The Religious of the Sacred Heart strive to discover and make God’s love known in the heart of the world through the service of education. Founded in 1800 by St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, a woman of keen intellect, deep compassion, and joyful spirit who dedicated her life to educating women in post-Revolutionary France, the Society today has members in 41 countries. In the US, we live out our educational mission in a wide variety of settings, including high schools and colleges, artists’ studios and parishes, medical and legal facilities, social agencies and shelters. Building relationships and developing leaders among people from all walks of life are at the heart of our vocation. We share life together in small communities and seek, through prayer and contemplation, to be drawn ever more deeply into intimacy with God, who is always alive and active in our hearts and minds and who challenges us to make choices for justice and peace in response to the Gospel and the needs of the world.