Mission
Founding Mothers
Mary Aloysia Hardey
Silence of action calms the soul and recalls the presence of God.
Biography of Mary Aloysia Hardey
Mary Aloysia Hardey, a central figure in the expansion of the Society of the Sacred Heart in North America, was born in Piscataway, Maryland, December 8, 1809. Moving with her family to Opelousas, Louisiana, she attended the Academy of the Sacred Heart at Grand Coteau. Upon completing her studies Mary entered the novitiate of the Society of the Sacred Heart at Grand Coteau and took the name Aloysia. A young religious of many talents, she was put in charge of a school in St. Michael's, Louisiana and soon after making final vows was named Superior. In 1840 Aloysia Hardey moved to New York City and opened the first school and convent of the Society of the Sacred Heart in the eastern United States. Named Provincial Superior (Superior Vicar) for the houses in eastern North America in 1844, she opened 16 houses of the Sacred Heart from Canada to Cuba and throughout the eastern United States. In 1871 Aloysia Hardey was appointed an Assistant General for the central government of the Society of the Sacred Heart based in Paris. In this position she was an advisor for the founding and rebuilding of European convents. She also helped revise the Sacred Heart curriculum to incorporate advanced studies and contributed to the discussion of the Society's role in advancing the higher education for women. Aloysia Hardey died in Paris on June 17, 1886 and is buried at Kenwood in Albany, New York.
Our loving-kindness with ourselves is the source of our loving-kindness to others. When we develop this consciousness within our self and toward our self, then we can offer genuine, Christ-like love, tolerance and compassion to others. This is the true work (and reward) of our life.
Schools of the Sacred Heart share in the educational mission of the Society of the Sacred Heart as articulated in the Goals and Criteria. The structure supporting Sacred Heart education in Canada and the United States includes the Conference of Sacred Heart Education and the Network of Sacred Heart Schools. Together they provide services and programs to ensure vitality of mission for the member schools sponsored by the Society of the Sacred Heart.