St Madeleine Sophie Barat (1779-1865) founder of the Sacred Heart nuns
Mount Anville School in Goatstown, South Dublin, and St Catherine's
College, Armagh are the most prominent schools in Ireland which owe
their origin to the order of St Madeleine Sophie Barat, the Sacred Heart
Sisters.
She was a brilliant religious educator from Burgundy in
France.
Educated rigorously by her brother, a priest
Born
at Joigny in Burgundy. Her father owned a small vineyard and worked as a
cooper. She was rigorously trained in virtue educated in secular and
sacred subjects by her elder brother, Louis, who was a seminarian and
later became a priest.
His curriculum included Latin, Greek, history,
physics, mathematics, Scripture, the Church fathers and doctrine.
The Society of the Sacred Heart: a community devoted to education
In
1800, under the direction of her brother and another
educator-priest, Abbé Varin, she was guided away from her intention of
becoming a Carmelite lay sister into a new community, later the Sacred
Heart Sisters, who became specialists in education.
At twenty-three she
was made superior of the community at Amiens. She held this position for
the next sixty-three years.
She bought a house in Grenoble which was
formerly owned by the Visitastion nuns and from there houses were set up
in Poitiers and at other locations in France and Belgium.
A failed "palace revolution" and then expansion
While
Sister Madeleine Sophie was away on visitation, some of the other
sisters tried to take over the order, but this was overcome and the
Society of the Sacred Heart expanded with new foundations in
Switzerland, Austria, England and America.
In America she was helped by
another French woman Philippine Duchesne (also a saint, canonised by
Pope John Paul II in 1988).
Eighty-six houses in twelve countries
A general
study-plan for all schools of the order was worked out at Paris and the
order's boarding schools became so successful that Sister Madeleine
Sophie received many requests to set up new ones.
During her lifetime,
the Society worked in eighty-six houses in twelve countries, especially
in the English-speaking world.
Last years and influence
Although she wanted to
resign, a vicaress was appointed to assist her in 1864 and the next year
she died.
She was canonised in 1925.
For the Society today see www.sofie.org .
Mount Anville School in Goatstown, South Dublin, is the most prominent school of the Society in Ireland.