History :

Fr. Chevalier founded the Congregations of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at Issoudun. He was deeply interested in the evangelization of the Berry region. He was first parochial vicar at Issoudun at the time of the foundation (December 8, 1854) and later pastor as well as superior of the MSC. Bishop de la Tour d'Auvergne, archbishop of Bourges at the time, having forseen the difficulty that a future expulsion of relgious would bring, took the precaution of appointing Fr. Chevalier pastor of Issoudun. This way Fr. Chevalier was able to remain in Issoudun at the time of the expulsions, in virtue of his office of pastor. He was a much loved pastor who contributed to the renewal of St. Cyr parish.

Today:

An MSC community lives at the presbytery in Issoudun. It is in charge of a huge area of the sector known as the Champagne Berichonne: 32 villages with 30 churches. Since the Diocesan Synod (1990), the area has been divided into three canonical parishes: the parish of St. Cyr for the city of Issoudun and the parishes of St. Dennis and St. Martin for the surrounding villages. In each village Christian families mark the presence of the Catholic Church and they have taken up the slack left by the smaller number of priests. This is the pattern followed in all the dioceses of France. The parish is no longer the same as the village. The Diocese of Bourges, for example, that used to have some 700 parishes, has about one hundred in its new pastoral organization. The MSC community is helped by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and lay people who take an active part in the pastoral life of the parish. On the occasion of the last diocesan synod, Bishop Pierre PLATEAU, then Archbishop of Bourges, was pleased to say in reference to the missionary work of Fr. Jules Chevalier: "let us not place limits on the area of mission." This was but another way of expressing the founder's motto: "May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved." Thus we can say that St. Cyr parish is our first foundation place and that the dream dirst came to be realised in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart where Fr. Chevalier is buried in the crypt. Today the two MSC communities of the parish and the Basilica work together even if one is concerned more with local residents (the people of Berry) and the other with visitors (the pilgrims who spend more or less time at the shrine).

The leap of faith of Fr. CHEVALIER :

Fr. Jules Chevalier wanted to be named the pastor of Issoudun because it was the most de-Christianized city of France. When he arrived at Issoudun there was but one man in the parish who made his Easter duty. The situation is better today but the percentage of those who practice their faith remains low, about 5%. The local population is still greatly influenced by the aticlericalism of the 19th century.

How does this inspire us today ?

At the beginning of the 21st century, are our parishes true mission "fields" for us?