Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary: Appollonie Cure

Several months after the death of her husband, Appollonie Cure made the decision to give her financial resources to Father Gailhac and join him in his endeavors. By February 1849, she received the permission of Bishop Charles Thibault to help Father Gailhac and begin her life in service to others.

Life as Mother Superior was not easy for her. She missed her husband at the same time she was developing her new identity as a religious. She had no experience with children and came from a high economic status in society, so working with prostitutes and people in a lower economic status was challenging for her. Also challenging was working with other women during the formation of the religious order who were also not of the same class as she although she brought two of her companions, Eulalie Vidal and Rosalie Gibbal with her. Eventually five other women would join these women.

The name of this group of women would be the Congregation of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. Father Gailhac felt strongly that the purpose of the order should be the education of youth. After several months of formation training the women were officially given their blue habits and at the age of 41 Appollonie, as foundress, would now be known as Mother Saint Jean Cure.

On February 24, 1849, Appollonie moved to the Good Shepherd where she and five companions became the first members of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. As first superior, Appollonie, now known as Mother St. Jean worked closely with Father Gailhac and governed the Institute until her death. During her time as superior, the shelter for women was transformed into a preservation for young girls at risk, and a boarding school for girls was begun. As the young Institute took on a variety of works, Mother St. Jean emphasized the need to strengthen unity in the midst of this diversity. During her lifetime, the Institute grew to 72 religious (60 French and 12 Irish). An important moment for the new Institute was the granting of legal status in 1856 by decree of the Emperor Napoleon.  

Mother St. Jean Pelissier Cure died on March 4, 1869.