Who we are

Today the Congregation is present on 5 continents.

*Saint Rose-Philippine Duchesne was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988.

Prayer and interiority

In daily prayer, participation in the Eucharist, community prayer and adoration, Christ calls for a personal encounter. For the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the pierced heart of Christ is the way into the mystery of his self-giving life with the sufferings and hopes of humanity. This way unites life in a movement of adoration of the Father and love for the poorest.

Community Living

Without having chosen one another, the religious of the Sacred Heart live in small communities. "From His Heart we draw the charity to live in communion with ourselves and with others". (Constitution, n. 30). Fraternal life deepens, strengthens, sustains and tests their desire to follow Christ. The sisters share their prayers, resources, talents and weaknesses. Communities are also places of sharing with others.

Sent on a mission

The sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus carry out their professional and apostolic activities in various fields, both in Christian and non-Christian environments, especially in education, training, promotion of justice, proclamation of the Gospel and accompaniment of faith. Compassion is an essential aspect of their charism. The compassion of Jesus tells us how much he takes to his heart all the wounds of humanity in order to bring forth his life.

The vocation of the Sister of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is “to discover and manifest the love of the Heart of Jesus”

Ignatian spirituality

Following in the footsteps of Sophie Barat, whose elder brother and spiritual director were Jesuits, the spirituality of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is also rooted in the Ignatian tradition. For this reason, the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola are given at the Sophie Barat Center.

For Ignatius of Loyola, spiritual life is rooted in an experience of the heart: "It is not to know much that satisfies the soul, but to feel and taste things inwardly". (ES2)

Prayer practice is first and foremost listening to the Word of God and is rooted in "seeking and finding God in all things." It enables people to make decisions freely and life-changing choices based on a specific process of discernment and life review.

Spiritual Exercises are an extraordinary invitation to enter into an experience of God that releases energies for concrete engagement in this world.

The spirituality of the Sacred Heart

The spirituality of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is based on a fundamental intuition: "to go to the heart of life with the attitudes and sentiments of the Heart of Jesus", an intuition clearly expressed in paragraph 8 of their Constitutions.

For Sophie Barat, "the spirit of the Society is essentially based on prayer and the interior life" (Constitutions, 17).
The Spirit working in us transforms us inwardly and we can look at the world with the eyes of Jesus. It's not something magical, but a process that allows us to grasp from within the love of God that dwells in us.
Sophie saw the importance of preserving the interior life, and there are two ways to live it :

Our existence, our communities, our apostolic service find their source in union with and conformity to the Heart of Jesus.
The pierced heart of Jesus opens us to the depths of God and to the need of humanity. It draws us into its movement of adoration of the Father and love for all, especially the poor. We return again and again to the words of Jesus, like a light that transfigures us little by little into his image. "Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart"
- Constitutions -