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Students visit Sacred Heart sites in St. Louis and St. Charles

April 5, 2022

Students pose with the statue of Mater located at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles
Students pose with the statue of Mater located at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles

A group of 20 eighth and ninth grade students from Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, visited the greater St. Louis, Missouri, area. They soaked up everything from the Gateway Arch to historical sites significant to the foundations of the Society of the Sacred Heart, United States – Canada Province, and Sacred Heart education.

There is a breadth of Sacred Heart history in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, inextricably bound to Missouri, where now the Province’s main office and archives are located, along with the Shrine of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne and two schools within the Network of Sacred Heart Schools.

Students and educators spent a full day exploring Sacred Heart history. They started off with a prayer service and tour of the Shrine of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne in St. Charles, which sits on the campus of Academy of the Sacred Heart. The Academy in St. Charles is the first Sacred Heart school established in North America and the first free school west of the Mississippi. The Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau is the oldest continuously operating Sacred Heart school in the world, having just recently celebrated its bicentennial in 2021.

Frances Gimber, RSCJ, and students gather around documents and records related to Grand Coteau held at the archives.
Frances Gimber, RSCJ, and students gather around documents and records related to Grand Coteau held at the archives.

Margaret Munch, RSCJ, highly-regarded for her extensive historical knowledge of the area, offered the students a tour of Old Saint Ferdinand Shrine in Florissant, Missouri, where Philippine lived for several years of her life.

In true Sacred Heart school fashion, Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School welcomed students with goûter — a time-honored Sacred Heart tradition of enjoying a treat, usually cake or candy.

The group ended its day at the United States — Canada Province Archives. There, students received a tour and had the chance to peruse records and artifacts tied to their school in Grand Coteau. Among them was a letter written by Philippine to a student at the Academy who had organized a collection of clothes for children who were orphans in St. Louis.

Notably, this was the first group of students from an out-of-state Network school to visit the St. Louis and St. Charles area since pre-pandemic times. The Province staff and Religious of the Sacred Heart were delighted to have the opportunity to connect and share in the rich Sacred Heart history and traditions with Sacred Heart students and educators.

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Society of the Sacred Heart

4120 Forest Park Avenue | St. Louis, MO 63108
314.652.1500 | 314.534.6800 fax
EIN: 43-1272049

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Who We Are

Overview

Our mission

Our guiding calls

Our internationality

Our provincial leadership

Our related organizations

Our heritage and traditions

Our Mission Lived

Overview

Education

Spirituality

Overview
Spirituality Centers
Children of Mary

Justice

Overview
Stuart Center
Ethical investing
Healthy Waters

Community

Overview
Welcoming communities
RSCJ retirement communities

Young Adult Ministry

Duchesne Fund

Connect

Become an Associate

Become a Sister

Join our mailing list

Find an RSCJ

Request a prayer

Ways to give

Resources

Our spiritual library

Publications

Heart magazine

Revealing God's Love in the Midst of Uncertainty

RSCJ Blogs

Quotes from RSCJ

Our History

Overview

History of Enslavement

Key figures

Archives

Miracle at Grand Coteau

New Province Foundations

News

In Memoriam

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