MSC stands for Missionarii Sacratissimi Cordis which
is Latin for Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. MSC
women and men believe that nothing is more important
than the saving power of God's love, as revealed
in the compassionate Heart of Christ. Knowing that
only God's love can bring peace and reconciliation
to the world, MSC women and men battle selfishness
and indifference in our world through their charism
of the Heart which impels them to be the Heart of
God on earth.
The founding of the Congregation and the charism
of the Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred 
Heart
of Jesus is attributed to Fr. Hubert Linckens, MSC
and to his spiritual mentor Fr. Julius Chevalier,
MSC. Fr. Linckens’ deep love of the Sacred
Heart, impressed upon him by Fr. Chevalier, instilled
in him a strong desire to make this Heart known
and loved everywhere. Such charism lead the MSC
Fathers to mission in the South Pacific, and by
1898, acting upon pleas for German Sisters in the
Marshall Islands and New Britain, Fr. Linckens obtained
all the necessary permissions to found the Congregation
of Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart.
MSC
Sisters in Mission
Assigned to the task of guiding and directing the
foundation of this new congregation of sisters was
Sr. Servatia, a Sister of Divine Providence. Within
one year’s time, Sr. Servatia, her
companion Sr. Severine and 26 postulants dedicated
their first convent in Hiltrup, Germany. In March
of 1901, the first profession of temporary vows
took place, and by 1902, a pioneer group of Missionary
Sister of the Most Sacred Heart set sail for the
Marshall Islands and New Britain. By 1904, 10 more
Sisters had arrived in mission to the South Pacific.
During 1904, two events indelibly marked the MSC
Sisters’ Congregation; death and martyrdom.
First, Sr. Servatia died and left the Sisters with
the directive to “love one another tenderly.”
Second, five young MSC Sisters, four MSC priests
and brothers, and one Trappist died at the hands
of angry natives in the Baining Mountains of New
Britain. When Fr. Rascher repeatedly refused to
condone the adultery of an influential man, To Maria,
Maria gathered a band of natives and planned and
executed the brutal massacre.
The martyrdom of the five Sisters served to strengthen
the young community's resolve to be the Heart of
God on earth. Volunteers quickly offered themselves
as replacements, and in November of 1904, a relief
expedition set out for the South Seas and the MSC
Sisters continued to serve the people of New Britain.
In fact, the number of MSC candidates swelled so
dramatically following the martyrdom that Fr. Linckens
needed to find a new field for their missionary
work.
In 1906 the MSC Sisters installed their first superior
general, Sr. Franziska Fleige. Sr. Franziska and
Fr. Linckens recognized the United States and its
growing number of needy immigrants as a promising
environment for missionary labor. On August 1, 1908,
eight pioneering Sisters left for America and they
first stepped on American soil on August 11, 1908.
Fr. Linckens’ inspired the young Sisters saying,
“This country is now your country, your homeland.
Its people must become your people; its language,
your language; its customs, your customs. Look ahead!”
These eight MSC Sisters began their mission in the
U.S. by teaching the children of Slovak immigrants
who were working in the coal mines of Pennsylvania.
