The New International Encyclopædia/Sacred Heart, Ladies of the

SACRED HEART, Ladies of the. A religious society of the Roman Catholic Church, founded at Amiens, France, in 1800, by Madeleine Sophie Barat and Octavie Bailly, under the direction of Father Joseph Désiré Varm, S. J. The object of the society was the education of young ladies of the higher classes. The constitution was approved by Leo XII. in 1826; a house was opened in Rome and branches established in many cities. The first house in the United States was established by Bishop Dubourg in 1817, near Saint Louis. The society has now over 100 houses in various parts of the world, and 5000 members. The mother house is in Paris. For the story of its beginning, consult Baunard, Histoire de Mme. Barat (Paris, 1876).