There are eight Religious of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans in three communities. They get together every other Tuesday for a liturgy in one of the communities. Several members of the area are involved in spiritual accompaniment at the Sophie Barat House and Duchesne House ministries.
Volunteers at Duchesne House don't expect to be recognized publicly for their work, but it sure is fun when they are! In late July, Duchesne House staff were delighted to welcome students from several Network of Sacred Heart Schools for Rebuild NOLA 2015.
The second of six children, Lorraine Landry was born on September 25, 1932 in Patterson, Louisiana. Alongside her three sisters and twin brothers, Sister Landry was raised in the country, as her father was a sugarcane farmer. She attended public schools until college, when she went to the College of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. It was here that she became aware of her vocation.
SOPHIE BARAT HOUSE, (1719 Napoleon Ave., New Orleans, LA 70115), founded in 1994, is a ministry of the Religious of the Sacred Heart in an easily accessible neighborhood of New Orleans. Taking our inspiration from our foundress, Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat, we seek, with help of others who choose to collaborate with us, to be a conduit of God’s love for men and women. Inspired by the Constitutions of the Society of the Sacred Heart, the “community takes to heart the need to create a climate which favors experience of God, sharing among ourselves and with others”.
Melanie Guste, RSCJ, recently wrote a reflection about her personal challenge of finding God in the storm - specifically Hurricane Katrina. To read Sister Guste's article, visit the Clarion-Herald of New Orleans.
A native of New Orleans, Carol Burk has been around the Society of the Sacred Heart her entire life. She was born into a large, close-knit family on Christmas Day 1942. Growing up, she, her five sisters, and many cousins attended Sacred Heart schools in New Orleans, just as her grandmother and great-grandmother did.
Melanie A. Guste, RSCJ ’70 is a native of New Orleans, LA. One of ten children, she attended the Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans with her five sisters for 14 years (including pre-K and K) and graduated in 1970. Sister Guste served at the Academy of the Sacred Heart-Grand Coteau and at the Schools of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco. She wrote the story below to share a little about her vocation.