La Capelle
The founder of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, the Venerable Leo Dehon, SCJ, was born in La Capelle, France, in 1843. The house in which he was born has been recently renovated and serves the Congregation as a community in which religious from around the world can prepare for their final vows.
This past July, those preparing for final vows made the following statement:
"We, SCJs from Cameroon, France, Germany, Moldavia, Poland, Portugal, Russia, and the United States of America, who are preparing for perpetual vows with the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, came together in La Capelle and Brussels. During these days, we prayed, lived, worked, and experienced the unity of the Congregation.
These days have helped us to go back to the foundation of our Congregation, the birthplace of Father Dehon, and to experience the richness of our SCJ Mission. This experience has helped us to appreciate a sense of working together, of coming to know the richness of our SCJ spirituality, and of coming to appreciate the works of other provinces.
Through this gathering, we have come to better understand the importance of community life for our vocation. It has helped us stand in solidarity with our brothers and their ministries.
We give thanks to God for our vocation and our time together as one SCJ family. We are grateful for this life-time experience, for the efforts of all those involved in our Congregation, and for those who prayed and walked with us during this special time of our lives.
Since this experience has touched us very deeply, we want to promote more opportunities to meet together, to learn from each other, and to appreciate the unity (Sint Unum) that Father Dehon encouraged. We would like all members of our Congregation who are preparing for Perpetual Vows to participate in this program.
As SCJs from all over the world, we commit ourselves to the mission of Father Dehon, who called us to live in community, to have a preferential option for the poor, and to bring the Gospel message of love to all people."
