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Janet Erskine Stuart 1857-1914 |
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 Janet Erskine Stuart was born November 11, 1857, in Cottesmore, Putland, England. Cottesmore, with its thatched cottage roofs, leafy lanes, flowered hedges, woods, and running brooks, was a child's paradise. Janet learned to love nature as God's unspoiled handiwork, and first became aware of God through observing the countryside. From her father, the rector of an Anglican parish, Janet received her love for and knowledge of Scripture. As her faith developed, so did her mind, which was filled with perplexing questions. Through some cousins she began to find answers to these questions - answers which led her to the door of the Catholic Church. Her conversion to Roman Catholicism was difficult because Janet was very close to her father. She eventually has to leave home. Janet entered the Society of the Sacred Heart at Roehampton, England in 1882.
Stuart was a born educator. As a teacher, she sought to give personal worth to each child. Her strong common sense and balanced judgment led her to except of others only what they could give. She felt that careful observation was the key to understanding others, and so she endeavored to rain the young religious to be observant. She also insisted that all of the teachers work together on behalf of the children. She believed that each parent had the right to ask the teachers: "What have you done with my child, for my child? Show me the trace of your influence on her mind, heart, character, and conduct." She also believed, "it is not so much what we day or do that educates; what really educates is who we are." Constant growth, development, and integration were important to her. She taught her teachers that to educate was "to fit citizens for the Kingdom of Heaven."
At a time when the goal of school life has become the passing of examinations, Janet insisted that educators must "bring up children for the future, not for the present." All Janet Stuart's writings on educational were directed towards the end of finding God. Some of her writings were The Education of Catholic Girls and Highways and By-ways in the Spiritual Life. In August 1911, Janet Stuart was elected the fifth Superior General of the Society of the Sacred Heart. She held this office for three years, until her death on October 21, 1914 at Roehampton, England.
Click here to read quotes from Janet Erskine Stuart
Click here to read an article by Shirley Miller, RSCJ on Mother Stuart
Click here to read and article by Janet Reberdy, RSCJ
Click here to read a Prayer of Mother Stuart
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