Saint’s Life Story

Her Birth

Madeleine was born on the night of December 12, 1779, in Joigny, Burgandy, France, next door to a house fire at a neighbor’s home. The stress and the terror of the fire caused Sophie’s mother, Madeleine Fouffé Barat, then pregnant with her third child, to go into labour. Her father, Jacques was a cooper who worked with the vineyards for whom he supplied barrels.

Older Brother Louis – Godfather

Born two months premature, Madeleine Sophie was considered so fragile that she was baptised early the next morning in Sainy Thibault Church, just a few yards from the Barat family home. Although her parents had arranged godparents in advance, there was no time to call them to the church and so at five o’clock on the morning of 13 December 1779, Louise-Sophie Cédor, a local woman on her way to early Mass, and Sophie’s older brother, Louis, stood in as her godparents.

Her Brother, Her Teacher

Naturally bright, Madeleine was rigorously trained in virtue and educated in secular and sacred subjects by her elder brother, Louis, who was a seminarian and later became a priest. His curriculum for her included Latin, Greek, history, physics, mathematics, Scripture, the Church fathers and doctrine. As Madeline grew older, her brother, Louis, fearing that she would be exposed to too much of the world, brought her to Paris, France with him. 

Foundress of the Society of the Sacred Heart

Madeleine wanted to be a Carmelite lay sister. However, she abandoned her dream of becoming a Carmelite. On November 21, 1800, at the age of 20, along with three other women living in the Paris safe-house, Madeleine took her vows as one of the first members of this new religious congregation order, marking the foundation of the Society of the Sacred Heart.  

The First School Opened in Amiens, France

The first school was opened in Amiens in northern France in September 1801. Madeleine travelled to this important provincial city in order to teach. She made her vows on June 7, 1802.  A school giving classes to the poor of the town was opened. In December 1802, at the age of twenty-three, Sophie became Superior of the Society of the Sacred Heart.

Expansion

In November 1804, Madeleine traveled to Sainte-Marie-d’en-Haut, near Grenoble, in southeastern France, to receive a community of Visitation nuns into the Society. Among them was Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, who would later introduce the Society to America. A second school was then established at Grenoble, followed by a third at Poitiers in western France. After the first establishments in France, foundations were established in North America (1818), Italy (1828), Switzerland (1830), Belgium (1834), Algiers (1841), England (1842), Ireland (1842), Spain (1846), Holland (1848), Germany (1851), South America (1853), Austria (1853) and Poland (1857). The July Revolution of 1830 banished the sisters’ novitiate for a time to Switzerland. Madeleine was glad to travel, opening schools outside as well as inside France. 

In January 1806 at the age of 23, Madeleine was elected Superior General of the Society of the Sacred Heart, a position she held for the next 65 years. In 1820, she called all of the superiors together in a council at Paris to establish a uniform course of studies for the quickly expanding network of Sacred Heart schools. The studies were to be serious, to cultivate the mind, and to create young women who would be devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and perform good deeds in God’s name.

Society of Sacred Heart Receives Papal Approval

As foundations continued to multiply, Madeleine saw the need for a greater degree of unity and sought the approval of the Vatican in Rome. In 1826, the Society of the Sacred Heart received its approval from Pope Leo XII. Madeleine  led a life of extraordinary laboriousness as she organized the life and work of an ever-growing congregation, which became one of the best-known and most efficient educational institutes under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church.

Her Death

Madeleine died at the general motherhouse in Paris, France on May 25, 1865. During her 65-year leadership, the Society of the Sacred Heart grew to include more than 3,500 members educating women in over four continents, North America, South America, Europe and Africa, in over a 100 houses. Today, her society extends to 41 countries. No authentic portrait of Madeleine exists from her lifetime, since she refused to allow her photograph to be taken.

Born:                   December 12, 1779 in Joigny, Burgandy, France

Died:                   May 25, 1865, in age 85 in Paris, France

Beatified:           May 24, 1908 by Pope Pius X

Canonized:        May 24, 1925 by Pope Pius XI

Feast Day:         May 25

Patron Saint:    Educators; Teachers

Source:

• • • CatholicSaints.Info » Saint Madeline Sophie Barat
      
    • CatholicSaints.Info » Saints of the Day – Madeleine (Mary Magdalen) Sophie Barat By Katherine I Rabenstein
      
    • Saint of the Day – 25 May – St Madeleine Sophie Barat RSCJ (1779-1865) V – AnaStpaul
    • Madeleine Sophie Barat – Wikipedia

Prayers

Video Link

SAINT OF THE DAY | Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat – YouTube (Holy Fatima)

Saint Madeline Sophie Barat Biography and Prayer – YouTube (Saint Benedict Productions)