The Sacred Heart Congregation for women is a community of love which took shape in the Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala by the infinite providence of God. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Church in Kerala felt the lack of religious congregation for women which provided opportunity for the common for a dedicated life and for the care of the orphans. The miserable conditions of neglected children and the aged destitute touched Rev. Fr. Mathew Kadalikattil who was the assistant vicar of the Cathedral, Pala during the first decade of the 20th century. He was a fervent devotee of the sacred heart of Jesus and a man of compassionate heart. He spent days and nights before the Blessed Sacrament. Seeking his divine will and a divine inspiration that came to him marked the beginning of the Sacred Heart Congregation. The congregation was founded on 1 January 1911 with four members, in a temporacy modest house at Pala by the Servant of God Fr. Mathew Kadalikattil. The aim of the Congregation is that the members should live radically the discipleship of Jesus, experiencing deeply the compassionate love of God the Father, manifested through the Sacred Heart of Jesus and sharing it with others especially the poor and afflicted.

At first the communities in different eparchies considered themselves autonomous. In 1974 the mother generals of these independent units of Pala, Changanassery and Kothamangalam inspired by the spirit of Vatican II merged under the Superior Generals. Proclamation of unification was made on 1 August 1974. On 11 March 1976 our Congregation was raised to the status of ?Juris Pontifices? by the Holy See. The growth of the Congregation continued steadily. Today the Congregation has 11 Provinces and one Vice province with 3600 Sisters and 450 houses in various parts of the world.

Our apostolate covers care of the destitute, health care, home mission, education, social service, orphanage, schools for the mentally retarded home for the aged and disabled, evangelization, press and publications. We also work in the parish work like catechism and liturgical training.

The Generelate is situated in Manganam, Kottayam. The cause of beautification of Servant of God Fr. Mathew Kadalikattil is in progress.