What's in a name? Or initials for that matter?

The Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who run Sacred Heart Villa School in Lewiston, have changed the initials that identify their order. The letters SCGR now follow the names of the 10 sisters that serve in the Diocese of Buffalo. The letters spell out Sacro Cuore Gesu Ragusa, which is Italian for Sacred Heart Jesus, plus the city in which the order was founded.    

The change comes from an updating of the order's constitution. Details are still being worked on at the Vatican, but Sister Ambrogia Alderuccio, SCGR, local superior of the order, was told to begin using the initials in the Diocese of Buffalo.

It could be three years before the order's constitution is reviewed.

"We're still working on them. They gave us a copy of it, but we are reading it. When they have the chapter (meeting) in three years, we will discuss the whole thing, and that will be final," said Sister Ambrogia.

The Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a pontifical congregation founded on May 9, 1889, in Ragusa, Italy, by blessed Maria Schinina. Following the command of Jesus to

"Obey my ministers," she rejected worldly pleasures and dedicated herself in service to the destitute, the homeless and the unwanted. The Sacred heart of Jesus symbolizes the purpose of this order - love.

In the United States, the sisters serve in educating all levels of youth in school and in pastoral works. Teaching is the primary function of the sisters in Lewiston, North Haven, Conn., and Canada

Young women interested in consecrating themselves to the service of God spend their period of formation at the novitiate, also at Sacred Heart Villa.

Since 1985, the sisters have continued the mission of educating the young children at Sacred Heart Villa School. The congregation has grown to over 650 sisters worldwide and has seen its foundress, Maria Schinina, beatified on Nov. 4, 1990.