The Brothers of the Sacred Heart (BSH) commenced the celebration of their 200 years of their foundation as a religious congregation with a Holy Eucharist held at the General House, Rome, Italy last May 26, 2018.
Fr. Andre Coindre founded the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in Lyons, France in 1821. Since then, the BSH had grown in number and served the young people in different countries. They came to the Philippines in 1959.
The main celebration will be on September 30, 2021. The launching of the Bicentennial Celebration was attended by around 70 brothers who were provincial superiors, provincial councilors, delegate superiors, and chapter delegates.
Representing the lay partners of the brothers all over the world were administrators from Cor Jesu College, Philippines- Dr. Alex D. Niez, Dr. Kirt Anthony R. Diaz, and Dr. Randy A. Tudy who were in Rome, Italy after their research presentations in Barcelona, Spain. The brothers who were assigned in the Philippines who participated in the launching were Bro. Edgardo Escuril and Bro. Luc Boudreault, Philippine delegate superior.
“We were blessed to be representing the lay partners of the brothers. Meeting the brothers from all over the world was an inspiration for us as administrators of Cor Jesu College and as their lay partners,” Dr. Tudy, Director of Research and Publication Office, share about his experience.
In his message delivered as a homily during the launching mass, Bro. Mark Hilton, the newly elected superior general, challenged the brothers to go back to their roots. He said “As we celebrate this extended jubilee, we remember two movements within the charism of Father Coindre- the emphatic response, the gut reaction, the passionate compassion that meant he could not sit back passively and led him to rescue the young, and his desire to give that work stability and direction, depth and purpose, through our foundation three years later.”
“These are the two sides to the same coin, and it is the same movement within each of us- we are passionately drawn to save the young, to listen to them, to work with them to transform their hearts and lives, and we do that supported by the blessings of our communal life. One aspect is a passionate desire that leads to action; the other, deep roots that provide a depth of purpose and a willingness to work through the good and bad times that may come” he added.
