as the first Czech Catholic parish in Diocese of Richmond and the Commonwealth of Virginia. As a side note, Church of the Sacred Heart, New Bohemia, is registered as a National Historic Site by the National Park Service, US Department of the Interior because it was the center and contributing entity for the enculturation of the Czech-Slovak settlers in the late 1800 to early 1900’s in the state and nation.

 

In keeping with the religious aspect of the festival, it has been held every year since 1906 on the weekend closest to September 28 and always includes a Catholic Mass in honor of St. Wenceslaus. In the first 60 years or so, it was preceded by a dance on Saturday night (Czechs like to dance!)  and then followed by a dinner on Sunday afternoon.  Since our sister parishes of St. John’s in Dinwiddie and St. Ann’s in Chesterfield were also begun by many from the same group of settlers at that time, they joined us for our weekend of celebration and this was reciprocated by families of Sacred Heart when they celebrated their feast days in May for St. John’s and July for St. Ann’s).

 

What began as a “pot-luck” dinner for parishioners has evolved over the years, in that now the event is open to all in the area and the menu includes traditional Czech food as well as favorites from the Hispanic, Filipino and Asian communities, all of which make up the diverse membership at Sacred Heart.  

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