The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

female religious congregation, founded in 1880 by Mother

Frances Xavier Cabrini Frances Xavier Cabrini ( it, Francesca Saverio Cabrini; July 15, 1850 – December 22, 1917), also called Mother Cabrini, was an Italian-American Catholic religious sister. She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a ...

. Their aim is to spread devotion to the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

by means of spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The sisters conduct homes for the aged and the sick, orphanages, industrial schools, sewing classes; they visit hospitals and prisons, and give religious instruction in their convents, which are open to women desirous of making retreats. The congregation operates in 15 countries on 6 continents, coordinated by its motherhouse in Rome.

History

Maria Francesca Cabrini was born on July 15, 1850, in what is now the Italian

Province of Lodi The province of Lodi ( it, provincia di Lodi; Ludesan: ) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city of Lodi. As of 2017, it has a population of 229,541 inhabitants over an area of c. , giving the province ...

, and began her career as a school teacher. Around 1870, she became headmistress of the orphanage in

Codogno Codogno (; Western Lombard, Lodigiano: ) is a town and ''comune'' of 15,868 inhabitants in the province of Lodi, Lombardy, northern Italy. It is the main center of the plain known as Basso Lodigiano, which has about 90,000 inhabitants. It received ...

, where she taught and drew a small community of women to live a religious way of life. Cabrini took religious vows in 1877 and added Xavier (Saverio) to her name to honor the Jesuit saint,

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...

, the patron saint of missionary service. When the orphanage closed in 1880, Cabrini and seven other women who had taken religious vows with her founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (M.S.C.). She wrote the Rule and Constitutions of the

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...

, and she continued as its

superior general A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

until her death. The sisters took in orphans and

foundlings Child abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring in an illegal way, with the intent of never resuming or reasserting guardianship. The phrase is typically used to describe the physical abandonment of a ...

, opened a day school to help pay expenses, started classes in

needlework Needlework is decorative sewing and textile arts handicrafts. Anything that uses a needle for construction can be called needlework. Needlework may include related textile crafts such as crochet, worked with a hook, or tatting, worked with a ...

and sold their fine

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

to earn a little more money. The institute established seven homes and a free school and nursery in its first five years. Its good works brought Cabrini to the attention of Giovanni Scalabrini,

Bishop of Piacenza A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, and of

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

. In 1889, at the suggestion of

, the sisters came to New York, and opened convents in the archdioceses of Chicago, Denver, Newark, Seattle, and Los Angeles and the dioceses of Brooklyn and Scranton.MacErlean, Andrew. "Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 1 September 2021 In 1892 they established Columbus Hospital in New York City, which later became

Cabrini Medical Center Cabrini Medical Center of New York City was created in 1973 by a merger of two Manhattan hospitals. It closed in 2008 due to financial difficulties cited by the Berger Commission, followed by a bankruptcy filing. In January 2010, the five build ...

and operated until 2008. From 1926 to 1951, several Italian sisters coming from the United States were active in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, provinces of

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

and

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

. The sisters purchased the former Woodcrest estate in

Radnor Township, Pennsylvania Radnor Township, often called simply Radnor, is a first class township with home rule status in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2019 United States census estimate, the township population is 31,875. Radnor Township is the largest mun ...

in 1953.

Cabrini University Cabrini University is a private Roman Catholic university in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1957, and was named after the first American naturalized citizen saint, Mother ...

opened on the estate in September 1957. ''Note:'' This includes

Present day

The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are present in 15 countries on 6 continents. The general motherhouse is in Rome. The Missionary Sisters' current missions include service in the areas of education, healthcare and immigration. In London, they run the St Francesca Cabrini Catholic Primary School.

References

External links

Institute of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
(official website)
Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Stella Maris Province
(United States, Australia, Swaziland, Philippines)
The National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini
{{Catholic religious institutes, state=collapsed Catholic female orders and societies Catholic missionary orders Catholic religious institutes established in the 19th century Religious organizations established in 1880 1880 establishments in Italy