Jules Chevalier was not born great. His life was not a mystery. He was like any of us ordinary individuals. What made his life remarkable however was his vision of proclaiming God’s love to the world. He became a man with a mission. Jules Chevalier was the third child of poor parents, Jean-Charles and Louise. He was born on March 15, 1824 at Touraine, Richelieu, France. Jean-Charles was not very pious, but Jules’ mother, Louise, was a devout woman. She taught Jules how to temper the ardent and impetuous character he inherited from his father by good humor, courage and tenacity.

As a child, Jules lived a normal childhood. He had experiences that ranged from accidents to practical jokes. He was involved in parish life as an altar-boy. He wanted to enter the seminary after his first communion at the age of twelve. His parents, however, could not afford to pay for his seminary studies. So he decided to save money for this purpose by taking up a trade as an apprentice shoemaker. While doing that kind of work, he also spent his time at the presbytery helping the poor. At the same time, he also studied Latin. In his teenage years, he was temperamental and would not hesitate to hit back when provoked by lads of his age, and later by fellow seminarians. He knew he had to put this temperament under control.

When Jules was seventeen years old, a forest administrator at Vatan offered a job to Jules’ father Jean-Charles as caretaker of the forest. The administrator also promised to help Jules enter the seminary. Jules entered the minor seminary of St. Gaultier that same year and later finished his studies at the major seminary of Bourges. His seminary years were not without difficulties. He was four to five years older than his fellow seminarians. He also did not come from the same district/province as all the others. Jules was described by one of his mentors in his early seminary life in this way: “Excellent in piety, average in intelligence.” But it was during his seminary years that he started to dream, together with one of his classmates, of forming a group of missionaries.

Jules was ordained priest at the age of 27 on June 14, 1851. Three short assignments followed, at Ivoyle-Pré, Châtillon-sur-Indre, and Aubigny-sur-Nère, assisting the elderly and often sickly parish priests. In October 1854 he and Father Maugenest were appointed assistant priests in Issoudun, with Father Crozat as parish priest. In that period, Jules consulted Father Maugenest about forming a group of “Missionaries of the Sacred Heart” as they had envisioned in their seminary days. Their enthusiasm was supported by the consent of their parish priest, who saw in their eagerness and energy the hope for the parish of Issoudun. The two made a novena that would conclude on the day of papal definition of the doctrine of Mary’s Immaculate Conception on December 8, 1854. They would ask her to obtain a sign from her Son Jesus that their work was according to His will and that He would grant them the means to succeed in it. On December 8, 1854 their prayer was answered. After the Mass on that day, Fr. Chevalier received the message that an anonymous benefactor would give 20 thousand francs for a work for the spiritual good of the people of Berry district/province. The only condition was that such work would have the approval of the Archbishop of Bourges. Since then, December 8, 1854 has been regarded as the foundation day of the society.

The Archbishop, a man of discernment and prudence, was supportive to the plans of Fathers Chevalier and Maugenest. Nonetheless, he thought that more resources were needed than their trust in Providence and their Mass stipends. So Fathers Chevalier and Maugenest made another novena that would end on January 28, 1855. Exactly on that day, the two were informed that another benefactor (Vicomtesse du Quesne) promised to give a yearly amount of a thousand francs. The Cardinal was convinced that the hand of God was with the two vicars. He gave his approval.

In June 1856, a new member joined Fr. Chevalier and Fr. Maugenest. This was Fr. Charles Piperon. However, the Cardinal needed Fr. Maugenest for a different job. He assigned him as archpriest of the Cathedral parish and dean of the city of Bourges. Therefore, Fr. Maugenest had to leave the community. Fr. Chevalier was bitterly disappointed since Fr. Maugenest was the most gifted of the three; he had personal charm, eloquence, and an unassuming personality. Fr. Chevalier felt discouraged, and alone. In 1859 he showed signs of fatigue, drained of his physical energy. He received new strength and inspiration when he visited the later Saint John Vianney, who assured him that, notwithstanding all the trials still ahead, God would bless the new society that would do much good for the Church. His visit to Paray-le-Monial’s shrine of the Sacred Heart gave him further strength to continue. In August 1860 he had the privilege of meeting Pope Pius IX who praised his effort to spread the devotion to the Sacred Heart and blessed his work.

The congregation started to grow. Chevalier’s vision of the work of the MSC was broadening. The devotion to Mary under the title “Our Lady of the Sacred Heart”, the title Chevalier gave to Mary to honor her in a special way for having heard his prayers as young curate in Issoudun, was fast spreading. So did the Marian confraternity called “Confraternity of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.” Thus his motto, “May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved” got a broad meaning beyond the boundaries of the district of Berry. In 1867 there were 11 members, priests from the different dioceses of France. In 1879, twenty-five years after the foundation, there were 29 priests, 29 scholastics, and five brothers. By that time, the MSC had its first communities outside France, namely in Rome and in Watertown, USA.

In 1879, the Republicans came to power in France. They were anti-clerical and set about organizing a “humanity without God.” The government expelled all religious from their houses and exiled them from France. The blessing that came with this persecution was that the congregation began to spread in other countries: The Netherlands, Spain, England and Ireland. On September 1, 1881, the first missionaries were sent to the first foreign mission in the Vicariate of Melanesia and Micronesia, particularly New Guinea upon the request of Pope Leo XIII. The MSC further expanded to Australia in 1884, to Belgium in 1886, and to Austria in 1888.

And in 1908 the first eight MSCs from Holland arrived in the Philippines. Towards the later years of Fr. Jules’ life, the Republican government of France was not the only source of his suffering and difficulties. Misunderstandings within his young congregation and personal attacks from his own confreres added to his suffering. But even though he knew who had slandered him, he received those same confreres always with kindness and charity. He had a strong man’s meekness. Charity expressed through kindness was characteristic of his whole life. Father Chevalier died on October 21, 1907. Father Eugene Meyer, then Superior General, was with him at his deathbed. On November 15, 1907 he wrote to Father J. Vandel: “His death was very moving and beautiful. Father Chevalier seemed to die in the full strength of his faith and his will; there was no feebleness, but a serenity and a calm which inspired respect . . .”

Today, ninety-seven years later, more than 2,000 MSCs work all over the world, keeping the charism of Jules Chevalier alive, his vision of God’s love, as symbolized in the Heart of his Son. They can be found in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, China, Chuuk Islands, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, England, Fiji, France, Germany, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, U.S.A., Venezuela and Vietnam.