The content on this site has been developed by the US Province Justice, Peace and Reconciliation Office to educate, animate and empower SCJs, Dehonian Associates and parish leaders for action on behalf of social transformation. The World Synod of Bishops wrote in 1971 that "Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church's mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation." No one recognized this more instinctively than did our Founder, Fr. Leo Dehon, who dreamed of "the Reign of the Sacred Heart in souls and societies" and worked tirelessly on behalf of workers and the poor and marginalized.
The US Province's Justice, Peace and Reconciliation Commission invites you to peruse these pages and use them in whatever way they are helpful. If you are looking for resources you can't find here, or have any suggestions or feedback, please contact: Director of Justice, Peace and Reconciliation at 414-427-4273 or [email protected].
"Thy Kingdom Come," from the words of the Lord's Prayer, symbolizes our Christian call to build up God's reign in the here and now. The Latin translation, "Adveniat Regnum Tuum," was a favorite phrase of Fr. Dehon's.
The US Province's Justice, Peace and Reconciliation Commission invites you to peruse these pages and use them in whatever way they are helpful. If you are looking for resources you can't find here, or have any suggestions or feedback, please contact: Director of Justice, Peace and Reconciliation at 414-427-4273 or [email protected].
"Thy Kingdom Come," from the words of the Lord's Prayer, symbolizes our Christian call to build up God's reign in the here and now. The Latin translation, "Adveniat Regnum Tuum," was a favorite phrase of Fr. Dehon's.
Who are the Priests of the Sacred Heart?
The Priests of the Sacred Heart (Latin abbreviation SCJ) is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of priests and brothers founded by Fr. Dehon in 1878 in St. Quentin, France. They are sometimes known as Dehonians
St. Quentin was a city ravaged by the industrial revolution. In addition to running parishes, preaching missions and teaching, early SCJs reached out to society’s forgotten corners. For example, they began a ministry to the deaf when there was little sensitivity to the needs of people with physical handicaps, and they served as chaplains in a French textile factory, introducing Christian values into the dealings of labor and management. Fr. Dehon himself was a social activist, making church leaders aware of working class hardships and helping workers organize to combat unjust conditions. He was instrumental in promoting Pope Leo XIII's breakthrough social encyclical Rerum Novarum.
In the first 10 years the congregation had 60 professed members; after 20 years, there were 130; and on the 50th anniversary of its founding, the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart had almost a thousand members. Today it numbers about 2,200 members on five continents and in 40 countries, including most of Europe, India, Indonesia, South Africa, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brazil, Canada and the USA. Our US Province has apostolates in some of the poorest areas of our nation: The Lower Brule Reservation in South Dakota, northern Mississippi, and Houston's inner city. We also operate St. Joseph Indian School in Chamberlain, SD, Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Franklin, WI, and numerous parishes and elementary schools.
St. Quentin was a city ravaged by the industrial revolution. In addition to running parishes, preaching missions and teaching, early SCJs reached out to society’s forgotten corners. For example, they began a ministry to the deaf when there was little sensitivity to the needs of people with physical handicaps, and they served as chaplains in a French textile factory, introducing Christian values into the dealings of labor and management. Fr. Dehon himself was a social activist, making church leaders aware of working class hardships and helping workers organize to combat unjust conditions. He was instrumental in promoting Pope Leo XIII's breakthrough social encyclical Rerum Novarum.
In the first 10 years the congregation had 60 professed members; after 20 years, there were 130; and on the 50th anniversary of its founding, the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart had almost a thousand members. Today it numbers about 2,200 members on five continents and in 40 countries, including most of Europe, India, Indonesia, South Africa, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brazil, Canada and the USA. Our US Province has apostolates in some of the poorest areas of our nation: The Lower Brule Reservation in South Dakota, northern Mississippi, and Houston's inner city. We also operate St. Joseph Indian School in Chamberlain, SD, Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Franklin, WI, and numerous parishes and elementary schools.