HEART OF MARY, DAUGHTERS OF THE

(DHM, Official Catholic Directory #0810), a religious community with papal approbation, founded in France in 1790 by Pierre Joseph Picot de Clorivière, a Jesuit priest, and Marie Adelaide de Cicé. The immediate object was the preservation of the religious life, the very existence of which was then threatened by the French Revolution. Following the Rule of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the members of this society take public vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, but they do not wear a religious habit and they have no cloister. Initial approval of this unique community was granted by Pius VII in 1801; final approbation of the constitutions was given by Leo XIII in 1890.

The work of the sisters varies greatly according to needs and circumstances. Some members live together in common houses (convents) and engage in such organized activities as teaching, retreat work, catechetical instruction, social service, and missionary outreach. Other sisters who are retained in the world by family obligations or apostolic commitments continue to pursue their religious duties and ideals while engaged in professions or other occupations. In this way it is possible for them to exercise a Christian influence in areas that are hostile to religious wearing a habit. The community first established itself in the United States in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1851. Its members in the United States are sometimes referred to as Nardins, a name derived from Miss Ernestine Nardin, a Daughter of the Heart of Mary who founded Nardin Academy in Buffalo, New York, in 1857. The congregation is found throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The general motherhouse is in Paris; the United States provincial headquarters, in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

[w. j. donovan/eds.]