Our first Superior General, Mother Marie Louise Hartzer, was born in Alsace, France in 1837 and died in Thuin, Belgium in 1908.  She first married, had two sons, and later as a 45 year-old widow, joined the young congregation of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.  Her two sons became Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.  For 26 years (1882-1908), she led our congregation, faithfully passing on the founder’s charism and spirituality to the sisters.  She saw the congregation expand from Europe to the Pacific, becoming a truly international congregation.

“As Father Chevalier, by the exercise of his spiritual paternity, has given life to the Congregation, so Marie Louise Hartzer by the grace of spiritual maternity bestowed up her for the purpose of fostering that life, may be called and is its venerated Mother.” (Mary Venard, fdnsc, The Designs of His Heart)

And For twenty-six years, until her death in 1908, Marie Louise wisely guided our Congregation.

We, the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, are an international Congregation with a missionary orientation who are passionate about bringing the love of God to people everywhere. We value every human person and hold as precious the words of Jesus ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full’. 

Our spirituality and mission are expressed in the motto given to us by our Founder, Fr Jules Chevalier: “May the Sacred Heart of Jesus Be Everywhere Loved”.  (FDNSC Constitutions No 1)

Father Jules Chevalier's motto, "May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be Everywhere Loved!" became the driving force of his life. As well as establishing two religious orders, he was very aware of the strength, power for good, and spirituality of lay people.

By the time of his death, he already had more than a million people enrolled in the Confraternity of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Today we use the word ‘Associates’ for those who find themselves at home in our spirituality and who want to find guidance, support, and companionship along the journey, as well as rejoicing to be for others "the Heart of God on earth".

It is within their own life situation that our Associates fulfill their special mission of love. Their way to the Heart of Jesus and to the hearts of others is their prayer and understanding help in needs that arise in the here and now of their lives.

Associates are however also one with the Sisters in their mission, in fact, extending it far beyond the sphere of the Sisters' influence.

The 'belonging' of Associates in our Congregation is expressed in our Constitutions approved by the Church.

O.L.S.H. Associates are found in all States of Australia and in many other countries where our sisters work.

For further information, write to:

For further information, write to
The National Director,
Associates of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
OLSH Convent
2 Kensington Rd, Kensington NSW 2033
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ametur Newsletter of the Associates

The vision of Father Jules Chevalier, to make the Sacred Heart known and loved everywhere, led him to the deep desire to found several congregations. He also wanted a separate branch of laity, who would be formed and share in the spirit, charism and mission of the congregations.

In 1854 Fr. Jules Chevalier founded a Society of Priests and Brothers whom he called Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (M.S.C.). Twenty years later, he founded us, a Congregation of Sisters called Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (F.D.N.S.C.). In 1900 the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart were founded in Germany by a Dutch MSC, Fr. Hubert Linckens. These three religious families, with their lay members form the Chevalier Family.

Nowadays 3 religious congregations with an international network of laity are all part of one Chevalier family:
 

There are over 1000 Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart throughout the world and the Congregation is present in twenty seven countries.

The most recent places we have gone to are Angola 2005 and Vietnam 2012.

Australia

We have sisters presently living/working in

• New South Wales
  Kensington, Blacktown, Burradoo, Daceyville, Rosebery
• Victoria
  Airport West, Bentleigh, East Bentleigh, Elmore, Werribee
• Queensland
  Corinda
• South Australia
  Kilburn, Prospect, Roxby Downs, Whyalla Norrie
• Northern Territory
  Alice Springs, Darwin, Bathurst Island (Wurrumiyanga), Port Keats (Wadeye)

Internationally

We have Australian sisters presently working in:

• South Africa
• Papua New Guinea
• Kiribati
• South Sudan
• Italy
• Japan

Fr. Jules Chevalier, msc founded the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at Issoudun in France, on the 30th August, 1874. Basic to his charism was the awareness that the whole of creation is the gift of God's love, and that everything that exists is being sustained and cared for by God's tender compassionate care.

For Fr. Chevalier, the Heart of Christ was a true image of a God with a loving heart who calls people to have 'heart' for one another.

Jules Chevalier was born in Richelieu, France on 15th March, 1824. His parents were Jean-Charles and Louise Chevalier. They were not at all wealthy. In 1841, his father was recommended for the job of caretaker of a tract of forests, the administrator of which offered to pay for Jules' seminary training. Jules was much older than his classmates because of his late start, but he eventually finished his studies at the minor seminary and in 1846 he moved on to the major seminary in Bourges. This was quite close to the town of Issoudun which was to play a large role in our story.

Jules Chevalier was drawn to the love of Jesus' Heart during his seminary days, and he dreamed of a Religious Family - women and men who would take the Good News of God's love to one and all.

Fr. Chevalier loved Jesus' words:

I have come to cast fire upon the earth and how I wish it were blazing already.
[Luke 12:49]

He wanted to involve as many people as possible in his work and by the end of his life there were over a million lay people enrolled in a confraternity he founded.

We were founded by a French priest, Fr. Jules Chevalier, who founded the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) in 1854, and ourselves in 1874.

In 1882, Fr. Chevalier appointed Marie Louise Hartzer in charge of the community. On 9th September, 1884, the first profession ceremony took place, including that of Marie Louise. The Congregation now had 5 professed members. Just two years later, in 1884, on October 17th, five sisters set out for the great mission of Oceania and  landed in Sydney on January 31, 1885. Their destination was the missions of Oceania.

Two had made their vows a few hours before. They had the great sum of 25 francs between them, (out of which had to be bought a pair of shoes for one person in Marsaille)! What faith!

They were met by Fr. Navarre, MSC who had come from Thursday Island to greet them, and by Fr. Joly, a Marist who was waiting to take them up the Harbour to Villa Maria, the headquarters of the Marists. A small house on the property was placed at their disposal until they could have a convent of their own.
Also meeting them was a 19 year old girl, Margaret Sweeney, from Ryde, who became the first Australian Daughter of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

Archbishop Moran offered a place to the MSC/OLSH if they established a parish and school. They accepted Botany. Four of the sisters were French, but one was Irish, Sr. M. Xavier Ryan. Sr. M. Xavier began a small school beside the church on Botany Road in April, 1885. It was here that the work of the OLSH sisters in Australia began. It has taken us to all States except Western Australia.

Margaret Sweeney was the first of many young Australian women to join the Daughters. Like her, these too often left our shores to work overseas. As well, almost 300 OLSH have gone to work in the Northern Territory. Some of the places we have been to include...

• Papua New Guinea… beginning in 1887

• Kiribati… beginning in 1895
• South Africa… beginning in 1953
• Philippine… beginning in 1968
• South Sudan… beginning in 1995
• Japan… beginning in 1995

Our founder encouraged us to embrace the risk of ‘mission without limits’. Our history is full of heroic stories of our sisters in far-flung places of the world. And here in Australia too, our story is extraordinary. We began in Sydney in 1885. In 1886, we first went to Thursday Island. Then followed more foundations in NSW. In 1905, four sisters left for Mathina in Tasmania, followed shortly after by more foundations in Tasmania. In 1908 the first five Daughters left for Darwin. In 1916, a foundation was made in Queensland, in 1929 in Victoria, in 1947 in South Australia.

At present, Sr. Marife Mendoza is the leader of our International Congegration.

In gratitude for all the great things the Lord has done through her, our founder, gave Mary the title Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. This title focuses on the relationship of love between Jesus and Mary, the same relationship of love we are invited to participate in and have with each other.

“Father Jules Chevalier gave us our name to honour Mary as Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, the one chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus.  By her response in love and in total availability to the Holy Spirit, she gave Jesus his humanity, following him even to the cross.” (FDNSC Constitutions No 4)

Daughters of OLSH desire to be women of heart, centered on the Heart of Jesus, ours is a Spirituality of the Heart with a special Marian dimension. We were founded in Issoudun France in 1874 by Fr Jules Chevalier MSC

Since our small beginnings in France in 1874, we have been able to spread to 27 countries all over the world, carrying the fire that first burned in the heart of Jules Chevalier. Wherever we are sent, we try to respond to the needs of people and so are involved in many different forms of ministry. Our mission is boundless.