SACRED HEARTS, SISTERS OF THE

Also known as the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, or simply, the Sacred Hearts Sisters (SS. CC.; Official Catholic Directory #3690). The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and Adoration (SS.CC.), was founded in 1797 at Poitiers, France, by P. M. Joseph coudrin and Henriette aymer de lachevalerie. For a fuller treatment of the congregation's history, see sacred hearts, fathers of the. Like the Sacred Hearts Fathers, the Sacred Hearts Sisters were also popularly called the Picpus Sisters, after Rue Picpus in Paris, the location of the motherhouse until it moved to Rome in 1966. The rule is based on the benedictine rule and combines the contemplative and active lives. Papal approval of the original institute came in 1817, and of the revised one in 1922. Sisters take simple, perpetual vows. Historically, they wore a white tunic with a badge of the Sacred Hearts on their scapular, and a red mantle during adoration. The congregation's ministries include devotion to the Sacred Hearts; Perpetual Adoration; schools and education; pastoral work in parishes and among the poor and underprivileged; counseling and retreats; and foreign missions. In 1834 there were 18 houses, all in France. The first overseas foundation in Chile opened in 1838. In the U.S., the congregation founded a house in Hawai'i in 1859 after ten sisters died during an unsuccessful attempt in 1842. In 1908 a community was established in the continental U.S., in Fairhaven, MA. In the U.S., the congregation has one province (Pacific Province, headquartered in Honolulu, HI) and a region (East Coast Region, headquartered in Fairhaven, MA). The generalate is in Rome.

Bibliography: Mère Henriette and Her Work, adapted from Fr. ed. (St. Louis 1926).

[m. g. creach]