Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat

Madeleine Sophie Barat, RSCJ, (12 December 1779 – 25 May 1865), was a French religious sister who founded the Society of the Sacred Heart, a worldwide religious institute of educators. Pope Pius XI canonised her in 1925. Barat was born on the night of 12 December 1779, in Joigny, France, next door to a house fire at a neighbour’s home. The stress and the terror of the fire caused Sophie's mother, Madeleine Fouffé Barat (1740–1822), then pregnant with her third child, to go into labour. 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. Barat was born into a financially-comfortable family whose ancestors had lived in Joigny for generations and were proud of their roots in the region. Her father, Jacques Barat (1742–1809), was a cooper and vine-grower. Both professions were respected trades, with centuries of French culture behind them. The Barats were Jansenist Catholics, which is said to have shaped Sophie's spirituality profoundly. She was always willing to help people in need and to pray for others. Barat's older brother Louis was a serious boy and a brilliant student. Their parents encouraged his interest in studies and employed a tutor for him at home. Shortly after entering the Collège Saint-Jacques in Joigny at the age of nine, Louis decided to become a Catholic priest. In 1784, at the age of 16, Louis left Joigny to begin his studies for the priesthood at the seminary at Sens. Louis was ordained a deacon, but because he was too young to be ordained, he was obliged to return home until he was 21.