Sisters of the Holy Union of the Sacred Hearts

Abbreviation	S.U.S.C.
Formation	1842; 183 years ago (1842)
Founder	Jean Baptiste Debrabant
Type	FemaleCatholicreligious congregation
Headquarters	Rome, Italy
Website	https://www.holyunionsisters.org

TheHoly Union Sisters, officially known as theSisters of the Holy Union of the Sacred Hearts (French:Sœurs de la Sainte Union des Sacrés Coeurs), are areligious congregation of women in theRoman Catholic Church founded atDouai, France, in 1842, byJean Baptiste Debrabant (1801 - 1889).^[1]

The congregation has its roots in the 1820s, with four young women who earned their livelihood as dressmakers, but shared a strong religious faith. In the chaotic social situation ofpost-Revolutionary France, they soon decided to live together to support each other in their commitment and to share a life of prayer and service. The women began to teach the faith to the local children.

In 1826 a youngpriest, Jean Baptiste Debrabant (1801-1880), was sent as a to their town. Impressed by this small community of dedicated women, Debrabant saw in them a vehicle to help educate the children of the region. He encouraged and guided them in their way of life, which began to draw many young women to join the original four. In addition to theircatechetical work, they begin to train young girls housed in a shelter they had opened in their craft of dressmaking. In 1841 Debrabant approached hisbishop, Pierre Giraud, theArchbishop of Cambrai, seeking recognition of the women as areligious congregation.

Permission was received and in 1842 over one hundred woman were admitted to acanonicalnoviatiate as anInstitute of diocesan right. (This group, however, included only one of the original four members of the community.) The new congregation was then given its current name and aRule of Life based primarily on that of theOrder of the Visitation of Holy Mary, founded byFrancis of Sales andLouise de Marillac. The Sisters professedreligious vows a year later.

The congregation quickly spread in answer to appeals for teachers in Catholic schools worldwide. It was approved by theHoly See and elevated to one ofpontifical right in 1877. By the end of the century, they had come to administer schools in France, Belgium, England, Ireland, Argentina and the United States.

Today the Sisters also serve in Italy, Cameroon, Haiti and Tanzania.

The Sisters devote themselves to the education of youth and have founded schools in multiple countries. Some of these schools are still run by the Sisters today.

• Holy Union Sisters

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