Society of the Sacred Heart

The mission of the Society of the Sacred Heart is to discover and reveal God’s love in the heart of the world through the service of education.

We are the United States – Canada (USC) Province of the Society of the Sacred Heart, part of an international congregation of Catholic women. Founded in 1800 by Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat, the Society of the Sacred Heart has more than 1,800 members (Religious of the Sacred Heart) in 41 countries. In the United States and Canada, we have more than 200 members in a wide variety of ministries.

The USC Province is one of 28 provinces, or established regions, that make up the international Society of the Sacred Heart.

Members of the Society, Sisters who have taken vows, are known as Religious of the Sacred Heart, or RSCJ (Religieuses du Sacré-Cœur de Jésus, the name in French.) 

In the USC Province, RSCJ are teachers, administrators, lawyers, nurses, doctors, artists, writers, therapists, pastoral counselors, spiritual directors, and social workers. We can be found in a wide variety of ministries and settings, including universities, secondary and elementary schools and popular education centers; in hospitals, shelters, parishes, retreat centers, and prisons. We work with students of all ages; migrants, indigenous people and refugees; women and children; the poor, the sick and the searching.

As RSCJ, we join a vast community of Associates, educators, partners in mission and Network of Sacred Heart Schools alumnae/i, who share in and live out our mission, revealing God's love in communities throughout the United States, Canada and beyond.

In particular, our Network of Sacred Heart member schools — 25 total in Canada and the United States — provide education to approximately 12,500 girls, boys, young women and young men, each year.