For the sake of a single child ... St. Madeleine Sophie Barat

St. Madeleine Sophie Barat Window

"For the sake of a single child, 

I would have founded the 

Society of the Sacred Heart"

This magnificent stained glass window, depicting St. Madeleine Sophie Barat and a child, was commissioned for the Academy of the Sacred Heart, LakeForest at the time of the building of the school’s chapel in 1924, twenty years after the building of Old Main. The window itself was one of three welcoming students to the Academy and to Barat College. Emil Frei, Sr., who was born in Bavaria and emigrated to the U.S. in 1889, designed all three windows. He founded The Emil Frei Art Glass Company, which still operates today and specializes in Munich antique glass figured style windows.  

The Madeleine Sophie Barat window is a gift to Woodlands Academy from the Barat Education Foundation. It has been installed in the Bolton Sullivan Library at Woodlands and is dedicated to the Religious of theSacred Heart of Jesus and to Barat College Alumnae/i.

Today quoting St. Madeleine Sophie above, Nat Wilburn, Head of Sacred Heart Schools Chicago, introduces the next 5-year Strategic Plan: To learn more and watch the video click here. 

The above quote was taken from The Wisdom of Madeleine Sophie Barat - Day by Day Calendar.  To order a copy of the calendar (Cost: $10.00 + postage) - click here. 

Brad Thor, HP'83 Releases Latest Thriller Hidden Order

Brad Thor, author and alum of  Hardey Prep '83

Brad Thor, Sacred Heart alum of Hardey Prep in Chicago and New York Times best selling author will release his latest thriller Hidden Order on July 9th!  Congratulations Brad! Fans can catch him doing interviews Tuesday, July 9th on Imus in The Morning, Morning Joe, and Lou Dobbs Tonight.  Also, Brad will appear in Chicago on Windy City Live on Wednesday, July 17, 2013.  For more details on Brad Thor and his books - click here.

Wondering what to read this Summer?  Check out the list of Books by Sacred Heart Alum Authors on the right side column of my blog.

Sacred Heart Schools Chicago Hosts Annual Angel Brunch for 2013 Graduates

For the past 55 years Sacred Heart Schools in Chicago has hosted an Angel Brunch. This event is one that students, as well as, parents, grandparents and family friends enjoy attending as it honors the 8th grade graduates from The Academy and Hardey Preparatory.   The annual brunch is hosted at the Chicago Hilton and all in attendance enjoy the music of The Stanley Paul Orchestra.  The Academy girls were beautifully dressed in white and the Hardey boys looked so distinguished in their dark blazers  emblazoned with the Hardey Prep crest and special custom red ties. The crest proudly worn on their blazers reads "Hardey In Hoc Signo Vinces" which means "in this sign you will conquer". 

Sheridan Road Alumni Association President Elect, Joey Yao, HP'86 welcomed everyone and as the  traditional Flag Ceremony began read each country in alphabetical order.  As is the tradition the tallest boy from the Hardey Prep graduating class of 2013 carried the United States flag up to the podium and we all sang The Star Spangled Banner accompanied by The Stanley Paul Orchestra. 

Dr. Jane M. Steinfels, ASH '92 Campus Minister gave the Invocation.  After we enjoyed a delicious lunch,  Nat Wilburn, Head of Schools introduced the Keynote Speaker and Sacred Heart Alum, Virgil Williams, HP'84.

Virgil Williams, HP '84

Keynote Speaker: Virgil Williams, is a 1984 graduate of Hardey Prep.  After graduating, he attended St. Ignatius for one year, transferring and graduating from The Latin School.  Virgil attended the University of Southern California majoring in communications and took many film classes.  He graduated from USC with a BA in communications in 1992 and set out to find work.  His credits include NBC's ER, Fox's The Chicago Code and is currently a Co-Executive Producer on CBS' Criminal Minds.  Recently Virgil sold his first screenplay, an adaptation of Hilary Jordan's bestselling novel MUDBOUND.  Virgil currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Steffanie and two daughters Isabelle (5) and Sophia (19 months).

Virgil Williams' talk centered around five key points: Commitment, Compassion, Love, Gratitude and Change.  It was very inspirational and meaningful.  Virgil's wife and two daughters were in attendance beaming with pride as he spoke so eloquently to the graduates and their families.

During the Presentation of Graduates Stephen Puricelli, Head of the Middle School read each graduates name as they came up on the stage for their official Induction into the Alumni Association.  Sheridan Road Alumni Association President, Kwaben Komai, A'85 presented each of the Academy graduates with a charm engraved with their initials and Sheridan Road Alumni Association President Elect, Joey Yao, H'86 presented each Hardey graduate with a Hardey pin.  All of the graduates received their Christmas Lamb as a keepsake as well as the International Passport.  

The International Passport given to all graduates during the Induction Ceremony is a card that identifies the holder as a member of the worldwide Sacred Heart community (AASH and AMASC). It serves as a means of introduction in the forty-four countries where the Society of the Sacred Heart serves. 

Once the Induction ceremony had concluded all sang Coeur de Jesus and each graduate went to the dance floor and danced their first dance with either their father or mother to the music of The Stanley Paul Orchestra.  A simply beautiful tradition that will long be remembered in the lives of these 79 Sacred Heart graduates.  

Betsy Stahler Fallon WA'94 Receives St. Philippine Duchesne Outstanding Alumna Award at Induction Ceremony

Betsy Stahler Fallon '94 ~  recipient of the
St. Philippine Duchesne Outstanding Alumna Award

The Induction Ceremony began with a warm welcome by Woodlands Academy Alumnae Association President, Marni Soderland Mans, '90  and then fellow WAAA Board members: Pat Colbert, '69; Kamy Moorman Daddono '80 and Molly Keating '95 distributed AASH Passports to Forty-Two young ladies who now become part of their local alumna association, as well as, National (AASH) and International (AMASC) Sacred Heart Alum Associations.

Junior Class President Anne Kotlarz, offered the following tribute "Sisterhood…. by being a part of the Woodlands community, we have been given the grandest sisterhood a young woman can have. This sisterhood started the day we walked into Woodlands freshman year, and will continue for the rest of our lives. Seniors, after today you will have the support of one of the most profound alumnae associations. We have been fortunate enough to hear from numerous alumnae in previous years and each alumna evokes awe and gives us a glimpse of what we all dream to become in the future. The alumnae are also perfect examples of how our Woodlands experiences and the Sacred Heart Network will guide us for the rest of our lives." 

Above top right photo: Past Philippine Duchesne Outstanding Alumna Award recipients M. Julie McKinley, '74 (2012) and  Helen Bruns Ryan, '50 (2009) joined Betsy in front of the Triptych of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat by Mother Margaret Mary Nealis.  

From the WAAA website - 

Betsy Stahler Fallon graduated from Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart in 1994 and went on to St. Norbert College in Wisconsin and received her Master’s Degree from St. Xavier University in 2005. Betsy lives with her husband, Sean in Chicago. She has taught for nine years in an all-boy classroom at Sheridan Road and was nominated for a Golden Apple in 2011.

Betsy has dedicated herself to Woodlands Academy by serving on the Woodlands Academy Alumnae Association Board for seven years. During her years of dedication to the Alumnae Board, Betsy organized and launched an Alumnae Networking event for young professional alums to connect in Chicago. This event gathered alums in the heart of the city in the middle of February to support each other and Woodlands. This is now an annual event which continues to reconnect Woodlands alums to their Alma Mater. Betsy’s enthusiasm to gather Woodlands alums on campus, in her home, for dinner downtown, at Conge or Reunion is an example of her love of the Sacred Heart mission. Betsy is passionate about single-sex education and speaks nationally and in Canada at workshops about the best strategies for “reaching the male brain in the classroom.”



Betsy has dedicated herself to additional philanthropic activities at Sheridan Road. She has a hands on approach to getting her students involved in service. Her attitude of “many hands make light work” allows her students to understand that though they are young they can make a world of difference. She has her first graders bring in toys they no longer play with to donate to local shelters. Her students also work together to bring in supplies and make lunches for the homeless in the Roger’s Park neighborhood of Chicago.



Betsy’s dedication and commitment to Sacred Heart specifically exemplifies the second and third of the goals and criteria of the Sacred Heart “a deep respect for intellectual values” and “a social awareness which impels to action."

Betsy currently teaches first grade at Hardey Prep.  Betsy said that she and her first grade boys begin each day with the following prayer ~

Dear God, 

Today I will do my best to...

love you,

have fun learning, 

help others, 

be a good friend 

and make wise choices.

To read more of Betsy's inspiring remarks upon receiving the Philippine Duchesne Outstanding Alumnae Award - click here

Above lower left photo:  Nancy Scott Considine, SR'44 was all smiles surrounded by five of her seven daughters and two granddaughters.

L'Esprit de Sacre Coeur ~ Tenth Anniversary

L'Esprit honored Care for Real
as their 2013 Goal Award Recipient

Saturday, February 9, 2013 Sacred Heart Schools Chicago celebrated their Tenth Anniversary of L'Esprit de Sacre Coeur with a Carnivale theme.  Nat Wilburn, Head of School introduced former Head of School, Sr. Susan Maxwell, RSCJ who was in town and gave a very beautiful blessing before dinner.  Sr. Maxwell read in part the following reflection (below) by Sr. Maureen Glavin, RSCJ and explained that the U.S. Conference of Bishops has named the month of February - the month of Philippine as part of their observance of the Year of Faith.  

Kudos go to Maria Cieciura, Michelle Krage and Claire O'Grady who did a fantastic job as Co-chairs of the event.  The night was filled with lively entertainment, a delicious dinner, and auction items that created a lot of excitement, as well as revenue for the school.

Editors Note: If you wish to read the entire collection of reflections on St. Rose Philippine Duchesne this month ~ please click here.  To see more photos of the L'Esprit Tenth Anniversary hosted at the Fairmont Hotel  ~ click here.

Reflections on St. Rose Philippine Duchesne

Philippine: Woman With A Global Heart Philippine Duchesne had what I like to call a Global Heart. Because of this, I find Philippine to be a particularly inviting model for our 21st century world. A global heart is simple enough to understand: it is a heart that has moved from lingering lovingly in an ego-centric place, through a group-centric place (my tribe, my race, my social group, etc.), to a world-centric place. A global heart has shifted the focus of interest and compassion from “me” to “us” to “all of us”! This development describes an emergence of consciousness and compassion into ever-expanding circles of whom is defined as “one’s neighbor” or into ever-expanding circles of people with whom one is capable of truly empathizing. A global heart has an inclusive, wide tent and a porous boundary! Philippine Duchesne was constantly expanding the borders and boundaries of her heart. As a child she yearned to reach out to the poor of Grenoble, as an adolescent and young nun she dreamed of working with native peoples across the ocean, and as an old woman she longed to travel to the Rocky Mountains and beyond—even to China. Philippine courageously crossed borders and boundaries that were not just geographic or political; she crossed borders and boundaries of social class, language, culture and customs. Philippine’s circle of compassion was as wide as the world. Her deep desire was to bring the Love of God, which she had come to know so intimately, to those in the world she thought were most removed from it. Philippine had a Global Heart. So what of us? How broad is the tent of our own inclusion? How wide is the circle of our compassion? How porous are the boundaries of our hearts? For whom do our hearts hurt? If the answer is too narrow or parochial, it is useful to know HOW Philippine’s Heart BECAME so GLOBAL. How? She opened her heart and spent copious amounts of time allowing God’s Love, through Christ, to fill her, to form her and, ultimately, to transform her. Her Heart thus became increasingly beautifully revelatory of Christ’s Heart. And AS Christ’s Heart, her heart encompassed the globe.  Maureen Glavin, RSCJ