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 SOCIETY

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SOCIETY

Fathers Roger and Varin, and with a memorial com- posed by Mothers Barat and Duchesne was presented to the Bishop of Grenoble and approved by him. This plan and memorial set forth the end of the as- sociation, which was the perfection of its members and the salvation of souls; the spirit aimed at de- tachment from the world, purity of intention for the glory of the Sacred Heart, gentleness, zeal, and obe- dience; the means, for the religious, the training of the novitiate, and spiritual exercises, for others, boarding schools for the upper classes, free schools for the poor, and spiritual retreats. The rule in this preliminary stage was simple; the houses were to be under one superior-general, everything was to be in common, the office of the Blessed Virgin was' to be recited, the time appointed for mental prayer was specified. The manner of life was to be simple without the prescribed austerities of the older orders, which would be incompatible with the work of educa- tion. On Mother Barat's return to Amiens in 1806 the first general congregation was assembled for the election of the superior-general, and she was chosen for the office. Father Varin then withdrew from the position he had held as superior of the new institute which was now regularly constituted, but he con- tinued for years to help the young superior-general with his advice and support. The first serious trouble which arose nearly wTecked the whole under- taking. At the end of 1808 the "Dames de la Foi'' had si.x houses; Amiens, Grenoble, Poitiers, Niort, Ghent, and Cuigniers. The first house at Amiens was governed at this time by Mother Bauderaont, who fell under the influence of a priest of the Diocese of Amiens, Abbe de St-Esteve, who took that house under his control and even drewup a set of rules drawn from those of the monastic orders and entirely foreign to the spirit of Father Varin and the foundress. The devotion to the Sacred Heart which was to be its very life scarcely appeared in the new rules and they were in consequence not acceptable to any of the houses outside Amiens. Abbe de St-Esteve was determined to force the matter. He went to Rome and from thence sent orders, ostensibly from the Holy- See. The name of the Society of the Sacred Heart was to be abandoned for that of "Apostolines", and he wrote vehement letters condemning Father Varin and the superior-general and her work. The most important letter in the case proved to be a forgery. The institute recovered its balance, but the house at Ghent had been akeady lost to the society.

The second general congregation (1815) examined the constitutions which had been elaborated by Father Varin and Mother Barat (they were an ex- pansion of the first plan presented to the Bishop of Grenoble) and they were accepted by all the houses of the society. It was decided to have a general novitiate in Paris. The third general congregation (1820) drew up the first uniform plan of studies which has been developed and modified from time to time to bring it into harmony with present needs, without losing the features which have characterized it from the beginning. In 1826 the society obtained the formal approbation of Leo XII and the first cardinal protector was appointed, in place of an ecclesiastical superior whose authority would have depended too much upon local conditions. The sixth general congregation was anxious to bring the constitutions into closer conformity with those of the Society of Jesus. Mother Barat foresaw that the proposed changes were unsuitable for a congre- ga.tion of women, but permitted an experimental trial of them for three years. Finally the whole affair was submitted to Gregory XVI, who decided that the society should return in all points to the constitution approved by Leo XII. The last changes in the constitutions were made in 1851 with the sanc-

tion of the Holy See. Superiors-vicar were named to help the superior-general in the government of the society by taking the immediate supervision of a cer- tain number of houses forming a vicariate. The superiors-vicar assembled with the mother general and the assistants general, form the genera! congre- gation of the society. In 1818 Mother Philippine Duchesne introduced the society into the United States and the first houses were founded in Missouri and Louisiana. The society under the guidance of Mother Mary Aloysia Hardey (q. v.) spread rapidly, and in 1910 counted twenty-seven houses and more than eleven hundred members The extension in Europe was confined to France until 1827 when a school was opened at the Trinita dci Monti, Rome. Houses were founded in Belgium (Jette), 1836; England (Berrymead, now Roehampton) and Ire- land (Roscrea), both in 1841; Canada (Montreal), 1842; Austria (Lemberg), 1843; Spain (Sarria, near Barcelona), 1846. Mother du Rousier was the pioneer in South America (Santiago de Chile in 1854). Other foundations were made in the West Indies (1858); New Zealand (1880); Australia (1882); Egy]5t (1903); Japan (190S). The Revolution of 18.30 disturbed the house in Paris but did not destroy it; the novitiate was removed elsewhere. In 1848 the house in Switzerland had to be abandoned; the religious were expelled from Genoa, Turin, Saluzzo, and Pignerol while the houses in Rome were searched and pillaged. In 1860 Loreto, St. Elpidio, and Perugia were suppressed. The German houses were closed by the May Laws of 1873. Between 1903 and 1909 forty-seven houses in France were closed and many of them confiscated by the French Govern- ment. The mother-house was transferred to Brus- sels in 1909. This wholesale destruction increased the extension in foreign countries; for almost every house that has been closed another has been opened else- where. At present the society counts 139 houses and about 6500 religious.

The society aims at a twofold spirit — contemplative and active. It is composed of choir religious and lay sisters. Enclosure is observed in a manner adapted to the works; the Office of the Blessed Virgin is recited in choir. The choice of subjects is guided by the qualifications laid down m the constitutions. In addition to the indication of a true religious voca- tion there is required respectable parentage, unblem- ished reputation, a good or at least sufficient education with some aptitude for completing it, a sound judg- ment, and above all a generous determination to make an entire surrender of self to the service of God through the hands of superiors. The candidate is not allowed to make any conditions as to place of residence or employment, but must be ready to be sent by obc;dience to any part of the world, even the privilege of going on foreign missions is not definitely promised in the beginning to those who aspire to it. Postulants r.re admitted to a preliminary probation of three months, at the end of which they may take the religious habit and begin their novitiate of two years, which are spent in studying the spirit and the rules of the society, exercising themselves in its manner of living, and in the virtues which they \\ill be called upon to practice; the second year is devoted to a course of study which is to prepare them for their educational work. To each no^•itiate there is at- tached a teaching and training department where the first course of studies may be taken, and when it is possible the young religious pass a year in this, after their vows, before they are sent to teach in the schools. The first vows, simple perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, are taken at the end of two years of noviceship, after which follow five years spent in study, teaching, or other duties. At the end of this period follows for those who have special aptitude for the work of teaching, another short