Dehon, Léon Gustave, 1843-1925

Léon-Gustave Dehon, SCJ (14 March 1843 – 12 August 1925), religious name Jean of the Sacred Heart, was a French religious priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which he founded. Dehon's focus in his ecclesial life was to express his closeness with workers but he especially promoted a devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. He established the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1878, dedicated to this task and to working in the foreign and diocesan missions in France and abroad. But impediments caused the congregation's dissolution. Dehon later reformed and reestablished it in 1884, leading the congregation until his death. It expanded to North and South America in the early 20th century.