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Founded in 1821, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart is a Catholic religious congregation established by the Reverend André Coindre, who grew up in France during the Reign of Terror that followed the French Revolution. He was ordained a secular priest after studying at the Seminary of the Diocese of Lyon. Before founding the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, he participated in the founding of the Religious of Jesus and Mary in 1815. Members of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart live under a Rule of Life based on the Rule of Saint Augustine, binding themselves by simple vows of religion, and to educating the poor. Coindre served as the first Superior of the community, while remaining a secular priest attached to the Diocese, leaving the administration of the congregation to Brother Borgia. Growth of the congregation was slow, largely because social and political conditions in France were not conducive to the growth of religious organizations. Coindre died in 1826, and unconfirmed rumors that his death was a suicide placed a pall over the congregation. His brother, the Reverend François Coindre, succeeded him in the office of Superior. In 1840, the first General Chapter of the Congregation was assembled, and the opinion among the brothers was that its affairs be in the hands of a member of the congregation. Cardinal de Bonald recommended that Coindre resign, and Brother Polycarp was unanimously chosen as Superior General. He went on to reconstruct the organization of the institute, giving it stability, came to be considered the second founder of the congregation. Polycarp was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II in 1984. The congregation has only a few ordained members, the majority being lay brothers, who live in accordance with the congregation's Rule of Life. Over the years, it has changed slightly, although education of the young remains a focus of its mission; the congregation teaches in asylums, parochial schools, and in other schools and colleges.

 

 

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