Mount Vernon Optic-Herald

More than 70 attended the ground breaking ceremonies for the site of a new rectory for Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Mount Vernon on Wednesday, April 21. The 2,200 sq. ft. building will be located on the hill to the southwest of the church and family life center on Hwy. 37 and Rutherford St. The Rev. Msgr. Joseph Strickland, vicar general for the Catholic Diocese of Tyler, performed the ceremony blessing the site and its use. Assisting him were local priest Fr. Ambrose Chinnappa, Fr. Octavio Suarez of St. Michael’s in Mount Pleasant, Fr. Ron Demski of St. Mary’s in New Boston, and Deacon Jerry Besze of St. James in Sulphur Springs. Mass was celebrated after the ground breaking, followed by a celebratory dinner in the family life center.