Sacred Heart’s sanctuary lamp ties Wichita Falls parish to Titanic sinking

A sanctuary lamp donated by the Schnell family in 1916 hangs above the altar in Sacred Heart Parish in Wichita Falls. (NTC/Bertha Salazar)

WICHITA FALLS — Deep in the archives of one of the diocese’s oldest churches lies a rich history that ties a sanctuary lamp to the most famous maritime tragedy in history.

According to Max Kintner's Sacred Heart Parish: 100 Years of Growth and Service, a parish history written in commemoration of Wichita Fall’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church’s centennial anniversary back in 1991, the Frank Schnell family donated the antique lamp to the parish in 1916.

A Russian immigrant from Odessa (now part of Ukraine), Schnell came to America in 1881 when he was 21 and ended up in Henrietta, Texas, where he met another young immigrant, Anna Heinen, whom he later married in 1884.

By early 1912, Schnell had saved enough money to return to his homeland in the hopes of finding his two sisters and a brother he’d left behind 30 years earlier. Unfortunately, when he finally arrived, he found that all his relatives had died or moved. To return to his wife and young family in Henrietta, Schnell booked passage on an English luxury ocean liner on its maiden voyage.

However, when the Titanic hit an iceberg and sunk in the icy waters of the Atlantic on April 14-15, 1912, Schnell was not on board, having providentially missed the ship’s departure.

Upon Schnell’s eventual return to Henrietta, he and his wife Anna moved to Wichita Falls. There, they and their four children became parishioners of the Wichita Falls parish, and their youngest daughter, Katherine, attended the first Catholic school in the city, Mary Immaculate, which was across the street from the church.

Four years after the news of the tragic sinking was transmitted to the world via radio communication, the Schnell family made a donation of gratitude for God’s providence that allowed for Schnell’s narrow escape from the terrible disaster that claimed more than 1,500 lives.

The gift, a brass and red glass sanctuary lamp, was donated just in time for the Sacred Heart church building’s dedication in 1916. Today, the lamp still hangs in the Wichita Falls parish sanctuary, lighting the way for prayers for the faithful.

Cindy Sweeney, longtime parishioner of Sacred Heart, said she had heard that her parish’s sanctuary lamp had a link to the Titanic, but she was in awe when she came to know the details of the Schnells’ story.

For Sweeney, the “ever burning lamp,” which is always lit when Jesus is present in the tabernacle in the Eucharist, is the backdrop of her childhood.

“I still see the church through the eyes of a child,” she said. “I cannot tell you what it means to be a member of a church with such a rich history.”

Sweeney, who was born in Wichita Falls in 1961 to Charles and Fontilla Sweeney, is a proud parishioner of Sacred Heart. She was baptized at Sacred Heart, as were her nine siblings, and her grandparents, Clarence Francis and Sarah Hazel (Walsh) Sweeney, were married at Sacred Heart in 1918 upon Clarence’s return from World War I, shortly after the church was built.

Like Katherine Schnell, Sweeney attended Mary Immaculate Catholic School. To her and her siblings, the church and school were a vital part of her childhood since two of her aunts had entered religious orders. Agnes Sweeney, later known as Sister Amada, was in the order of the Holy Family, and Mary Ruth Sweeney, later known as Sister Devota, joined the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur.

“When I’m in that church — I’ll try not to get emotional,” she said with stifled tears. “I can see my grandma and my dad and mom holding the newest baby, and my Grandma Sweeney watching over us to make sure we did not bang the kneeler. That’s the biggest thing.”