The Brothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are an indigenous religious congregation founded by Rev. Fr. Adrian Caussanel SJ, a French Jesuit missionary, in 1903. The congregation was canonically erected on June 20, 1952, and recognized as an Institute of Pontifical Right on February 11, 1999. The charism of the congregation is “Good News to the Poor in the Love of the Sacred Heart.” The vision of the congregation is to realize the Kingdom of God, where equality, freedom, justice, peace, and brotherhood prevail. There are about 209 Brothers distributed over 53 communities and rendering their services in the southern and northern states of India, such as Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.
Brothers are involved in the educational apostolate, providing formal and technical education, including running special schools for the blind, mentally retarded, and physically challenged children. Brothers are also involved in varied social work apostolates, like the empowerment of tribal people and women. The mission and priorities of the congregation have been re-examined and re-oriented in light of the Church’s preferential option for the poor while giving greater thrust to ‘justice’ in all its ministries. The congregation’s initiatives take into account the concrete social realities of the regions in which its communities are placed. The forms of its endeavours are adapted to the needs of the present day with regard not only to man’s spiritual and moral circumstances but also to his social, demographic, and economic conditions. The congregation recognizes the ecclesial dimension of its communities, which are called upon to share Jesus’ life mission. Thus, social action that flows from the Gospel receives high priority in the ministry.