Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary is a Roman Catholic religious order of brothers, priests, and nuns. The priests of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, are also known as the Picpus Fathers, in honor of Picpus Street in Paris, France where the order was founded in 1800. Their post-nominal letters, ss.cc., are the Latin initials for Sacrorum Cordium, i.e. Sacred Hearts.

French Revolution beginnings

The creation of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, ss.cc. is rooted in the French Revolution. In March of 1792, a Frenchman named Peter Coudrin was secretly ordained to the priesthood. The following May, in the midst of a nation in turmoil turning against Catholic religious leaders, Father Coudrin went into hiding in an attic of the granary of the Chateau d'Usseau where he was confined for six months. One evening during his time in hiding, Father Coudrin saw a vision of being surrounded by a heavenly illuminated group of priests, brothers and sisters dressed in white robes. It was his calling to establish a religious order that would be the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, ss.cc. Father Coudrin left the granary and began his underground ministry in Poitiers, waiting for the right moment to start his group.

Related Topics:
French Revolution - 1792 - Peter Coudrin - Poitiers

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During his underground ministry in 1794, Father Coudrin met Henriette Aymer de Chevalerie. She had been released from a revolutionary prison, accused of hiding a priest. She told Father Coudrin of a heaven-sent vision she had while in prison calling her to service to God. Father Coudrin and Henriette Aymer de Chevalerie shared with each other their visions of creating a religious order in the midst of danger for Roman Catholics in France.

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