Brothers of The Sacred Heart - Expansion

Expansion

At the time of the Venerable Polycarp's death in 1859, there were over 400 Brothers in France alone staffing some 70 schools, an increase of sixty during his leadership. He had, moreover, at the invitation of Bishop Michael Portier of the Diocese of New Orleans, extended their presence to the United States, a new field of labor for the Institute, at Mobile, Alabama. The first Brothers arrived there in January 1847. Within twenty-five years, the Brothers in the United States had grown to such an extent that they had been established as a separate Province of the Congregation. 1854-2004

In 1854 the Brothers of the Sacred Heart established St. Stanislaus College in Bay Saint Louis Mississippi. St. Stanislaus is the oldest institution of learning on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Chartered in 1870 as St. Stanislaus College, the school became a college preparatory in 1923. In over 150 years the Brothers and faculty at St. Stanislaus have trained more than 10,000 young men in the principles of Christian doctrine and education.

In September 1869, the Brothers founded St. Aloysius High School in the French Quarter of New Orleans. This school merged with Cor Jesu High School in 1969 to form Brother Martin High School, which still serves the youth of that city.

In 1872, the Province of the United States extended its schools into Canada, and in 1880 transferred its novitiate from Indianapolis to Arthabaskaville in Quebec, Canada. In 1895, four Brothers were sent to Hawaii to help care for the healthy sons of lepers quarantined on the island of Molokai, which was an outgrowth of the labors of the recently-deceased Apostle to the Lepers, Father Damien, SS.CC., now known as Saint Damien of Molokai.

The growth of the Congregation in Canada was so rapid, that, by the end of the 19th century, it was deemed advisable to erect the establishments in Canada into a separate Province. This was effected by a decree of the General Chapter of the Society held at Paradis, near Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1900. About that same time, both a House of Studies for postulants and a novitiate for the United States Province were established at Metuchen, New Jersey.

Not unlike many other religious communities in the Catholic Church, the Congregation saw a tremendous surge in vocations just prior to the Second Vatican Council. However, as with other groups, a substantial number of these men subsequently left the Institute. Africa and South America remain the two regions where vocations to the Institute are at their highest.

The Congregation holds that its founder, Andre Coindre, preached and acted upon the spirit of compassion that Jesus Christ exemplified through his own life. By responding to the abandoned youth in the city of Lyon, Coindre gave of himself, of his own heart. The Brothers of the Sacred Heart are called to respond just as did Coindre, just as Jesus did. This spirit of compassion is what motivates the Brothers today.