DAUGHTERS OF THE HEART OF MARY (Paris). - After the suppression of religious orders in France, the Jesuit Fr. Picot de la Clorivière in 1790 conceived the idea of forming a society of women who, without living in community or wearing religious habits, would in some way take the place of the suppressed congregations. The new Institute was called the "Daughters of the Heart of Mary," with the purpose of continually procuring their own sanctification through the sanctification and perfection of their neighbor. Some associates lived in community, others in their own homes.
The Institute spread in France, England, and Italy, and despite its characteristic structure, the Holy See granted it many approvals, first under Leo XII on 19 July 1825 by a rescript of the Sacred Congregation of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, then under Pius IX by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars on 29 April 1839. The constitutions were approved by Leo XIII on 8 June 1890.
At present, they have 138 houses with 3,799 members.