The Sisters Servants of the Sacred Heart (french: Soeurs Servantes du Sacré Coeur) are a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

religious congregation founded in 1866. They currently serve throughout France and Africa. According to their current

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 ...

, Sister Danièle, their service consists of "serving the Sacred Heart of Jesus through responding to the needs of world wherever they find themselves."

Foundation

The congregation was founded by the

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

Abbé ''Abbé'' (from Latin ''abbas'', in turn from Greek , ''abbas'', from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is the title for lowe ...

Peter-Victor Braun The Servant of God, Abbé Pierre-Victor Braun, (5 June 1825 – 18 May 1882) was a French people, French Catholic priest who ministered to the poor of Paris. His work laid the foundations for the establishment of several different Religious cong ...

, in Paris in 1866."Sacred Heart, Sister Servants of the", St. Bede's College, Mentone, Victoria
/ref> Braun, who was a native of

Saint-Avold Saint-Avold (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Sänt Avuur'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated twenty-eight miles (45 km) east of Metz, France and seventeen miles (27 km) southwest ...

in the Lorraine region, had moved there to meet the spiritual needs of the

German-speaking German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...

people of his region who were flocking from the farms to the capital at the height of the Industrial Revolution in France to find work. He became a regular confessor at the famed Basilica of Our Lady of Victories in Paris. In the course of his ministry, Braun also served in a seedy quarter of the city where he became aware of the struggle of the young women there who had come as unskilled workers, especially when they were not able to find work in the factories. He also saw single mothers struggling to survive with their children. With the help of a small group of volunteers he opened a hostel where the young women could find a refuge and place of support. He also opened a

day care center Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

so that mothers could find employment by which they could support their families. Additionally home visits were done by his volunteer ladies to the residences of the sick poor to care for them in their need. By October 1866, Braun had reluctantly concluded that the work had to be entrusted to a

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

professed A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise, a promise solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a weddin ...

Religious Sisters in order to guarantee its continuity. Thus he established three of these volunteers under the leadership of a Bavarian woman, Anna Katherina Berger, as a religious congregation. Berger had come to Paris already a member of a community of Franciscan Sisters in Pirmasens, founded by the

Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

Paul Joseph Nardini Paul Joseph Nardini, (25 July 1821 – 27 January 1862) was a German diocesan priest and the founder of the religious congregation of the Poor Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Family, also commonly known as the Nardini Sisters, or the Mallersdorfer ...

. She was appointed as

Mother Superior An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

of the small community by Braun, under the name of Mother Mary Odilia. The Rule was adapted from that of Francis de Sales.

Revolution and exile

The sudden outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 caused a major change in the future of the small congregation. Rumors of anti-Catholic atrocities by the Paris Commune caused a group of the Sisters to flee to England for safety. They were followed by a larger group, who brought with them Braun, who was suffering from shock resulting from his ministry at the battlefront. Because of her nationality, the co-founder, Mother Odilia, was forced to return to her native Germany. The

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s were warmly received by

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Henry Edward Manning, the

Archbishop of Westminster The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the metropolitan of the Province of Westminster, chief metropolitan of England and Wales and, as a matter of custom, is elected presid ...

, who gave them a small house in the Stratford area of the city. The Sisters quickly established themselves in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

where they began again their mission of helping struggling workers and their families. They also established a hospital. The Sisters Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Congregation - panoramio

The Sisters Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Congregation - panoramio

Re-established in France

After the upheavals of the Franco-Prussian War and the subsequent uprisings, with the establishment of peace in France by the late 1870s, some of the French Sisters returned to Paris. They re-established the congregation there and its work. The Servants had been recognized in the

Diocese of Versailles The Roman Catholic Diocese of Versailles (Latin: ''Dioecesis Versaliensis''; French language, French: ''Diocèse de Versailles'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, in France. The diocese, headed by the Bishop of Versail ...

as a congregation in 1868 by the local bishop,

Mgr. Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Jean-Pierre Mabile. Thus when Braun, their founder, died in 1882, in 1884 they chose to move their motherhouse to Versailles, where they arrived on Christmas Day. They soon established services to the needy and the mentally handicapped of the region. Braun's remains were transferred to the chapel of the Motherhouse in 1925. After a generation, however, differences in vision began to emerge between the English and French Sisters. Under the advice of Cardinal Herbert Vaughan, in 1902 the majority of the Sisters in England elected to separate from the Servants of the Sacred Heart and to form a new congregation. They took the name of the

Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary The Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (SS.H.J.M.) are a group of Catholic Religious Sisters who were established in London, England, in 1903. There they are commonly known as the Chigwell Sisters. In collaboration with their associates ...

Today

The Congregation today has several convents throughout France, such as in

Argenteuil Argenteuil () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Argenteuil is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise Departments of France, ...

, Gennevilliers and Beaucaire. Additionally they serve in two nursing homes in the

Department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of Aveyron. They have a

retreat house Retreat or re-treat may refer to: Common uses *Retreat (spiritual), a time taken to reflect or meditate *Retreat (survivalism), a place of refuge for survivalists Military * Retreat (bugle call), a military signal for the end of day, known as "S ...

in Saint-Gervais. They have a mission in Mali and other African countries. The Sisters from Africa have their formation in Versailles, which serves as the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the congregation. In 2003 the Servants of the Sacred Heart formed the Federation of Victor Braun with its two daughter congregations, the English one and an Austrian one. This has been approved by the Holy See. The three congregations now share in several common ministries around the world.Paroisse

Notes

{{reflist

Foundation

Revolution and exile

Re-established in France

Today

Notes

See also