Congregations of the Heart of Mary

Congregations of the Heart of Mary

I. Sisters of the Holy Heart of Mary

Founded in 1842 at Nancy, by Mgr Menjaud, Bishop of Nancy and Toul, for the purpose of instructing young girls in various trades, and protecting their virtue. The statutes, drawn up by the Abbé Masson, provide that the congregation shall own nothing but the houses which they occupy; that everything over and above shall go to the maintenance of poor children and the decoration of altars. The devotion of Perpetual Adoration was instituted in the mother-house.

II. Sister-Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary

Founded at Paris, in 1860, by Père Delaplace, and Marie-Jeanne Moisan, for the Christian education of children, and the visitation and care of the sick in hospitals and in their own homes. This congregation is particularly flourishing in Canada, where about 140 sisters have charge of about 2500 children. There are six communities in the United States.

III. Daughters of the Holy Heart of Mary

Founded by Mgr Kobès, at Dakar, Senegambia, 24 May, 1858, for native women. In touch as they are with the customs and dialects of their country, they render invaluable services in teaching, visiting various mission stations, caring for the sick, and preparing catechumens for baptism. Their immunity from yellow fever enables them to care for the Europeans stricken during epidemics. In the Vicariate of Senegambia are six communities with about forty sisters.

IV. Congregation of the Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary

Founded, at the desire of the Synod of Pondicherry, by Père Dupuis for the Christian education of young Indian girls. The native prejudice against the education of their women was gradually overcome and the congregation now counts over 200 religious, in charge of orphanages, pharmacies, and schools. Most of the sisters have government certificates of proficiency in the various grades.

V. Sisters of the Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary

Founded in July, 1848, at Pico Heights, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. In the Diocese of Monterey and Los Angeles the sisters number about 110, and have charge of about 700 children and 60 orphans, in 1 college, 5 academies, and 1 orphan asylum.

VI. Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

The name taken by an association of ladies in charge of the home for incurables at Rennes, on their organization into a religious community in 1841. The home had been in existence since 1700, had withstood the rigours of the Revolution, and had never been without a band of devoted women, bound only by the ties of charity, and tacitly rendering obedience to the oldest of their number.

VII. Sister-Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Founded at Quebec in 1859 by Mgr Turgeon, Archbishop of Quebec, and Mme Marie Roy, in religion Sister Marie du Sacré-Coeur (d. 1885), to shelter penitent girls, and provide Christian education for children. The congregation now numbers about 400 members in the United States and Canada in charge of 26 establishments, 152 penitents, and about 5500 children.

VIII. Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Founded at Monroe, Michigan, U.S.A., 28 November, 1845, by the Rev. Louis Gillet, C.SS.R., for the work of teaching. In 1856 an independent mother-house was established at Villa Maria, Westchester County, Pennsylvania, and later a third at Scranton, Pennsylvania. The members of this congregation are in charge of academies, normal schools, parochial schools, and asylums in eleven dioceses, and number about 1200 sisters.

IX. Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

(The Claretians).

Founded at Vich, Spain, in 1848, by [Saint] Antonio María Claret (d. 1870). They have charge of a mission on the Fernando Po, and are also stationed at Corisco and Annabon in Western Africa.

[ Note: The founder of the Claretians, Antonio Maria Claret y Clara (1807-70), Archbishop of Santiago, Cuba, and Confessor to Queen Isabella II of Spain, was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950; his feast day is 24 October.]

X. Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

(Also called the Congregation of Scheutveld).

Founded in 1863 by Ven. Théophile Verbiest (d. 1865), a former military chaplain, for mission work in heathen countries. Father Verbiest's desire to consecrate himself to the life of a missionary seemed on the point of fulfilment when the Treaty of Peking (1861) opened China to his zeal and that of the little band who desired to accompany him. On seeking ecclesiastical permission, however, they were commissioned by Cardinal Barbaro, Prefect of the Propaganda, to begin their work by founding a seminary in Belgium to supply priests for foreign missions, and laid the foundations of the Scheutveld College, 28 April, 1863, in the Field of Scheut, a short distance from Brussels. In September, 1863, missionaries set forth for Mongolia. The Scheutveld priests have faced severe perils, as, for instance, the Boxer rebellion in China, involving the massacre of Bishop Hamer, Vicar Apostolic of South-Western Mongolia, seven missionaries, and 3000 Christians; the even greater decimation of their numbers by the Congo climate, not to mention the persecution of the missionaries and the negro colonies established by them. The congregation now numbers over 300 members in charge of the Vicariates Apostolic of Central, Eastern, and South-Western Mongolia, and in China the Vicariate of Northern Kan-su and the Prefecture Apostolic of Southern Kan-su, where in all about 155 Fathers have charge of about 51,600 Catholics, 20,000 catechumens, 250 churches and chapels, and 263 schools, with an attendance of 6000; in Africa, in the Vicariate Apostolic of Belgian Congo and the Prefecture of Upper Kassai, 52 priests and 20 lay brothers are over about 15,000 Catholics, 29,300 catechumens, 38 churches and chapels, and 28 schools, attended by 2300 children. In connection with their missions the Fathers have opened a number of benevolent institutions, for example the hospital at St-Trudhon, Upper Kassai, for those afflicted with sleeping sickness. Their activity in ransoming and educating negro children is reaping a rich harvest. The organ of the congregation is "Missions en Chine et au Congo".

XI. Sisters of the Most Pure Heart of Mary

Founded at Vienna, in 1843, by Barbara Maix (d. 1873), and in 1848 established in Brazil, where, in addition to the mother-house at Porto Alegre, they have nine institutions, chiefly orphan asylums.

XII. Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary

Founded in 1848 by Jean Gailhac at Béziers in the Diocese of Montpellier, for the work of teaching and the care of orphans. They were approved by Pius IX and Leo XIII, and have institutions in Ireland, England, Portugal, and the United States.

HEIMBUCHER, Orden und Kongregationen (Paderborn, 1908); PIOLET, Missions catholiques francaises (Paris, 1899-1903); HELYOT, Dict. des ordres religieux (Paris, 1859). For XI see Kath. Missionen (1875), 117 sqq.; VERMEERSCH, La question congolaise (Brussels, 1906).

F.M. RUDGE