Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Heart

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The Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Heart (Italian: Suore Salesiane Sacri Cuori , official abbreviation: S.SS.CC) are a Catholic religious order founded by Filippo Smaldone in 1885 . Their main task is education and pastoral care for the deaf.

Emergence

On March 25, 1885, Blessed Filippo Smaldone, together with Lorenzo Apicelia and a group of women, founded an institution for the education of deaf children in Lecce , Italy. This is considered to be the birth of the Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

spirituality

The spirituality of the Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Heart, upon which they direct their work, is evident in the religious name. "Salesian women" refers to St. Francis de Sales . Its Christian humanism, its gentle and humane kind of pastoral care and pedagogy should be the basis of the life and work of the Salesian women. In addition, the religious order places itself under the protection of St. Francis de Sales, because he is venerated as the patron saint of the deaf. Francis de Sales, as Bishop of Geneva, gave a deaf youth named Martin religious instruction with the help of signs and gestures, giving him the opportunity to receive the sacraments of the Eucharist, Penance and Confirmation. This was all the more astonishing because in the 16th and 17th centuries it was still believed that deaf people were also mentally handicapped and that it would therefore be a waste of time to give them any kind of upbringing or education. Due to their original connection to Salesian spirituality , the sisters belong to the religious communities of the Salesian family .

The second part of the name refers to the "Sacred Hearts" of Jesus and Mary. The Sacred Heart - Heart and Mary's worship should be practiced among the sisters, because in these Sacred Hearts of love, goodness and kindness of God to all, especially to people with disabilities, best expressed.

Apostolates and dissemination

The main task of the Salesians is to care for the deaf. They work mainly in Italy and run schools, institutions and homes for the deaf there. They have also been working in Brazil since 1972, in Rwanda since 1987 , in Paraguay since 1999 and in Moldova since 2002 .

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