Exactly 100 years ago, on August 12, 1925, Father Leo Dehon, founder of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, entered the Father’s House.
Today, on the anniversary of Father Degon's death, we, as the Heartland Missionary Family, give special thanks for his life, vocation and charism, from which we draw fully in our missionary service.
The Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (also known as Dehonians) is today a medium-sized religious family with a global reach. It numbers around 2,200 members worldwide, organized into 19 provinces across all continents. Of these, approximately 1,560 are priests, with the remainder comprising about 40 religious brothers and nearly 600 seminarians preparing for the priesthood. The Polish Province of the SCJ is among the largest, with about 200 members, and actively sends missionaries to many countries.
Dehonian missionaries from Poland are currently serving in 22 countries around the world. Their presence is a response to the congregation's charism: to go "wherever the love of the Heart of Jesus is not known or loved."
Since its founding in 1878, more than 3,500 SCJs (Dehonians) around the world have entered eternal life, 47 of whom suffered martyrdom in the course of their missionary and pastoral service in Africa, Asia, and Europe.
