By the time St. Madeleine Sophie Barat died in 1865, the Society of the Sacred had expanded to 3539 members in 89 houses. During the 30 years that followed membership nearly doubled. It was a time in which fidelity to the vision of the founder was equated with consolidation and uniformity.
Margaret Williams, rscj, views this periods as one of consolidation:
Towards the end of the nineteenth century education had become universal (in theory) in all countries where the Society was at work; standards for every social class were rising sharply. Private schools had to compete with the state schools where education was compulsory, regimented and gratis. The problem for the Society was how to keep the integrity--as uniformly as possible--of the "Sacred Heart education" now widely in demand, while meeting, independently, the requirements of national systems. 4
4. Source: Williams, M. (1978). The Society of the Sacred Heart: History of a Spirit--1800-1975. London, Darton, Longman & Todd, p. 130
