Sacred Heart Church Bahrain was first established on the Christmas Eve. Its bells rang for the first time on 24 December 1939 at 11PM. It is the first Church to be built in the region. Since then, the church has been blessed with very dedicated shepherds. Sacred Heart has become the first christian community in the year 1938. Bishop Tirinanzi, together with Fr Anselem were the early parishioners.
It was H.H. Shaikh Haman Bin Isa Al Khalifa, then Ruler of Bahrain, who graciously offered a plot of land to build the church. And with the help of Fr Luigi, a capuchin priest, the church was built. It was on June 9th, 1939 that the first foundation stone was laid. On March 3, 1940, the church was formally blessed.
As the church community increased, the parish was gifted with Fr Barnabas Madii in 1943. Then, followed by Fr Anselm from 1947 to 1949. Fr Walter Connolly and Fr Damian Ciacci served the parish in 1949. In 1953, H.E. Louis Magliacani was consecrated as the church’s bishop. Fr Walter Connoly took over as the parish priest from 1950 to 1961. I was also on September 29, 1953 where the Comboni sisters took charge of the Sacred Heart school. Fr Eusebius Daveri became the parish priest in 1961 to 1965. From 1965 to 1979, Fr Eugene Mattioli took charge of the parish and bough a plot of land to enlarge the school. Today, that piece of land is now the multi-purpose hall.
From 1989 to 2004, a radical change took place. Fr Eugene, the parish priest during this time, expanded the school in Manama and obtained a spacious plot in Isa Town from the Amir. Among those many pastors who served in Bahrain, Fr Barth Kestell, an American Capuchin worked tirelessly for almost 18 years. On 1979 to 1987, Fr Adrian Benini succeeded Fr Eugene Mattioli. Then, Fr Eugene came back as the parish priest from 1987 to 1988. On 1988, Bishop Bernard Giovanni Gremoli was appointed as Vicar of Arabia