Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary
A global Roman Catholic institute of apostolic religious women whose ministries include education, pastoral work, social services, and justice advocacy.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary is a global Roman Catholic community of apostolic religious women. It is commonly abbreviated RSHM in the United States and RSCM in other regions. The institute was established in Béziers, France, on 24 February 1849 by Father Jean Gailhac and Appollonie Pelissier-Cure, later known as Mother St. Jean. Its first work was directed toward vulnerable women and children: a group of women formed a religious community that assumed responsibility for a shelter for women and an orphanage. The early institute soon added education, including a boarding school for girls, and expanded its work beyond the original French foundation. The congregation is not the same organization as the Religious of the Sacred Heart, also known as the Society of the Sacred Heart, whose members use the abbreviation RSCJ. The RSHM developed as an international religious institute with a central government in Rome and a network of provinces and regions. A general superior and general council provide institute-wide leadership, while provincial and local communities organize ministries in particular countries and communities. The general chapter establishes priorities and elects the institute leadership team. The institute’s work is broad rather than commercial. Its apostolic activities include elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, parish service, prison ministry, hospitals, nursing homes, retreat houses, social centers, retirement homes, artistic and cultural work, and spiritual direction. Members have also served as teachers, administrators, social workers, lawyers, health-care personnel, musicians, librarians, and artists. The congregation’s educational network includes institutions operating under the Marymount name as well as schools using Sacred Heart of Mary or local-language names. As a religious institute and nongovernmental organization, the RSHM describes its mission in terms of justice, human dignity, and service to people who are marginalized, deprived, or excluded from social and economic power. Its justice-oriented work seeks to support people in developing their own capacity and participating in their own liberation, rather than limiting the congregation’s role to institutional charity. By 2023, the community was serving in 14 countries. Its governmental structure included the Eastern and Western American Provinces, the Northern European Province, the Brazilian and Portuguese Provinces, and regions in Mozambique and the Zambezi area. The institute remains active in education, pastoral ministry, social service, and justice work, with its general administration based in Rome.
History
The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary originated in Béziers, France, during the social and religious conditions of the nineteenth century. Father Jean Gailhac and Appollonie Pelissier-Cure, later known as Mother St. Jean, founded the institute on 24 February 1849. The founding group responded to immediate social needs by taking charge of a shelter for women and an orphanage. This original mission linked religious life with practical service to people facing poverty, social exclusion, and insecurity. The community grew during its first years. When the original members made their first profession in May 1851, the group had expanded to ten sisters. Under Mother St. Jean’s leadership, the institute also began a boarding school for girls. Education became a central means through which the sisters pursued their religious and social mission, and the congregation subsequently extended its ministries outside France. The institute’s governing rule developed through several stages of ecclesiastical recognition. Its constitutions received diocesan approval in 1850, canonical approval in 1880, and a major revision in 1983. These constitutions provide the framework for the congregation’s religious life, governance, community organization, and apostolic priorities. As the institute became international, its administration was organized at several levels. The general superior and general council, resident in Rome, constitute the central authority. Provinces and regions manage local activity while remaining connected to the general government. General chapters establish institute-wide goals and priorities and elect the leadership team. Local communities form the basic operating units, generally working through a local coordinator in relationship with the relevant provincial authority. The congregation established a wide international presence across Europe, the Americas, and Africa. Its ministries developed in schools, colleges, universities, parishes, hospitals, prisons, nursing homes, retreat centers, social centers, and other settings. The educational network came to include Marymount institutions in countries such as England, France, Italy, Mexico, Colombia, and the United States, as well as schools using Portuguese, English, French, or other local naming traditions. Some institutions were later closed, merged, absorbed by other organizations, or became independent from the congregation, while others remained part of the wider educational network. The RSHM’s modern identity combines its founding concern for vulnerable people with a broader justice framework. The institute places personnel and other resources at the service of people who are powerless, deprived, marginalized, or voiceless, and seeks to help communities pursue development and liberation. Members continue to work in education, pastoral care, social services, health care, spiritual accompaniment, administration, law, culture, and community advocacy. By 2023, the community reported service in 14 countries. Its principal organizational units included American, Northern European, Brazilian, and Portuguese provinces, together with regions in Mozambique and the Zambezi area. The institute remains an active Roman Catholic congregation with central governance in Rome and a distributed network of local communities and ministries.
- 2023
Service in 14 countries
[1]The community was reported to be active in 14 countries across education, pastoral ministry, social services, and justice work.
- 1983
Constitutions revised
[1]The RSHM constitutions were revised as the institute continued to organize its international religious and apostolic life.
- 1880
Canonical approval
[1]The institute’s constitutions received canonical approval.
- 1851
First profession of members
[1]The founding group made its first profession in May; the community had grown to ten members and had begun developing educational work.
- 1850
First constitutional approval
[1]The institute’s rule of life received approval at the diocesan level.
- 1849
Foundation in Béziers
[1]Father Jean Gailhac and Appollonie Pelissier-Cure founded the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary in Béziers, France, on 24 February.
Products and positioning
A faith-based international service organization combining Catholic religious life with education, pastoral ministry, social action, and advocacy for marginalized communities.
International and independent education
Marymount schools
The RSHM has sponsored or operated schools using the Marymount name in Europe, North America, and South America. These institutions have included international schools and secondary schools serving local communities. The network reflects the congregation’s longstanding emphasis on education as a form of personal development, social participation, and service.
Primary and secondary education
Sacred Heart of Mary schools
Schools carrying the Sacred Heart of Mary name have formed another major part of the congregation’s educational ministry. They have operated in countries including the United Kingdom, Portugal, Brazil, and the United States, with some institutions later merging, closing, or changing their institutional relationship with the sisters.
Religious and community services
Pastoral and social ministries
RSHM members serve in parishes, prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, social centers, retreat houses, and retirement homes. These ministries combine pastoral care, practical assistance, spiritual accompaniment, and community support, often focusing on people experiencing poverty, illness, isolation, or exclusion.
Advocacy and social action
Justice and human-development work
The institute’s justice work places its resources at the service of marginalized and disadvantaged people. Its stated approach is to help people develop the ability to act for themselves and pursue liberation, linking religious ministry with human rights, social inclusion, and community development.
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