Enrico Quattrini, Statue de Madeleine-Sophie Barat (1934)
dans la nef de Saint-Pierre de Rome
Sainte Madeleine-Sophie
Barat
Fondatrice de l'Institut
des religieuses du Sacré-Coeur (+ 1865)
Son père était un petit vigneron de la Bourgogne à Joigny. Elle reçut sa formation de son frère prêtre qui avait onze ans de plus qu'elle et qui était un homme étrange. Il lui apprit à fond le grec et le latin, ne lui passait rien, la giflant à l'occasion, lui interdisant toute effusion du cœur et toute récréation. A vingt ans, elle arrive à Paris. Heureusement, elle y rencontre un père jésuite, le père Varin qui la sauve en devenant son père spirituel. Il rêvait d'un institut voué à l'éducation chrétienne des jeunes filles du "monde", de la noblesse et des bourgeois enrichis. Avec elle, dès l'année suivante, les Dames du Sacré-Cœur comme il les appela, eurent un pensionnat à Amiens en Picardie. En 1815, l'institut reçut ses constitutions, calquées sur celles des jésuites. En 1850, l'institut possédait soixante-cinq maisons en France et à l'étranger. C'était une éducatrice à qui il suffisait de faire le contraire de ce qu'elle avait subi de son frère: "épanouir et libérer les âmes au lieu de les tyranniser et corseter".
Elle a été canonisée par Pie XI en 1925.
Illustration - Site des Religieuses du Sacré-Cœur de Jésus
Voir aussi: Qui était sainte Madeleine Sophie Barat? 1779-1865 - diocèse de Sens-Auxerre
Une Bourguignonne - Une femme courageuse, à la foi vive, à la culture peu commune, ouverte aux besoins de son temps - fondatrice de la Société du Sacré-Cœur...
et "...Madeleine-Sophie passe son temps sur les routes pour fonder et visiter..." Sainte Madeleine-Sophie Barat - diocèse de Paris
À Paris, en 1865, sainte Madeleine-Sophie Barat, vierge, qui fonda la Société
du Sacré-Cœur de Jésus et travailla beaucoup pour la formation chrétienne des
jeunes filles.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1216/Sainte-Madeleine-Sophie-Barat.html
Quand tout nous abandonne, abandonnons tout à Dieu.
Maeleine-Sophie Barat.
Sainte Madeleine-Sophie
Barat
Madeleine-Sophie Barat,
fille de pauvres paysans, naquit à Joigny le 13 décembre 1779. De santé
fragile, elle montra dès l'enfance une grande volonté et un fort désir de
s'instruire. Après sa première Communion (1789), sous la conduite de son frère
Louis, futur jésuite, elle commença d'étudier le latin, le grec et quelques
langues vivantes. Louis, diacre du diocèse de Sens, régent au collège de
Joigny, prête le serment à la Constitution Civile du Clergé qu'il rétractera en
1792, ce qui lui valut de faire partie des réfractaires et d'être emprisonné.
Libéré à la chute de Robespierre, il est ordonné prêtre en 1795 et décide
d'aller exercer le saint ministère à Paris où il emmène sa sœur afin qu'elle
reçoive une éducation supérieure et théologique sous sa conduite rigoureuse. Il
confie la direction spirituelle de sa sœur à l'abbé Philibert de Bruillard, son
compatriote, qui deviendra (1826) évêque de Grenoble. Madeleine-Sophie songe à
se faire carmélite, mais la France n'a plus de Carmel et, le temps de la
réflexion, elle retourne chez ses parents.
Louis, veut rallier
quelques prêtres qui, pendant l'émigration, se sont regroupés sous la règle de
Saint Ignace, les Prêtres de la Foi . Or le supérieur des trois qui arrivent
alors à Paris (1800), le P. Joseph Varin, songe à former des éducatrices pour
les jeunes filles et comme Louis Barat est devenu l'auxiliaire du P. Varin,
Madeleine-Sophie est pressentie pour cette tâche. Le 21 novembre 1800, la
Société des Dames du Sacré-Cœur est fondée et le P. Varin reçoit les promesses
des trois premières dames.
En octobre 1801 la première maison est fondée à Amiens sous la direction de Madeleine-Sophie Barat et les Dames reçoivent le nom de Dames de la Foi puis, de la police impériale celui de Dames de l'Intruction Chrétienne.
La maladie entre dans le
corps de Madeleine-Sophie Barat et ne la quittera plus désormais, ce qui ne
l'empèche pas de fonder à Grenoble, de recevoir la bénédiction de Pie VII à
Lyon, d'être nommée Supérieure Générale et de fonder à Cugnières, Niort,
Poitiers, encouragée par l'autorité impériale. Le retour des Bourbons donna
encore plus de vigueur à l'institut qui reçu l'approbation de ses Constitutions
en 1816 de la main de Pie VII. Mme. Duchesne s'embarque pour l'Amérique étendre
les fondations tandis qu'en France naissent les maisons de Chambéry, Lyon,
Bordeaux, Le Mans, Autun, Besaçon, et, aussi, en Italie, Rome et Turin. La
Monarchie de Juillet amène les temps difficiles et l'opposition épiscopale,
mais avec le ferme soutien de Rome ; à partir de 1843 les fondations se
multiplient en France, en Irlande, en Angleterre, en Belgique, en Autriche, en
Suisse, en Espagne, aux Amériques En 1864, la Congrégation comprenait 3500
religieuses et 86 maisons. Madeleine-Sophie Barat mourut à Paris, le jour de
l'Ascension, 25 mai 1865. La dernière pensée de Mère Barat, consignée dans son
testament, résume bien toute sa vie : L'amour du Cœur de Jésus, pour le salut
des âmes, selon le but de notre vocation.
Sa cause de canonisation
introduite en 1879, elle fut béatifiée par Pie X en 1908 et canonisée par Pie
XI le 24 mai 1925.
Sainte Madeleine-Sophie Barat
Vierge et fondatrice de l’Institut : « Sœurs du Sacré-Cœur »
|
M |
adeleine-Sophie naît
le 13 décembre 1779, dans une famille d'artisans tonneliers, elle était la
dernière de trois enfants. Louis, l'aîné, né en 1768, se destinait à l'Église.
Ses projets furent différés par la Révolution. Après bien des difficultés
(incarcéré à Paris, il échappa par miracle à la guillotine, grâce à la chute de
Robespierre), il fut ordonné prêtre clandestinement en septembre 1795 et entra
dans la Compagnie de Jésus, lorsque celle-ci fut rétablie sous la Restauration.
La seconde, Marie-Louise, se maria en 1793 : elle eut dix enfants.
Grâce à sa mère, qui
s'intéressait aux modes culturelles du temps, mais surtout à son frère Louis
qui, en attendant d'être ordonné prêtre, était professeur au collège de Joigny,
Sophie reçut une éducation exceptionnelle pour une jeune fille de son temps.
Elle fut initiée aux matières profanes et religieuses et apprit les langues
anciennes et modernes. Commencée à Joigny, sa formation se poursuivit, sous la
direction de Louis, à Paris, où elle arriva à l'automne de 1795.
Madeleine-Sophie Barat fut profondément marquée par la Révolution, en qui elle vit toujours un régime qui, en désorganisant puis en interdisant le culte, en entravant l'enseignement de la foi et en pourchassant les prêtres, avait voulu attenter aux droits de Dieu.
Sous le Directoire, Sophie Barat commença, dans la prière, à envisager une
congrégation féminine nouvelle qui, pour honorer le Cœur du Christ et pour
diffuser l'amour de Dieu, se consacrerait à l'éducation des jeunes filles. Ce
projet prit forme grâce au Père Varin que son frère Louis lui fit rencontrer
vers 1800. Joseph Varin lui parla, d'une congrégation récemment fondée,
les Dilette di Jesu, qui avait des objectifs proche des siens.
Le 21 novembre 1800, Sophie Barat prononça à Paris ses premiers vœux. L'année suivante, l'activité apostolique du nouvel institut démarra grâce à l'établissement, à Amiens, d'un premier pensionnat de jeunes filles.
Dès 1804, Madeleine-Sophie Barat avait été désignée comme supérieure des Dames de l'Instruction Chrétienne, nom qui fut celui de la congrégation jusqu'en 1815, puisqu'il était impossible de faire référence au Sacré-Cœur, compris, depuis les guerres de Vendée, comme un symbole contre-révolutionnaire.
La nouvelle congrégation commençant à essaimer, Sophie Barat fut, en 1806,
nommée Supérieure Générale, charge qu'elle devait conserver jusqu'à sa mort.
Désormais, l'histoire de Madeleine Sophie se confond avec celle de sa
congrégation.
La fondatrice voyage à
travers la France, puis l'Europe. Elle fonde de nouvelles communautés dès 1818.
Elle définit les activités par lesquelles sa congrégation va se manifester dans
le monde pour donner corps au désir de découvrir et manifester l'amour du Cœur
du Christ. Des pensionnats, des écoles gratuites sont ouverts. Puis des
établissements divers adaptés aux besoins du temps ou des sociétés locales sont
créés par les Religieuses du Sacré-Cœur. La Mère Barat organise aussi l'œuvre
des ‘retraites’, offrant un accompagnement spirituel à des femmes mariées ou
non. Pendant toute sa vie, elle mobilise les énergies, soutient les efforts des
religieuses par une correspondance géante.
Madeleine-Sophie
Barat qui, dans son adolescence, avait rêvé de la vie du Carmel, sut
concilier, au cours de sa longue vie, action et contemplation. Elle a créé une vie
apostolique nouvelle fondée sur l'intériorité et l'union au Cœur de Jésus.
Elle meurt à Paris, dans
la maison mère du Boulevard des Invalides, le 25 mai 1865, en la fête de
l'Ascension : quatre-vingt dix-huit maisons étaient alors nées en France
et à l’étranger.
Madeleine-Sophie
Barat a été béatifiée, le 24 mai 1908, par saint Pie X (Giuseppe
Melchiorre Sarto, 1903-1914), puis canonisée, le 24 mai 1925, par Pie
XI (Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, 1922-1939).
Pour un approfondissement :
>>> Les
Religieuses du Sacré-Coeur de Jésus
SOURCE : https://levangileauquotidien.org/FR/display-saint/96d0ff1f-d04b-48e2-bbb0-6753f1017ad5
Madeleine-Sophie Barat. Broderie brodée à Paris par Madeleine-Sophie et envoyée à sa mère
Sainte Madeleine Sophie Barat (1779-1865)
Qui était sainte Madeleine Sophie Barat ?
Une Bourguigonne.
Née le 13 décembre 1779 à
Joigny, dans l’Yonne, au sein d’une famille d’artisans tonneliers, elle était
la dernière de trois enfants. Louis, l’aîné, né en 1768, se destinait à la
prêtrise. Ses projets furent différés par la Révolution. Ordonné
clandestinement en septembre 1795, il entra dans la Compagnie de Jésus lorsque
celle-ci fut rétablie sous la Restauration. La seconde, Marie-Louise, mariée en
1793, eut dix enfants. Cette branche s’est éteinte.
Une femme à la foi vive.
La famille Barat était,
comme beaucoup d’autres à Joigny, janséniste. Sous l’influence de Louis, à
l’extrême fin du règne de Louis XVI, elle fut gagnée au culte du Sacré Cœur.
Sophie fut profondément marquée par la Révolution en qui elle vit toujours un
régime qui avait voulu attenter aux droits de Dieu. Elle souffrit, comme tous
les siens, du sort réservé à son frère. Car, après avoir rétracté son serment
de fidélité à la Constitution Civile du Clergé en 1792, Louis fut incarcéré à
Paris et échappa à la guillotine grâce à la chute de Robespierre.
Une femme à la culture
peu commune.
Grâce à sa mère qui
s’intéressait aux modes culturelles du temps et à son frère Louis qui était
professeur au collège de Joigny, Sophie reçut une éducation exceptionnelle.
Elle apprit les langues anciennes et modernes et fut initiée aux matières
religieuses et profanes, y compris aux sciences. Commencée dans sa ville
natale, sa formation se poursuivit, sous la férule de Louis, à Paris, où elle
arriva à l’automne de 1795.
La fondatrice de la
Société du Sacré-Cœur.
Sous le Directoire,
Sophie Barat commença à envisager, dans la prière, une congrégation féminine
nouvelle qui, pour honorer le Cœur du Christ et faire connaître l’amour de
Dieu, se consacrerait à l’éducation des jeunes filles. Ce projet prit forme en
1800 grâce à la rencontre qu’elle fit du Père Joseph Varin, qui avait des
objectifs proches des siens. Père du Sacré-Cœur, il entra par la suite dans la
Compagnie de Jésus. Le 21 novembre 1800, Sophie fit à Paris, dans le quartier
du Marais, son premier engagement religieux. L’année suivante, l’activité apostolique
du nouvel institut démarra à Amiens, grâce à l’établissement d’un pensionnat de
jeunes filles et d’une école pour les pauvres. En 1804, Sophie Barat fut nommée
supérieure des Dames de l’Instruction Chrétienne, nom qui fut celui de la
congrégation jusqu’en 1815, la référence au Sacré Cœur, compris comme un
symbole contre-révolutionnaire, étant impossible depuis les guerres de Vendée.
L’institut commençant à essaimer, Sophie Barat en fut nommée en 1806 supérieure
générale, charge qu’elle devait conserver jusqu’à sa mort. Désormais son
histoire se confond avec celle de sa congrégation. Dès 1818, la Société du
Sacré-Cœur fonde hors de France. Philippine Duchesne, canonisée en juillet
1988, part alors pour les Etats-Unis. La même année, la congrégation est appelée
dans le royaume de Piémont, puis peu après à Rome, par le Pape.
Une femme courageuse.
La Mère Barat s’est
montrée capable d’affronter l’adversité. Des révolutions ou l’apparition de
régimes libéraux en Italie et en Suisse ont provoqué l’expulsion des
Religieuses du Sacré-Cœur. Au sein de sa congrégation, la fondatrice a été aux
prises avec une contestation qui s’est surtout manifestée au cours du premier
Empire puis entre 1839 et 1845. Dans les deux cas, les dissensions ont porté
sur la spiritualité du Sacré Cœur et la forme de vie religieuse que la Mère
Barat avait voulu instaurer. Avec simplicité et humilité, Madeleine Sophie
Barat a fait face, tenant dans les épreuves grâce à la prière, sachant à la
fois pardonner et maintenir son œuvre dans l’esprit des origines.
Une femme ouverte aux
besoins de son temps.
Attentive à y répondre,
la fondatrice du Sacré Cœur a souhaité donner aux femmes un rôle de premier
plan dans la reconstitution du tissu social. Elle a aussi révélé de
remarquables qualités relationnelles, manifestant de l’aisance aussi bien avec
les grands de ce monde qu’avec les élèves et leurs parents. Les plus pauvres
savaient trouver auprès d’elle accueil et soutien. Souhaitant mettre en œuvre
une éducation d’excellence, elle a créé des établissements divers adaptés aux
besoins des sociétés locales. Elle organisa aussi l’œuvre des retraites,
offrant aux femmes un accompagnement spirituel. Elle mobilisa les énergies et
soutint les efforts des religieuses par ses voyages et une correspondance géante.
Cette femme qui, dans son adolescence, avait rêvé d’entrer au Carmel, sut
concilier action et contemplation. Elle créa une vie apostolique nouvelle
fondée sur l’intériorité et l’union au Cœur de Jésus.
Madeleine Sophie Barat
mourut à Paris, dans la maison-mère du 33 Boulevard des Invalides, le 25 mai
1865, en la fête de l’Ascension. Elle fut enterrée à Conflans (commune de
Charenton). En 1904, à cause des menaces de fermeture que faisait peser sur les
maisons françaises du Sacré-Cœur la politique anticléricale d’Emile Combes, son
corps fut transféré en Belgique. Madeleine Sophie Barat fut béatifiée en 1908
et canonisée en 1925. La châsse qui contient ses restes sera installée le 19
juin 2009 dans l’église de Saint-François Xavier, sur le territoire de la
paroisse dont dépendait la maison-mère de la Société du Sacré-Cœur jusqu’en
1907.
Le devenir d’une œuvre.
Après la mort de sa
fondatrice, la Société du Sacré-Cœur s’est considérablement développée
puisqu’elle est actuellement présente dans plus de quarante pays sur les cinq
continents. Le nombre des Religieuses du Sacré-Cœur était de 3.539 en 1865 ; il
avait doublé un siècle plus tard. L’expansion de la congrégation à travers le
monde s’est développée à partir du début du XXe siècle, lorsque les religieuses
quittèrent la France au moment des « expulsions ». Actuellement les Religieuses
du Sacré-Cœur sont environ 3.000. Tirant profit des opportunités qu’offraient
les législations nationales, après la première guerre mondiale, les Religieuses
du Sacré-Cœur diversifièrent leurs œuvres éducatives, ouvrant des collèges
universitaires aux Etats-Unis, en Australie, en Nouvelle-Zélande et en Chine.
Après le concile de Vatican II, la Société du Sacré-Cœur, tout en conservant
son charisme, a étendu son champ apostolique. L’éducation est désormais
pratiquée grâce à des activités professionnelles diverses. Les Religieuses du
Sacré-Cœur sont actuellement présentes dans des écoles et des universités, dans
des centres de soins, dans des aumôneries d’étudiants ou d’hôpitaux, dans des
mouvements d’Eglise et des associations éducatives, dans des ONG et des
paroisses. Elles vivent dans les villes, dans des villages, dans des quartiers
populaires et des bidonvilles, en relation avec des adultes et des jeunes de
milieux sociaux variés, d’âges, de religions et de cultures différents. Ces
activités sont toujours destinées à découvrir et à manifester l’amour du Cœur
du Christ et à partager la tendresse et la miséricorde de Dieu.
Monique Luirard, rscj
Professeur émérite
* Aujourd’hui, la Société
du Sacré Coeur compte des religieuses présentes dans 45 pays.
SOURCE : http://www.catholique-sens-auxerre.cef.fr/spip1.9/Sainte-Madeleine-Sophie-Barat.html
Sainte Madeleine-Sophie
Barat (1779-1865)
Fête le 25 mai (sa fête
liturgique a été fixée au 25 mai, anniversaire de son décès)
Née à Joigny, dans
l’Yonne, elle arrive à Paris à l’automne 1795, sous le Directoire, quand
l’Église de France est en phase de reconstruction.
Sous l’inspiration d’un
de ses directeurs de conscience, le père Joseph Varin, qui travaille au
rétablissement de la Compagnie de Jésus et veut créer son homologue féminin,
Madeleine-Sophie prononce avec trois compagnes, le 21 novembre 1800, sa
consécration au Sacré-Cœur. Douée de remarquables qualités éducatives, elle est
pendant 63 ans la mère supérieure de la Société du Sacré-Cœur de Jésus destinée
à l’éducation des jeunes filles du grand monde.
La Société du Sacré-Cœur
est la première de ces nombreuses fondations apostoliques, nées à l’aube du
XIXe siècle, reconnues en France en vertu de leur utilité reconnue.
Madeleine-Sophie passe
son temps sur les routes pour fonder et visiter.
Jusqu’à sa mort,
quatre-vingt dix-huit maisons sont nées en France et à l’étranger. Le corps de
Madeleine-Sophie, rapatrié de Belgique en juin 2009, est conservé dans une
châsse en l’église Saint-François-Xavier, 39 boulevard des Invalides, Paris 7e.
Elle a été canonisée par
Pie XI en 1925.
Musée Rodin et lycée
Victor-Duruy
77, rue de Varenne, 7e
arr. - M° Varenne
39, boulevard des
Invalides, 7e arr. - M° Varenne
L’établissement parisien
fondé en 1816 s’installe à l’hôtel Biron, 77, rue de Varenne en 1820. Puis en
1859, est inauguré le bâtiment du boulevard des Invalides pour servir de maison
mère. Après l’expulsion de 1907, l’hôtel devient le musée Rodin et les
bâtiments du XIXe siècle sont affectés au lycée Victor-Duruy.
Église Saint-Médard
141, rue Mouffetard, 5e
arr. - M° Censier Daubenton
Au bas de la rue
Mouffetard, près de Saint-Médard, se trouve le passage des Postes où
Madeleine-Sophie Barat installe une maison et un pensionnat en 1816, auprès de
la maison des Jésuites. C’est également de ce lieu qu’elle envoie en 1818 sa
première missionnaire en Amérique du Nord : sainte Philippine Duchesne.
Église
Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre
1, rue Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre,
5e arr. - M° Saint-Michel
C’est tout près de cette
église qu’en 1795 Madeleine-Sophie Barat, arrivant en bateau de sa ville natale
de Bourgogne, s’installe à Paris.
Deux ouvrages :
Monique LUIRARD,
Madeleine-Sophie Barat (1779-1865). Une éducatrice au cœur du monde, au cœur du
Christ, éditions Nouvelle Cité, coll. Historiques, Montrouge, 1999, 16 € 77.
Bernard RICHARD, Madeleine-Sophie
Barat, sainte de Joigny (Yonne) et sa communauté dans le monde, éditions La
Gazette 89, Égriselles-le-Bocage, 2009, 6 € (en vente chez Volume 88, 88 boulevard
de Grenelle, Paris, XVe).
SOURCE : http://www.paris.catholique.fr/741-Sainte-Madeleine-Sophie-Barat.html
Conférence de 1858
Pour la raison même de
son Immaculée Conception, Marie eut dès le commencement de son existence, une
parfaite connaissance de Dieu. Cette connaissance enflammant de plus en plus
l'ardeur de l'amour qui la consumait, lui fit accepter d'avance tous les sacrifices
que Dieu lui demanda, surtout au moment où, alors qu'elle lui offrait son Divin
Fils au Temple, le vieillard Siméon lui fit une douloureuse prédiction. Marie
comprit alors à quoi elle était appelée et l'amour dont elle aimait son Dieu
lui fit aussi aimer les hommes qui lui coûtaient si cher. Dès lors et
particulièrement au moment où son Divin Fils lui présenta dans la personne de
saint Jean, tous les hommes, Marie, debout sous la Croix, se montra
véritablement notre co-rédemptrice, notre Mère.
Sainte Madeleine-Sophie
Barat
SOURCE : http://missel.free.fr/Sanctoral/05/24.php
Photo
du portrait de Madeleine-Sophie Barat, par Savinien Petit, 1865
Also
known as
Maddalena Sofia Barat
Profile
Daughter of Jacques
Barat, a cooper who
worked with the vineyards for
whom he supplied barrels. Naturally bright, she was educated by
her older brother Louis, a monk.
As Madeline grew older, her brother feared she would be exposed to too much of
the world, and so brought her to Paris, France with
him. The girl wanted to be a Carmelite lay
sister, but with Father Joseph
Varin and three other postulants, she founded the Society of the Sacred
Heart on 21
November 1800;
the Society is devoted to the Sacred
Heart, and dedicated to teaching girls. Nun. Teacher.
Superior General of the Society at age 23, she held the position for
63 years. Receiving papal approval
of the Society in 1826,
she founded 105 houses in many countries; Saint Rose
Phillippine Duschene and four companions brought the Society to
the United States.
Born
12
December 1779 at
Joigny, France
25 May 1865 at Paris, France of
natural causes
12
February 1905 by Pope Saint Pius
X (decree of heroic
virtues)
24 May 1908 by Pope Saint Pius
X
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by Father Lawrence
George Lovasik, S.V.D.
Illustrated
Catholic Family Annual
Life
and Work of Madame Barat, from Catholic World
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
The
Holiness of the Church in the 19th Century
other
sites in english
images
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
sites
en français
Abbé
Christian-Philippe Chanut
fonti
in italiano
Readings
Let us attach ourselves
to God alone,
and turn our eyes and our hopes to Him. – Saint Madeline
To suffer myself, and not
to make others suffer. – Saint Madeline
Our Lord who saved the
world through the Cross will only work for the good of souls through the
Cross. – Saint Madeline
God does not ask of us
the perfection of tomorrow, nor even of tonight, but only of the present
moment. – Saint Madeline
Sophie Barat
MLA
Citation
“Saint Madeline Sophie
Barat“. CatholicSaints.Info. 12 February 2022. Web. 25 May 2022.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-madeline-sophie-barat/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-madeline-sophie-barat/
St. Madeleine Sophie
Barat
Born at Joigny, Burgundy,
France, on December 12, the daughter of a cooper, she was educated by her older
brother Louis, who later became a priest and who imposed the strictest
discipline and penances on her. On his recommendation, Father Varin, who
planned to form an institute of women to teach girls, a female counterpart of
the Jesuits, received her and three companions into the religious life in 1800,
thus founding the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. They founded their
first convent and school at Amiens the following year, and in 1802, Madeleine,
though the youngest member of the group, now grown to twenty-three, was
appointed Superior; she was to rule for sixty-three years. The Society spread
throughout France, absorbed a community of Visitation nuns at Grenoblein in
1804 (among whom was Blessed Phillipine Duchesne, who was to bring the Society
to the United States in 1818), and received formal approval from Pope Leo XII
in 1826. In 1830 the Society's novitiate at Poitiers was closed by the
Revolution, and Madeleine founded a new novitiate in Switzerland. By the time
of her death in Paris on May 21, she had opened more than 100 houses and
schools in twelve countries. She was canonized in 1925. Her feast day is May
25th.
SOURCE : http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=198
Le
pape Grégoire XVI approuve les constitutions en 1843
Ven. Madeleine-Sophie
Barat
Foundress of the Society
of the Sacred Heart, born at Joigny, Burgundy,
12 December, 1779; died in Paris,
24 May, 1865. She was the youngest child of Jacques Barat, a vine-dresser and
cooper, and his wife, Madeleine Foufé, and received baptism the
morning after her birth, her brother Louis, aged eleven, being chosen
godfather. It was to this brother that she owed the exceptional education which
fitted her for her life-work. Whilst her mother found her an apt pupil in
practical matters, Louis saw her singular endowments
of mind and heart; and when, at the age of twenty-two, he returned as
professor to the seminary at Joigny,
he taught his sister Latin, Greek, history, natural science, Spanish,
and Italian. Soon she took delight in reading the classics in the
original, and surpassed her brother's pupils at the seminary.
After the Reign of
Terror, Louis called Sophie to Paris,
to train her for the religious
life, for which she longed. When he had joined the Fathers of
the Faith, a band of fervent priests,
united in the hope of becoming members of the Society
of Jesus on its restoration, he one day spoke of his sister to Father
Varin, to whom had been bequeathed by
the saintly Léonor de Tournély the plan of founding
a society of women wholly
devoted to the worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to prayer and sacrifice,
and destined to do for girls what the restored Society
of Jesus would do for boys. Father Varin had vainly sought a fitting
instrument to begin this work; he now found one in this modest, retiring
girl of twenty. He unfolded the project, which seemed to satisfy all
her aspirations, and she bowed before his authoritative declaration that
this was for her the will ofGod.
With three companions she made her first consecration,
21 November, 1800, the date which marks the foundation of
the Society of the Sacred Heart. In September, 1801, the
first convent was
opened at Amiens,
and thither Sophie went to help in the work of teaching. It was impossible yet
to assume the name "Society of the Sacred Heart", lest a
political significance be attached to it; its members were known as Dames
de la Foior de l'Instruction Chrétienne. Father Varin allowed
Sophie to make her vows,
7 June, 1802, with GenevieveDeshayes.
The community and school were
increasing, and a poor school had just been
added, when it became evident to Father Varin
that Mademoiselle Loquet, who had hitherto acted as
superior, lacked the qualities requisite for the office, and Sophie,
although the youngest, was named superior (1802). Her first act was
to kneel and kissthe
feet of each of her sisters. Such was ever the spirit of her
government, November, 1804, found her at Sainte-Marie-d'en-Haut, near Grenoble,
receiving a community of Visitation nuns into
her institute, One of them, Philippine Duchesne, was later to
introduce the society into America. Grenoble was
the first of some eighty foundations which Mother Barat was to make,
not only in France but
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), Poland (1857).
Mother Barat
was elected superior-general in January, 1806, but
a majority of one vote only, for the influence of
an ambitious priest, chaplain at Amiens,
wellnigh wrecked the nascent institute. Prolonged prayer, silentsuffering,
tact, respect, charity, were only means she used to oppose his designs.
With Father Varin, now aJesuit,
she elaborated constitutions and rules grafted on the stock of
the Institute of St. Ignatius. These rules were received
with joy in
all the houses, Amiens alone excepted; but Mother Barat's
wisdom and humility soon
won submission even here. In 1818 she sent Mother Duchesne, with four
companions, to the New
World; her strong and holy hand was ever ready to support and
guide this first missioner of the Society. She called all the superiors
together in council at Paris in
1820, to provide a uniform course of studies for their schools.
These studies were to be solid and serious, to fit the pupils to
become intelligent wives and devoted mothers; to give that
cultivation of mind, that formation of character, which go to make up
a true women;
all was to stamped and sealed with
strong religious principles and devotion to the Sacred
Heart.
Foundations multiplied,
and Mother Barat, seeing the necessity of a stronger guarantee
of unity, sought it in union with Rome.
The solemn approbation was
obtained much sooner than usual, owing to a memoir drawn up by the foundress
and presented to Leo
XII in May, 1826. The decree of approbation was promulgated in
December. The society being
now fully organized and sealed by Rome's approval, for
forty years Mother Barat journeyed from convent to convent,
wrote many thousand letters, and assembled general congregations, so as to
preserve its original spirit. The Paris school gained European repute; Rome counted
three establishments, asked for and blessed by three
successive pontiffs. At Lyons Mother Barat founded
the Congregation of theChildren of Mary for former pupils and
other ladies. In the same year (1832), she began at Turin the
work ofretreats for ladies of the world,
an apostleship since widely and profitably imitated. Numerous foundations
brought Mother Bart onto personal contact with all classes. We find
her crossing and recrossing France,Switzerland, Italy,
often on the eve of revolutions; now the centre of a society of émigrés whose intellectualgifts,
high social position, and moral worth are seldom found
united; now sought out by cardinals and Romanprincesses
during her vicits to her Roman houses; at another time, speaking on
matters educational with
Madame de Genlis; or again, exercising that supernatural ascendency
which aroused the admiration of such men as Bishop Fraysinous, Doctor Récamier,
and Duc de Rohan.
These exterior labours
were far from absorbing all Mother Barat's time or
energies; they coexisted with a life of ever-increasing holiness and
continual prayer;
for the real secret of her influence lay in
her habitualseclusion from the outside world, in the
strong religious formation of her daughters which
this seclusion made possible, and in the enlightened, profound,
and supernatural views
on education which
she communicated to the religious engaged in her schools.
She worked by and through them all, and thus reached out to the ends of the
earth. In spite of herself she attracted and charmed all who approached her.
New foundations she always entrusted to other hands; for, like all great
rulers, she had the twofold gift of intuition in
the choice of personsfitted
for office, and trust of those in responsible posts. Allowing them
much freedom of action in details, guiding them only by her counsels
and usually form afar. Prelates who now and them ventured
to attribute to her the successes of the society,
saw that instead of pleasing, they distressed her exceedingly.
Beloved by her
daughters, venerated by
princes and pontiffs, yet ever lowly of heart, Mother Barat died
at the mother-house in Paris,
on Ascension
Day, 1865, as she had foretold, after four days' illness. She was buried atConflans,
the house of novitiate,
where her body was found intact in 1893. In 1879 she was declared Venerable,
and the process of beatification introduced. [Note: Mother Barat
was canonized in
1925.]
Power, Alice. "Ven.
Madeleine-Sophie Barat." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
2. New York: Robert Appleton Company,1907. 29 May
2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02283a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Claudia C. Neira. AMDG.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John
M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2021 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02283a.htm
Église
Saint-Thibault de Joigny: détail du vitrail de sainte Madeleine-Sophie Barat
(1779-1865).
Stained
glass window in Saint-Thibault's Church in Joigny where
St. Madeleine-Sophie Barat was baptized in 1779.
St. Madeleine Sophie
Barat (1779-1865)
The legacy of Madeleine
Sophie Barat can be found in the more than 100 schools operated by her Society
of the Sacred Heart, institutions known for the quality of the education made
available to the young.
Sophie herself received
an extensive education, thanks to her brother, Louis, 11 years older and her
godfather at Baptism. Himself a seminarian, he decided that his younger sister
would likewise learn Latin, Greek, history, physics and mathematics—always
without interruption and with a minimum of companionship. By age 15, she had
received a thorough exposure to the Bible, the teachings of the Fathers of the
Church and theology. Despite the oppressive regime Louis imposed, young Sophie
thrived and developed a genuine love of learning.
Meanwhile, this was the
time of the French Revolution and of the suppression of Christian schools. The
education of the young, particularly young girls, was in a troubled state. At
the same time, Sophie, who had concluded that she was called to the religious
life, was persuaded to begin her life as a nun and as a teacher. She founded
the Society of the Sacred Heart, which would focus on schools for the poor as
well as boarding schools for young women of means; today, co-ed Sacred Heart
schools can be found as well as schools exclusively for boys.
In 1826, her Society of
the Sacred Heart received formal papal approval. By then she had served as
superior at a number of convents. In 1865, she was stricken with paralysis; she
died that year on the feast of the Ascension.
Madeleine Sophie Barat
was canonized in 1925.
Comment :
Madeleine Sophie Barat
lived in turbulent times. She was only 10 when the Reign of Terror began. In
the wake of the French Revolution, rich and poor both suffered before some
semblance of normality returned to France. Born to some degree of privilege,
she received a good education. It grieved her that the same opportunity was
being denied to other young girls, and she devoted herself to educating them,
whether poor or well-to-do. We who live in an affluent country can follow her
example by helping to ensure to others the blessings we have enjoyed.
SOURCE : http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1398
Madeleine
Sophie Barat, 1865
Madeleine (Mary Magdalen)
Sophie Barat V (RM)
Born in Joigny, Burgundy, France, December 12, 1779; died in Paris, France, May
21, 1865; canonized 1925.
"Hard work, dangerous for an imperfect soul, brings a great harvest for
those who love the Lord." --
Saint Madeleine Barat.
Madeleine's father, Jacques Barat, owned a small vineyard and also worked as a
cooper. Louis, her elder brother by 11 years who later became a priest, was
Madeleine's godfather and determined to give her an education at least as good
as that of any boy of the time. He also imposed on her strict discipline and
penance. Madeleine loved her lessons and her Latin and Greek, her mathematics
and science and history gave her enormous pleasure. For a while the brother was
imprisoned during the Revolution, but he escaped and took his sister to Paris,
where she studied religion.
Madeleine grew into charming womanhood and yet retained a desire to serve God
in the modest capacity of a Carmelite lay sister. But God's call came from elsewhere.
A group of French priests of the Sacred Heart decided to establish a society of
women devoted to teaching girls--the feminine counterpart of the Jesuits. The
leader, Joseph Varin (afterwards a Jesuit), heard of Madeleine through her
brother, and, in 1800, received her and three companions as nuns, commissioning
them to found a society to educate girls. They started the first school of the
Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at Amiens in 1801.
Madeleine was scarcely 23--younger than any of her companions--but unanimously
they elected her their superior. She ran the order for the next 63 years. The
society spread throughout France, absorbed a community of Visitation nuns at
Grenoble in 1804 (among whom was Blessed Philippine Duchesne, who took the society
to the United States in 1818).
Times were not always easy. The order was nearly wrecked in its early stages by
the ambition of the chaplain in Amiens; but the patience and tact of Mother
Barat and Father Varin prevailed, and together they drew up the rules of the
society which were finally adopted in 1815. The society was formally approved
by Pope Leo XII in 1826. The July Revolution of 1830 banished the sisters'
novitiate for a time to Switzerland. But Madeleine was glad to travel, opening
schools outside as well as inside France. Mother Barat 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.
The secret of her
endurance and determination was the religious spirit that inspired all her
undertakings; she was endowed with wisdom and insight to a remarkable degree,
joined with endearing modesty and attractiveness. By 1865, her society had
founded 105 houses and schools in 12 countries (Attwater, Benedictines,
Bentley, Delaney, Williams).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0525.shtml
The
Sainte-Madeleine-Sophie-Barat church/Saint-Maron cathedral in Montréal, Québec.
L'église
Sainte-Madeleine-Sophie-Barat/cathédrale Saint-Maron à Montréal, au Québec.
The Life and Work
of Madame Barat
Madeleine-Louise-Sophie
Barat was born on the 12th of December, 1779, in the little village of Joigny,
in Burgundy. Her father was a cooper and the owner of a small vineyard, a very
worthy and sensible man and an excellent Christian. Her mother was remarkably
intelligent and quite well educated, far superior in personal character to her
humble station, very religious, and endowed with an exquisite sensibility of
temperament, controlled by a solid virtue which made her worthy to be the
mother of two such children as her son Louis and her daughter Sophie. The birth
of Sophie, who was the youngest of her three children, was hastened, and her
own life endangered, by the fright which she suffered from a fire very near her
house during the night of the 12th of December. The little Sophie was so frail
and feeble at her birth that her baptism was hurried as much as possible, and
the tenure of her life was very fragile during infancy. As a child she was
diminutive and delicate, but precocious, quick-witted, and very playful. The
parish priest used to put her upon a stool at catechism, that the little fairy
might be better seen and heard; and at her first communion she was rejected by
the vicar as too small to know what she was about to do, but triumphantly
vindicated in a thorough examination by M. le Curé, and allowed to receive the
most Holy Sacrament. She was then ten years old, and it was the dreadful year
1789. Until this time she had been her mother’s constant companion in the vineyard,
occupied with light work and play, and learning by intuition, without much
effort of study. At this time her brother Louis, an ecclesiastical student
eleven years older than herself, was obliged to remain at home for a time, and,
being very much struck with the noble and charming qualities which he discerned
in his little sister, he devoted himself with singular veneration, assiduity,
and tenderness to the work of her education. This episode in the history of two
great servants of God, one of whom was an apostle, the other the Saint Teresa
of her century, is unique in its beauty.
The vocation of the
sister dated from her infancy, and was announced in prophetic dreams, which she
related with childish naïveté like the little Joseph, foretelling that she was
destined to be a great queen. When Sophie was eight years old, Suzanne Geoffroy
– who was then twenty-six, and who entered the Society of the Sacred Heart
twenty-one years afterwards, in which she held the offices of superior at Niort
and Lyons, and of assistant general – was seeking her vocation. Her director
told her to wait for the institution of a new order whose future foundress was
still occupied in taking care of her dolls.
Louis Barat divined
obscurely the extraordinary designs of Almighty God in regard to his little
sister, and, faithful to the divine impulse, he made the education and
formation of her mind and character the principal work of the next ten years of
his life – a work certainly the best and most advantageous to the church of all
the good works of a career full of apostolic labors. He was a poet, a
mathematician, well versed in several languages and in natural science, very
kind and loving to his little sister, but inflexibly strict in his discipline,
and in some things too severe, especially in his spiritual direction. In a
small attic chamber of his father’s cottage he established the novitiate and
school composed of little Sophie Barat as novice and scholar, with brother
Louis as the master. The preparatory studies were soon absolved by his apt
pupil, and succeeded by a course of higher instruction, embracing Latin, Greek,
Italian, and Spanish. Sophie was particularly enchanted with Virgil, and even
able to translate and appreciate Homer. The mother grumbled at this seemingly
useless education, but the uneducated father was delighted, and the will of
Louis made the law for the household. During seventeen months he was in the
prisons of Paris, saved from the guillotine only by the connivance of his
former schoolmaster, who was a clerk in the prison department, and released by
the fall of Robespierre. Sophie went on bravely by herself during this time,
and continued her life of study and prayer in the attic, consoling her father
and mother, who idolized her, during those dreadful days, and persevered in the
same course after her brother’s release and ordination, under his direction,
until she was sixteen. At this period her brother, who had taken up his abode
in Paris, determined to take his sister to live with himself and complete her
education. Father, mother, and daughter alike resisted this determination,
until the stronger will of the young priest overcame, with some delay and
difficulty, their opposition, and the weeping little Sophie was carried off in
the coach to Paris, to live in the humble house of Father Louis, and, in
conjunction with her domestic labors, to study the sciences, the Holy
Scriptures in the Latin Vulgate, and the fathers and doctors of the church. She
had several companions, and the little group was thus formed and trained, not
only in knowledge but in the most austere religious virtues and practices,
under the hand of their kind but stern master, for more than four years. During
the vintage Sophie was allowed to take a short vacation at home, of which she
availed herself gladly; for she was still a gay and playful girl, submitting
with cheerful courage to her brother’s severe discipline, yet not without a
conflict or without some secret tears. She was a timid little creature, and the
injudicious severity of her brother’s direction made her scrupulous. Often she
was afraid to receive communion; but she was obedient, and when her brother
would call her from the altar of their little chapel, saying, “Come here,
Sophie, and receive communion,” she would go up trembling and do as she was
bidden. Her great desire was to become a lay sister among the Carmelites, and
her companions were also waiting the opportunity to enter some religious order.
Father Barat did not doubt her religious vocation, but he wanted to find out more
precisely how it could be fulfilled. Her divine Spouse was himself preparing
her for the exalted destination of a foundress and spiritual mother in his
church; and when she had attained her twentieth year, this vocation was made
known to her and accepted with a docility like that of the Blessed Virgin Mary
to the angel’s message.
The history of the origin
of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus requires us to go back some years
and relate some events which prepared the way for it. Four young priests,
Léonor and Xavier de Tournély, Pierre Charles Leblanc, and Charles de Broglie,
had formed a society under the name of the Sacred Heart, intended as a nucleus
for the re-establishment of the Society of Jesus. The superior was Father
Léonor de Tournély, a young man of angelic sanctity, and a favorite pupil of
the saintly Sulpician, M. l’Abbé Emery. This young priest received an
inspiration to form a congregation of women specially devoted to the
propagation of the devotion of the Sacred Heart and the higher education of
girls. The first woman selected by him as the foundress of the new society was
the Princess de Condé, under whom a small community was formed at Vienna, but
soon dispersed by the departure of the princess to join the Trappistines. Soon
after Father de Tournély died, having scarcely attained his thirtieth year,
leaving in his last moments the care of carrying out his project to Father
Varin. Joseph Varin d’Ainville was a young man of good family, who, after
passing some time in a seminary, had left it to join the army of the Prince de
Condé, with whom he made several campaigns. He had been won back to his first
vocation through the prayers of his mother, offered for this purpose on the eve
of ascending the scaffold at Paris, and the influence of his former companions,
the four young fathers of the Sacred Heart above named. On the very day of the
prayer offered by his heroic mother he was determined to return back to the
ecclesiastical life on receiving communion at Vanloo, in Belgium, when he had
met his four saintly friends, whose society he immediately joined. Having been
elected superior of the society after the death of Father de Tournély in 1797,
Father Varin was persuaded to merge it in another society formed by a certain
Father Passanari under the title of the Fathers of the Holy Faith, which was
also intended as a nucleus for the revival of the Order of Jesuits. The
Archduchess Maria Anna, sister of the Emperor of Germany, was selected to form
in Rome, under the direction of Father Passanari, a society of religious women
according to the plan of De Tournély, and she went there for that purpose,
accompanied by two of her maids of honor, Leopoldina and Louisa Naudet. Early
in the year 1800 Father Varin returned to Paris with some companions, and
Father Barat was received into his society. In this way he became acquainted
with Sophie, and her direction was confided to him, to her great spiritual
solace and advantage; for he guided her with suavity and prudence in a way
which gave her heart liberty to expand, and infused into it that generosity and
confidence which became the characteristic traits of her piety, and were
transmitted as a precious legacy by her to her daughters in religion. As soon
as Father Varin had learned the secrets of the interior life of his precious
disciple, and had determined her vocation to the same work which had been
already begun in Rome by the three ladies above mentioned, three others were
admitted to share with her in the formation of the little Society of the Sacred
Heart. One of these was Mlle. Octavie Bailly, another was Mlle. Loquet, the
third was a pious servant-girl named Marguérite, who became the first lay
sister of the society. On the 21st of November, the Feast of Our Lady’s
Presentation, the little chapel was decorated in a modest and simple way.
Father Varin said Mass. After the Elevation the four aspirants pronounced the
act of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and afterwards they received
communion.
This was the true
inauguration of the Society of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart, for the attempt
made at Rome by the archduchess proved a failure; the intriguing, ambitious
character of Father Passanari was detected, and Father Varin renounced all
connection with him and his projects. These events occurred, however, at a
later period, and for some time yet to come the little community in France
remained affiliated to the mother-house in Rome.
The first house of the
Ladies of the Sacred Heart, the one which has always been called the cradle of
the society, was founded at Amiens one year after the consecration of the
postulants in the little chapel of the Rue Touraine. A college was established
in that city by the Fathers of the Holy Faith, and a visit which Father Varin
made there early in the year 1801, for the purpose of giving a mission and
preparing for the opening of the college, led to an arrangement with some
zealous priests and pious ladies of Amiens for transferring a small school of
young ladies to the care of Sophie Barat and her companions. Two of these
ladies of Amiens, Mlle. Geneviève Deshayes and Mlle. Henriette Grosier, joined
the community, of which Mlle. Loquet was appointed the superior. This lady
proved to be entirely unfit for her position, and after some months returned to
her former useful and pious life in Paris. Mlle. Bailly, after waiting for a
considerable time to test her vocation, at length followed her first attraction
and left her dear friend Sophie for the Carmelites. Sophie Barat, with the
consent of her companions, was appointed by Father Varin to the office of
superior, much to her own surprise and terror, for she was the youngest and the
most humble of her sisters; and from this moment until her death, in the year
1865, she continued to be the Reverend Mother of the Society of the Ladies of
the Sacred Heart, through all its periods of successive development and
extension. It was on the 21st of December, 1802, soon after her twenty-third
birthday, that she was definitively placed in this her true position, for which
divine Providence had so wonderfully prepared her. She had been admitted to
make the simple vows of religion on the 7th of June preceding, in company with
Madame Deshayes. The community and school increased and prospered, and on the
Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, 29 September 1804, they were installed in
their permanent residence, one of the former houses of the Oratory of Cardinal
de Berulle. The community at this date comprised twelve members, including
postulants. Their names were Madeleine-Sophie Barat, Geneviève Deshayes,
Henriette Grosier, Rosalie-Marguérite Debrosse, Marie du Terrail,
Catharine-Emilie de Charbonnel, Adèle Bardot, Felicité Desmarquest, Henriette
Ducis, Thérèse Duchâtel, Madame Baudemont, and Madame Coppina. The two
last-mentioned ladies afterwards brought the society into a crisis of the
gravest peril, and finally withdrew from it, as we shall see later. Of the
others, Mesdames Deshayes, Grosier, de Charbonnel, Desmarquest, and Ducis were
among the most eminent and efficient of the first set of co-workers with the
holy foundress herself in the formation and government of the society and its
great schools and novitiates. The final rupture with Father Passanari had
already been effected, and Madame Barat was therefore the sole head of the
society, under the direction of Father Varin. Twelve years elapsed before the
constitutions of the society were drawn up and adopted, and during this period
the first foundations were made, a most dangerous and well-nigh fatal crisis
was safely passed, the spirit and methods of the new institute were definitely
formed; thus laying the basis for the subsequent increase and perfection of the
vast edifice of religion and instruction whose corner-stone was laid by the
humble and gracious little maiden of Joigny in the depths of her own pure and
capacious heart. Saint John of the Cross says that “God bestows on the founder
such gifts and graces as shall be proportionate to the succession of the order,
as the first fruits of the Spirit.” The whole subsequent history of the Society
of the Sacred Heart shows that this was fulfilled in the person of Sophie
Barat. After the second foundation had been made in an old convent of the
Visitation at Grenoble, Madame Baudemont was made superior at Amiens, and the
first council was held for the election of a superior-general. Madame Barat was
elected by a bare majority of one; for a party had already been formed under sinister
influences which was working against her and in opposition to Father Varin, and
seeking to change altogether the spirit of the new institute. From this time
until the year 1816 Madame Barat was merely a superior in name and by courtesy
at Amiens, and she was chiefly employed in founding new houses, forming the
young communities, and acquiring sanctity by the exercise of patience and
humility. The new foundations were at Poitiers, Cuignières, Niort, and
Dooresele near Ghent; and of course the society received a great number of new
subjects, some of whom became its most distinguished members – as, for
instance, Madame Duchesne, the pioneer of the mission to America, Madame de
Gramont d’Aster and her two daughters, Madame Thérèse Maillucheau, Madame Bigeu,
Madame Prévost, Madame Giraud, and the angelic counterpart of Saint Aloysius,
Madame Aloysia Jouve. We must not pass over in silence the benediction given on
two occasions by the august pontiff Pius VII. to Madame Barat and her
daughters. At Lyons she had a long conversation with him, in which she
explained to his great satisfaction the nature and objects of her holy work,
and she also received from his hands Holy Communion. At Grenoble all the
community and pupils received his benediction, and of these pupils eleven, upon
whose heads his trembling hands were observed to rest with a certain special
insistance, received the grace of a religious vocation. Another incident which
deserves mention is the last visit of Madame Barat to her father. The strict rules
of a later period not having been as yet enacted, she never failed, when
passing near Joigny on her visitations, to stay for a short time with her
parents, often taking with her some of the ladies of her society who were of
noble or wealthy families, that she might testify before them how much she
honored and loved the father and mother to whom she owed so great a debt of
gratitude. On her annual fête she used to send them the bouquets which were
presented to her. During her father’s last illness she came expressly to see
and assist him in preparing for death, and, though obliged to bid him adieu
before he had departed this life, she left him consoled and fortified by her
last acts of filial affection, and he peacefully expired soon after her
departure from Joigny, on the 25th of June 1809.
At the first council the
spirit of disunion already alluded to prevented Father Varin and Madame Barat
from undertaking the work of preparing constitutions for the society. A brief
and simple programme of a rule was drawn up and approved by the bishops under
whose jurisdiction the houses were placed, and Madame Barat became herself the
living rule and model, on which her subjects and novices were formed. Father
Varin had resigned his office of superior when Madame Barat was formally
elected by the council of professed members their superior-general. Another
ecclesiastic of very different spirit, who was the confessor of the community
and the school at Amiens, M. l’Abbé de Saint Estéve, was ambitious of the honor
and influence which justly belonged to Father Varin. He obtained a complete
dominion at Amiens by means of Madame de Baudemont, a former Clarissine, who
was gained over by his adroit flattery and artful encouragement of the love of
sway and pre-eminence which her commanding talents, her former conventual
experience, and her mature age, together with the advantage of her position as
local superior, entrusted to her against Father Varin’s advice, gave a too
favorable opportunity of development. M. de Saint Estéve arrogated to himself
the title of founder of the society, and planned an entire reconstitution of
the same under the bizarre title of Apostolines, and with a set of rules which
would have made an essential alteration of the institute established by Father
Varin. All the other houses besides Amiens were in dismay and alarm. Madame
Penaranda, a lady of Spanish extraction, descended from the family of Saint
Francis Borgia, who was superior at Ghent, separated her house from the society
by the authority of the bishop of the diocese. She returned, however, some
years later, with seventeen of her companions, to the Society of the Sacred
Heart.
In the meantime the
Society of Jesus had been re-established and the Society of the Fathers of the
Holy Faith was dissolved, most of its members entering the Jesuit Order as
novices. Father de Clorivière was provincial in France, and Madame Barat,
encouraged by the advice and sympathy of wise and holy men, waited patiently
and meekly for the time of her liberation from the schemes of a plausible and
designing enemy who had crept under a false guise into her fold. This was
accomplished through a most singular act of criminal and audacious folly on the
part of M. de Saint Estéve. Having gone to Rome as secretary to the French Legation,
in order to further his intrigue by false representations at the Papal Court,
he was led by his insane ambition, in default of any other means of success, to
forge a letter from the provincial of the Jesuits of Italy to Madame Barat,
instructing her to submit herself to the new arrangements of M. de Saint
Estéve, which he declared had been approved by the Holy See. In this crisis
Madame Barat submitted with perfect obedience to what she supposed was an order
from the supreme authority in the church, and counselled her daughters to
imitate her example. Very soon the imposture was discovered. Mesdames de
Baudemont, de Sambucy, and Coppina left the society and went to join another in
Rome, and the rest of the disaffected members of the community at Amiens,
although not immediately pacified, made no serious opposition to Madame Barat,
and not long after were so completely reconciled to her that all trace of
disunion vanished. There being now no obstacle in the way of forming the
constitutions, a council was summoned to meet in Paris, at a suitable place
provided by Madame de Gramont d’Aster, and its issue was most successful. It
assembled on the Feast of All Saints, 1815, and in the chapel which was used
for the occasion was placed the statue of Our Lady before which Saint Francis
de Sales, when a young student, had been delivered from the terrible temptation
to despair which is related in his biography. It was composed of the Reverend
Mothers Barat, Desmarquest, Deshayes, Bigeu, Duchesne, Geoffroy, Giraud, Girard,
and Eugénie de Gramont. Father de Clorivière presided over it, and Fathers
Varin and Druilhet, previously appointed by him to draw up the constitutions,
were present to read, explain, and propose them to the discussion and vote of
the council. The whole work was completed in six weeks. The Reverend Mothers
Bigeu, de Charbonnel, Grosier, Desmarquest, Geoffroy, and Eugénie de Gramont
were elected as the six members of the permanent council of the
superior-general, arrangements were made for establishing a general novitiate
in Paris, the society was placed under the government of the Archbishop of
Rheims as ecclesiastical superior, who delegated his functions to the Abbé
Pereau, a solemn ceremony closed the sessions on the 16th of December, and
early in January the reverend mothers returned to their respective residences.
The constitutions were received with unanimous contentment in all the houses,
including Amiens, approved by the bishops in whose dioceses these houses
existed, and, finally, a letter of congratulation, expressed in the most kind
and paternal terms, was received from his Holiness Pope Pius VII. From this
period the authority of Madame Barat was fully established and recognized,
harmony and peace reigned within the society, and a new era of extension began
which has continued to the present time. The society with its constitutions was
solemnly approved by Leo XII. in a brief dated December 22, 1826, which was
received at Paris in February, 1827, during a session of the council. By the
authority of the Holy See an additional vow of stability was prescribed for the
professed, and the dispensation from this vow reserved to the pope. The rules
were made more strict in several respects, and a cardinal protector was
substituted for the ecclesiastical superior. The royal approbation for France
was at this time also solicited, and granted by Charles X., then reigning. In
1839 another effort was made to give a still greater perfection to the statutes
and to provide for the more efficacious government of the institute, now become
too great for the immediate government of the superior-general, by a division
into provinces under provincial superiors.
At this time the society
passed through another dangerous crisis, and for four years was in a disturbed
state which gave great anxiety to the Rev. Mother Barat, diminished seriously
her influence over her subjects, and even occasioned a menace of suppression in
France to be intimated by the government. The cause of this trouble was an
effort made by a number of persons both within and without the society to
transfer the residence of the superior-general to Rome, and to modify the rules
in a way to make the society as far as possible a complete counterpart of the
Society of Jesus. In 1843 this difficulty was finally settled by the authority
of the Sovereign Pontiff, who annulled all the acts and decrees which had been
passed in the councils of the society looking towards innovation, and
determined that the residence of the superior-general should not be removed from
France. Happily, not a house, or even a single member, was separated from the
society by this disturbance, and when it passed by the venerable and holy
foundress was more revered and loved than ever before, and her gentle but
strong sway over the vast family which she governed was confirmed for ever,
never again to suffer diminution. Some of the proposed changes were, however,
absolutely necessary for the order and well-being of the society, and were
provided for in the year 1850 by Pius IX., who decreed the establishment of
provinces under the name of vicariates, each one to be governed by the superior
of its mother-house with the rank and title of superior-vicar, subject to the
supreme authority of the superior-general. At the close of Madame Barat’s administration,
which ended only with her life, on Ascension Thursday, 1865, there were fifteen
vicariates. Since then the number has been increased. There are three in the
United States, one in British America, one in Spanish America; and in these
five vicariates there are about eleven hundred religious of the first and
second profession, including lay sisters. The number of houses in various parts
of the world is about one hundred, and the total number of members four
thousand. Madame Barat herself founded one hundred and fifteen houses, and many
others have been established since her death. But of these some have been
suppressed in Italy and Germany, and others were given up or transferred by the
superiors of the order. Madame Goëtz, who was vicar-general to Madame Barat
during the last year of her life, succeeded her as superior-general, and was
succeeded after her own death, in 1874, by Madame Lehon, the present
superior-general.
Our limits will not
permit even a succinct narrative of the events which filled up the half-century
during which Madame Barat governed the Society of the Sacred Heart, from the
memorable council of 1815 until 1865. We cannot omit, however, some brief
notice of the foundation of the American mission and the ladies who were sent
over to establish it. The first American colony was composed of three ladies
and two lay sisters: Madame Duchesne, Madame Audé, Madame Berthold, Sister
Catharine Lamarre, and Sister Marguérite Manteau. Madame Philippine Duchesne
was a native of Grenoble, where she received an accomplished education, first
at the Visitation convent of Sainte-Marie-d’en-Haut, and afterwards under
private tutors in the same class with her cousins, Augustin and Casimir Périer.
At the age of eighteen she entered the Visitation convent as a novice, but was
prevented by the suppression of the religious orders in France from making her
vows. During the dark days of the Revolution her conduct was that of a heroine.
After the end of the Reign of Terror she rented the ancient convent above mentioned,
and for several years maintained there an asylum for religious women with a
small boarding-school for girls, waiting for an opportunity to establish a
regular religious house. Her desire was accomplished when Madame Barat accepted
the offer which was made to her to receive Madame Duchesne and her companions
into the Society of the Sacred Heart, and to found the second house of her
society in the old monastery of Ste.-Marie-d’en-Haut. Madame Duchesne had felt
an impulse for the arduous vocation of a missionary since the time when she was
eight years old, and this desire had continually increased, notwithstanding the
apparent improbability of its ever finding scope within the limits of her
vocation. She was about forty-eight years of age when she was entrusted with
the American mission, and lived for thirty-four years in this country, leaving
after her the reputation of exalted and really apostolic sanctity. Madame
Eugénie Audé had been much fascinated by the gay world in her early youth, and
her conversion was remarkable. Returning one evening from a soirée, as she went
before a mirror in her boudoir, she saw there, instead of her own graceful and
richly-attired figure, the face of Jesus Christ as represented in the Ecce
Homo. From that moment she renounced her worldly life, and soon entered the
novitiate at Grenoble as a postulant. Even there, her historian relates, “on
souriait de ses manières mondaines, de ses belles salutations, de ses trois
toilettes par jour! Même sous le voile de novice qu’elle portait maintenant,
elle laissait voir encore, pas sans complaisance, l’élégance de sa taille et
les avantages de sa personne. On ne tardera pas à voir ce que cette âme de
jeune fille changée en âme d’apôtre était capable d’entreprendre pour Dieu et
le prochain.” This great change was wrought in her soul during a retreat given
by Père Roger on the opening of the general novitiate at Paris during November,
1816. When called to join Madame Duchesne two years later, she was twenty-four
years of age, and, after a long period of service in the United States, was
finally elected an assistant general and recalled to France. Madame Octavie
Berthold was the daughter of an infidel philosopher who had been Voltaire’s
secretary. She was herself educated as a Protestant, was converted to the faith
when about twenty years of age, and soon after entered the novitiate at
Grenoble. She volunteered for the American mission, animated by a desire to
prove her gratitude to our Lord for the grace of conversion, and was at this time
about thirty years of age. “Caractère sympathique, cœur profondément devouée,
intelligence ornée, spécialement versée dans la connaissance des langues
étrangères, Mme Octavie était fort aimée au pensionnat de Paris.”
Monsignor Dubourg, Bishop
of New Orleans, was the prelate who introduced the Ladies of the Sacred Heart
into the United States. It was during the year 1817 that the arrangements were
completed at Paris. On the 21st of March, 1818, the five religious above
mentioned embarked at Bordeaux on the Rebecca, and on the 29th of May, which
was that year the Feast of the Sacred Heart, they landed at New Orleans, where
they were received as the guests of the Ursulines in their magnificent convent.
Their own first residence at Saint Charles, in the present diocese of Saint
Louis, was as different as possible from this noble religious house, and from
those which have since that time been founded by the successors of these first
colonists. Madame Duchesne, in her visions of missionary and apostolic life, never
dreamed of those religious houses, novitiates, and pensionates, rivalling the
splendid establishments of Europe, which we now see at Saint Louis,
Manhattanville, Kenwood, and Eden Hall. Her aspirations were entirely for labor
among the Indians and negroes, and, to a considerable extent, they were
satisfied. She began with the most arduous and self-sacrificing labors upon the
roughest and most untilled soil of Bishop Dubourg’s diocese, and one of her
last acts was to go on a mission among the Pottawattomies, from which she was
only taken by the force of Archbishop Kenrick’s authority a little before her
death. The present flourishing condition of the two vicariates of New Orleans
and Saint Louis is well known to all our readers. The foundation at New York
was due to the enlightened zeal of the late illustrious Archbishop Hughes,
although the first idea originated in the mind of Madame Barat many years
before. In the year 1840 the celebrated Russian convert, Madame Elizabeth
Gallitzin, a cousin of Prince Gallitzin the priest of Loretto, and assistant
general for America to Madame Barat, was sent over to establish this foundation
and to make a general visitation, in the course of which she died suddenly of
yellow fever at Saint Michel, on the 14th of November, 1842.
The first residence in
New York was the present convent of the Sisters of Mercy in Houston Street,
from which it was removed, first to Astoria, and afterwards to the Lorillard
estate in Manhattanville, where is now the centre of an extensive vicariate
comprising eight houses in the States of New York, Rhode Island, Ohio, and
Michigan, about five hundred religious, a novitiate containing at this moment
forty-eight novices exclusive of postulants, and flourishing schools both for
the education of young ladies and the instruction of the children of those
parishes which are adjacent to the several convents. It is not necessary to
describe for the benefit of our American readers with more detail the history
and present condition of the Society of the Sacred Heart in this country. Our
European readers would no doubt be interested by such a history; but, besides
the imperative reason of a want of space in the present article, there is
another which imposes on us the obligation of reserve in respect to works accomplished
by the living, to whom has been transmitted the humility as well as the other
virtues of their holy foundress. There is one venerable lady especially, now
withdrawn from the sphere of her long and active administration to a higher
position in the society, who is remembered with too much gratitude by her
children, and honor by all classes of Catholics in her native land, to require
from our pen more than the expression of a wish and prayer, on the part of
thousands whose hearts will echo our words as they read them, that she may
resemble the holy mother who loved her and all her American children so
tenderly, as “sa plus chère famille,” in length of days, and in the peace which
closed her last evening.
We have already alluded
briefly to the blessed departure of Madame Barat from the scene of labor to the
glory which awaits the saints, in the eighty-sixth year of her age and the
sixty-sixth of her religious life, on the Feast of the Ascension, 1865. The
narrative of a few salient events in her life, and of the principal facts in
the history of the foundation of the Sacred Heart, which we have thought best
to present, meagre as it is, in lieu of more general observations on her
character and that of her great works, for the benefit of those who cannot, at
least for the present, peruse the history of M. Baunard, leaves us but little
room for any such remarks. The character of this saintly woman must be studied
in the details of her private and public life, and in the expression she has
given to her interior spirit in the extracts from her vast correspondence
published by her biographer. No one could ever take her portrait; and we are
assured by one who knew her long and intimately that the one placed in front of
the second volume of her life is not at all satisfactory. How can we describe,
then, such a delicate, hidden, retiring, subtile essence as the soul of Sophie
Barat in a few words, or give name to that which fascinated every one, from the
little nephew Louis Dusaussoy to Frayssinous, Montalembert, and Gregory XVI..?
Extreme gentleness and modesty, which, with the continual increase of grace,
become the most perfect and admirable humility, were the basis of her natural
character and of her acquired sanctity. In the beginning her modesty was attended
by an excessive timidity, so that Father Varin gave her the name of “trembleuse
perpetuelle.” This was supplanted by that generous, affectionate confidence in
God which shone out so luminously in the great trials of her career. In all
things, and always, Madame Barat was exquisitely feminine. She conquered and
ruled by love, and this sway extended over all, from the smallest children to
the most energetic, commanding, impetuous, and able of the highly-born,
accomplished, and in every sense remarkable women who were under her government
in the society, to women of the world, to old men and young men, to servants,
the poor, fierce soldiers and revolutionists, and even to irrational creatures.
With this feminine delicacy and gentleness there was a virile force and
administrative ability, a firmness and intrepidity, which made her capable of
everything and afraid of nothing. Her writings display a fire of eloquence
which may be truly called apostolic, and would be admired in the mouth of an
apostolic preacher. Besides the great labors that she accomplished in the
foundation and visitation of her numerous houses, and in the government of her
vast society, Madame Barat went through several most severe and dangerous
illnesses, beginning with one which threatened her life in the first years at
Amiens; and was frequently brought, to all appearance, to the very gates of
death. Besides these sufferings, and the great privations which were often
endured during the first period of new foundations, she practised austerities
and penances of great severity, to the utmost limit permitted by obedience to
her directors. With her wonderful activity she united the spirit of a
contemplative; and there are not wanting many evidences of supernatural gifts
of an extraordinary kind, or proofs of her power with God after her death. Mgr.
Parisis has publicly declared that her life was one of the great events of this
century, and comparable to those of Saint Dominic, Saint Francis of Assisi,
Saint Catharine of Siena, and Saint Teresa. There is but one, universal
sentiment in respect of her sanctity, and one, unanimous desire that the seal
of canonization may be placed upon it by the successor of Saint Peter. A prayer
under her invocation has been already sanctioned by Pius IX., and the cause of
her beatification has been introduced, the issue of which we await, in the hope
that we may one day be permitted and commanded to honor the modest little
Sophie Barat of Joigny – who went away weeping in the coach to Paris at sixteen
to found one of the greatest orders of the world – under the most beautiful and
appropriate title of Sancta Sophia.
When we consider the work
of Madame Barat as distinct from her personal history, we observe some peculiar
and remarkable features marking its rise and growth. It came forth from the
fiery, bloody baptism of the French Revolution as a work of regeneration and
restoration. Many of its first members had been through an experience of
danger, suffering, and heroic adventure which had given them an intrepidity of
character proof against every kind of trial. The stamp thus given to the
society at the outset was that of generous loyalty to the Holy See, and
uncompromising hostility to the spirit and maxims of the Revolution.
Another fact worthy of
notice is that so many small communities, private institutes for education, and
persons living a very devout and zealous life in the world, were scattered
about the territory over which the destructive tornado of revolution had
passed, ready to be incorporated into the Society of the Sacred Heart, and
furnishing the means of a rapid growth and extension.
New orders are not
absolutely new creations. They spring from those previously existing, and are
affiliated with each other more or less closely, notwithstanding their
differences. Many of the first members of the Society of the Sacred Heart had
been previously inclined to the orders of Mt. Carmel and the Visitation. The
spirit of the Carmelite Order was largely inherited by the new society, and
from the Order of the Visitation the special devotion to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus was received by the same transmission of mystic life. The organization
was produced by the engrafting of the principles of the constitutions of Saint
Ignatius on the new and vigorous stock. From this blending and composition
sprang forth the new essence with its own special notes, its original force,
and its distinct sphere of operation. Cardinal Racanati thus expresses his
judgment of its excellence: “My duty has obliged me to read the constitutions
of almost all ancient and modern orders. All are beautiful, admirable, marked
with the signet of God. But this one appears to me to excel among all the
others, because it contains the essence of religious perfection, and is at the
same time a masterpiece of unity. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is at once the
pivot around which everything moves, and the end in which everything results.”
Pope Gregory XVI.. said that the Rule of the Sacred Heart was in every part the
work of God. Although not an exact counterpart of the Society of Jesus, the
Society of the Sacred Heart is nevertheless, in its government and method of
discipline, modelled after a similar type, with equally efficacious means for
producing in its subjects, in a manner proportionate to their feminine character,
all the highest religious virtues of the mixed state of action and
contemplation. The only important differences between the Society of the Sacred
Heart and the older orders of women are the absence of the interior cloister
and of the solemn vows. The first, which is obviously an advantage considering
the nature of the occupations in which the Ladies of the Sacred Heart are
engaged, is compensated for by the extreme strictness of the rules governing
their conduct in regard to intercourse with the world, and the obligation of
going at a moment’s warning to any house, in any part of the world, where they
may be ordered by the superiors. In respect to the second, as the final vows
can only be dispensed by the pope, the completeness and sacredness of the oblation
for life are not diminished, but only a prudent provision for extraordinary
cases secured by the wisdom of the Holy See, which is beneficial both to the
order and its individual members. In respect to poverty, self-denial,
regularity, and all that belongs to the beautiful order of conventual life, the
written rule of the Sacred Heart, which is actually observed in practice, is
not behind those of the more ancient orders. In respect to the extent and
strictness of the law of obedience, it is pre-eminent among all, and its
admirable organization may justly be compared to that acknowledged masterpiece
of religious polity, the Institute of Saint Ignatius. The more humble
occupations to which so many admirable religious women in various orders and
congregations devote themselves form an integral part of the active duties of
the society. A large portion of its members are lay sisters, and a great number
of the religious of the choir are engaged in the instruction of poor children
or domestic duties which have no exterior éclat. The specific work of the
society is of course the education of young ladies, with the ulterior end of
diffusing and sustaining Catholic principles and Catholic piety, through the
instrumentality of the élèves of the Sacred Heart, among the higher classes of
society. There cannot be a nobler work than this, or a more truly apostolic
vocation, within the sphere to which woman is limited by the law of God, human
nature, and the constitution of Christian society. What an immense power has been
exerted by the daughters of Madame Barat in this way as the auxiliaries of the
hierarchy and the sacerdotal order in the church, is best proved by the
persecutions they have sustained from the anti-Catholic party in Europe, and
the fear they have inspired in the bosoms of tyrannical statesmen like Prince
Bismarck, who tremble with apprehension before the banner of the Sacred Heart,
though followed only by a troop of modest virgins. It is after all not strange.
The women of the revolution are more terrible than furies led on by Alecto and
Tisiphone. Why should not the virgins of the Catholic army resemble their
Queen, who is “terrible as an army set in array”?
It is with great regret
that we abstain from setting forth the enlightened, sound, and thoroughly Christian
ideas of Madame Barat, and the various councils over which she presided, in
respect to the education of Catholic girls in our age. We are obliged also to
omit noticing the charming sketches given in the book before us of the first
pupils of the Sacred Heart, and the noble part which so many of them played
afterwards in the world. We must close with a few words on the merit of the
Abbé Baunard’s work, and an expression of gratitude to the distinguished
ecclesiastic who has furnished us so much pleasure and edification at a cost of
such very great labor to himself. He has been fortunate in his subject and the
wealth of authentic materials furnished him for fulfilling his honorable and
arduous task. His illustrious subject has been fortunate in her biographer. The
History of Madame Barat deserves to be ranked with Mother Chauguy’s Life of
Saint Frances de Chantal and M. Hamon’s Life of Saint Francis de Sales. We
trust that an abridged life by a competent hand may furnish those who cannot
afford so costly a book, or read one so large, with the means of knowing the
character and history of the Teresa of our century. There are also materials
for other histories and biographies of great interest and utility in the rich,
varied contents of this most admirable and charming work, which we hope may not
be neglected.
– text from The Catholic World, 1876
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/the-life-and-work-of-madame-barat/
Illustrated
Catholic Family Annual – Madame Barat
Article
Madeleine Louise Sophie
Barat, the foundress of the Society of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart, was born
in the village of Joigny, in Burgundy, on 12 December 1779. The child of parents
in a very humble rank of life, she was destined by Divine Providence to become
the spiritual mother of perhaps the most flourishing of modern religious
societies, and one whose specific work was to be that of educating young ladies
belonging to the higher classes of society. The training which fitted her for
this end was peculiar. Her only brother, Louis Barat, eleven years her senior,
and an ecclesiastical student, was obliged to leave the seminary during the
persecutions which the Church underwent in 1789 and the succeeding years, and
on returning home was so much struck by the fine qualities and precocious
intelligence which he noted in his little sister, that ho resolved to devote
himself to the work of her education. Under his kind but often severe training
Sophie passed nearly ten years, learning Latin, Greek, Spanish, Italian,
studying the sciences, and becoming familiar with Holy Scripture and the
writings of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church. When she was sixteen her
brother was ordained, and she went to live with him in Paris. In her twentieth
year she made the acquaintance of Father Varin, at that lime a member of a
society called by the name of the Sacred Heart, but who later entered the
Society of Jesus at the time of its rc-cstablishment. Her vocation to the
religious life had been marked, even from her earliest childhood, but up to
this time her inclinations had seemed to turn in the direction of the Carmelite
cloister. Father Varin, to whom the idea of a religious order of women devoted
to the propaga tion of devotion to the Sacred Heart and to the higher education
of girls had been bequeathed by the saintly Father de Tournely, asked her to
consider seriously whether it were the will of God that so exceptional a
training and so many gifts as had been bestowed upon her should not be used for
the benefit of others. His own views as to her vocation were clear. Ho had
discerned in her the qualities necessary for a foundress, and recognized in the
providential development they had received clear indications of the Divine
will. Sophie Barat acquiesced simply in a decision which seemed to run counter
to her own attraction for the hidden life, and patiently continued the work of
teaching, which, with two or three companions, she had already begun. On 21
November 1800, the Feast of Our Lady’s Presentation, the foundation of the
Society of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart was laid at Paris, when Sophie, with
three companions, pronounced the act of consecration to that Divine Heart in a
little chapel in the house where they lived, and afterwards received communion.
The first house of the society was. however, founded at Amiens in 1801, when a
small school for young ladies, already established in that town, was
transferred to its care. In 1802, shortly after her twenty-third birthday,
Madame Barat was elected superior of the community in which she was the
youngest and the humblest member. She retained this office from that period
until her death, in her eighty-sixth year, in 1865. Sixty-six years of this
long and fruitful life had been passed in religion. Before it closed Madame
Barat had seen her institute solemnly approved at Rome by three successive
Pontiffs, had herself founded one hundred and fifteen houses in various parts
of Europe, and had sent her daughters to establish others in the New World. At
her death the society was divided into fifteen vicariates, each ruled by a
superior-vicar, subject to the authority of the superior-general, who always
has her residence in Paris. Since then this number has been increased. In 1876
there were three in the United States, one in British America, and one in
Spanish America, containing over eleven hundred religious. The number of houses
in all parts of the world at present is over one hundred, and the total number
of members upwards of four thousand. Madame Barat was succeeded in the office
of superior-general by Madame Goetz, who died in 1874 and was replaced by the
present head, Madame Lehon.
The first American
mission of this society was founded at Saint Charles, in the diocese of Saint
Louis, at the instance of Bishop Dubourg, of New Orleans – the prelate who gave
the suggestion which resulted at Lyons, France, in the foundation of that
greatest of good works, the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Its first
superior was Madame Philippine Duchesne, a heroic and saintly soul, who stands
in the annals of the Society of the Sacred Heart second only to its founder. At
Saint Charles the society at first devoted itself to the care of the Indians
and negroes. The two vicariates of New Orleans and Saint Louis are now in a
most flourishing condition. That of New York, which has its novitiate at
Kenwood, near Albany, comprises eight houses in the States of New York, Rhode
Island, Ohio, and Michigan, upwards of five hundred religious, many novices and
postulants, and flourishing schools, both for the education of young ladies and
the training of poor children.
The cause of Madame
Barat’s beatification has already been introduced at Koine, and a prayer under
her invocation, which was sanctioned by the late revered Pontiff, Pius IX, is
widely used. Concerning her sanctity there is but one sentiment, and it is
hoped and believed that it will yet receive the seal of canonization.
MLA
Citation
“Madame Barat”. Illustrated Catholic Family Annual, 1879. CatholicSaints.Info.
12 January 2017. Web. 25 May 2022.
<https://catholicsaints.info/illustrated-catholic-family-annual-madame-barat/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/illustrated-catholic-family-annual-madame-barat/
The
Holiness of the Church in the Nineteenth Century – Blessed Madeleine Sophie
Barat
If one desires to see the
spirit of a Saint Teresa alive in the nineteenth century, let him read the
admirable life of the Blessed Madeleine Sophie Barat. He will be placed face to
face, as it were, with proof that eminent sanctity is now found in the Church
just as in ages past. She was born of simple but truly Christian parents on 12
December 1779, at Joigny in Burgundy. The Reign of Terror brought bitter grief
to the Barat family. Their son Louis, then a deacon, was imprisoned in the
Conciergerie in 1793 and only the fall of Robespierre saved him from the
guillotine. When Louis was ordained to the priesthood he brought his sister
Sophie, eleven years younger than himself, to Paris. He took upon himself her
spiritual guidance and wisely and skilfully made her familiar with the
principles of Christian asceticism. It was at Paris, the center of the
Revolution, that the Blessed Sophie was to found a religious Society for the
restoration and defense of the Kingdom of God. The devout Father Varin,
superior of the Fathers of the Faith, directed her attention to the needs of
the Church and to the misery of so many immortal souls that do not love Him
whose love is alone able to give them happiness. He enkindled in her a zeal for
souls which was to burn ever more strongly into the days of her old age, and
which neither sorrow nor a great flood of bitter trials would succeed in
extinguishing. On 21 November 1800, Sophie Barat, with several companions,
solemnly consecrated herself to the Sacred Heart. Two years later she was
allowed to take the vows of her Society and was obliged to assume the office of
superior, which she filled for sixty-two years.
But it was a heavy and
sharp-edged cross that was laid upon her shoulders. In the beginning God
permitted that the Society of the Sacred Heart should be very severely tried,
and this no one felt more keenly than the superior-general. But, as the cold,
dull iron sparkles more brightly with light and glow the more it is penetrated
by the fire of the forge, so in this fiery trial of suffering the splendid
features of the founder’s character and her unshakable confidence in God
triumphed; and it was her consolation to see her Society spread over the whole
world, with nearly 4000 Religious calling themselves her daughters.
Her life was a living and
active faith. The truths of faith were her consolation in all reverses of
fortune. They alone decided her resolutions. This spirit of faith was so strong
in her that it was endowed by God with the gift of miracles. She was also
endowed with remarkable enlightenment, prudence, and a farsighted and intimate
understanding of the times. There was nothing extravagant in her conduct. Her chief
interest was centered in what the Divine Heart so much desires – the honor of
the Heavenly Father, or what is practically the same, the salvation of immortal
souls. Seeing that especially among the ranks of the wealthy many are alienated
from God at an early age, Mother Barat made it a chief aim of her Society to
impart to young ladies a good Christian education. As an excellent means toward
the realization of this end she encouraged retreats and endeavored to procure
that as many as possible might profit by this means of regeneration for mind
and heart. Extraordinary favors from heaven were numerous during her life-time.
She had marvelous success in converting obstinate sinners. Very remarkable are
the miracles which took place after her death. Twenty-eight years later her
body was found to be incorrupt although the coffin was decayed. Nearly one
hundred miracles are recorded in detail in the acts of her beatification. She
was declared Blessed in 1908, although her death had occurred on 25 May 1865.
But God intends for her even higher exaltation. Since her beatification she has
further manifested her power to work miracles and the process of her
canonization has already been begun.
– this text is taken
from The Holiness of the Church in the Nineteenth
Century: Saintly Men and Women of Our Own Times, by Father
Constantine Kempf, SJ; translated from the German by Father Francis Breymann,
SJ; Impimatur by + Cardinal John Farley, Archbishop of New York, 25 September
1916
Book of
Saints – Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat
Article
Madeleine was born in
France in 1779. In Paris, she met Father Joseph Varin, who wanted to found a
congregation of women devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and dedicated to the
education of girls.
On 21 November 1800, she
and three other postulants began their religious life. The following year she
was sent to Amiens to teach in a school. Although she was only twenty-three,
Madeleine Sophie was appointed superior and held that office for sixty-three
years as Superior General of the Society of the Sacred Heart.
Madeleine Sophie built
one hundred and five houses in the principal countries of the world, including
the United States. She admonished her Sisters to seek the glory of the Heart of
Jesus in laboring for the saving of souls. Her motto was: “To suffer myself and
not to make others suffer.”
She died at Paris on 25
May 1865.
She was canonized 24
May 1925.
MLA
Citation
Father Lawrence
George Lovasik, S.V.D..
“Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat”. Book of Saints. CatholicSaints.Info.
8 January 2019. Web. 25 May 2022. <https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-saint-madeleine-sophie-barat/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-saint-madeleine-sophie-barat/
.jpg)
Santa Maddalena Sofia
Barat Vergine
Joigny, Borgogna, 13
dicembre 1779 - Parigi, Francia, 25 maggio 1865
Figlia di un bottaio, Maddalena Sofia Barat nacque il 13 dicembre 1779 a Joigny, presso Auxerre, nella Borgogna; morì a 86 anni nel 1865. Fondò a Parigi nel 1800 la Società del Sacro Cuore con lo scopo dell'educazione e dell'istruzione delle ragazze, specialmente dei ceti superiori; a queste scuole ella sempre annetterà alcune classi per i bambini poveri. La sua spiritualità è essenzialmente ignaziana, così come i principi della sua regola. La stessa santa spiega che "lo spirito della società è fondato essenzialmente sull'orazione e la vita interiore" e che il suo fine è di "glorificare il Sacro Cuore".
Nel corso del Giubileo del 1925 indetto da Papa Pio XI furono celebrate da
marzo a giugno numerose canonizzazioni: Pietro Canisio, dottore della Chiesa;
Teresa di Lisieux (o di Gesù Bambino), religiosa professa dell'Ordine del
Carmelo; Maria Maddalena Postel e Maddalena Sofia Barat, due sante educatrici
della gioventù.
Etimologia: Maddalena =
di Magdala, villaggio della Galilea - Sofia = sapienza, saggezza, da
Emblema: Giglio
Martirologio Romano: A
Parigi in Francia, santa Maddalena Sofia Barat, vergine, che fondò la Società
del Sacro Cuore di Gesù e si adoperò molto per la formazione cristiana delle
giovani.
Maddalena Sofia Barat è una straordinaria testimone della vitalità della Chiesa all’indomani della Rivoluzione Francese. Ultima di tre figli, nacque nella famiglia, molto religiosa e modestamente agiata, di un bottaio della Borgogna, a Joigny (Auxerre), nella notte del 13 dicembre 1779. Venne alla luce mentre in una casa vicina divampava un incendio, era talmente gracile che fu battezzata il mattino seguente. Il fratello Luigi, futuro gesuita, più grande di undici anni e suo padrino di battesimo, ritenne suo dovere trasmetterle l’amore per il sapere e istruirla secondo la fede che avevano in comune. Con un metodo molto esigente, le insegnò latino, greco, storia, fisica e matematica. Nel 1793, durante il periodo del Terrore, fu però imprigionato e rischiò seriamente la ghigliottina. Libero grazie alla caduta di Robespierre, il giovane fu ordinato sacerdote nel 1795. Trasferitosi a Parigi con la sorella, continuò ad insegnarle la teologia, lo studio della Bibbia e dei Padri della Chiesa. Maddalena, apprendendo pure l’italiano e lo spagnolo, raggiunse un livello d’istruzione eccezionale per una donna di quei tempi. Nel tempo libero ricamava e insegnava clandestinamente il catechismo ai bambini del quartiere Marais. Fin da giovanissima si era imposta un’esigente disciplina spirituale con la quale maturò la decisione di vestire l’abito delle carmelitane. I disegni divini erano però differenti. Il fratello le presentò Padre Giuseppe Varin che stava ricostituendo, in Francia, la Compagnia dei Gesuiti e pensava alla riapertura delle scuole cristiane, chiuse durante la Rivoluzione. Il sacerdote vide il soggetto ideale per dar vita al suo progetto proprio in Maddalena che così, ventunenne, il 21 novembre 1800 si consacrò al Signore con tre compagne. Nasceva la Società del Sacro Cuore per l’educazione e l’istruzione femminile. La denominazione però, per motivi politici, fu ufficiale solo dal 1815.
Nel 1801 il concordato tra la Santa Sede e la Francia finalmente pose fine alle persecuzioni e Maddalena poté andare ad insegnare ad Amiens, in quella che fu poi la prima casa dell’Istituto. Nel 1804 si acquisì un ex monastero visitandino di Grenoble e, per mirabile disegno divino, suor Maddalena conobbe Filippina Duchesne (canonizzata nel 1988). La giovane, figlia di un avvocato che a causa della soppressione del convento si dedicava all’insegnamento, entrò nella Società.
Nel 1805 suor Maddalena fu eletta, a soli venticinque anni, superiora generale: ricoprirà la carica fino alla morte, spendendo tutte le energie per lo sviluppo dell’Istituto. A Poitiers, in un’antica abbazia cistercense, aprì il noviziato. Grazie alla serietà dell’insegnamento le scuole erano continuamente richieste e si moltiplicarono in pochi anni. Non mancarono le prove, a causa di problemi interni con le suore o quando dovette chiudere alcune case per le leggi anti-clericali. Con un carisma eccezionale e con la forza della preghiera, seppe valutare ogni situazione con saggezza. Convocò nella Casa Madre di Parigi tutte le superiori locali affinché venisse stabilito il programma dell’Istituto e, con lungimiranza, si approvarono regole anche per le necessità mutevoli dei tempi. Nel 1831 Madre Maddalena scrisse a S. Filippina: ”i tempi cambiano ed anche noi dobbiamo cambiare il nostro modo di essere”. I collegi erano prevalentemente per i ceti agiati ma affiancati da classi di bambini poveri e da laboratori di cucito. Con i proventi delle prime si finanziavano le seconde.
Madre Barat viaggiò instancabilmente su e giù per la Francia e in molti paesi europei. Trattò con personalità, negoziò, comprò, costruì e cedette case, a volte in contesti ostili. Ne fondò in Svizzera, Inghilterra, Austria, Italia, Irlanda, Belgio, Spagna, Olanda, Germania, Polonia e pure in Algeria. Si recò tre volte a Roma e a Torino (1823) collaborò con Tancredi e Giulia di Barolo, anch’essi impegnati nella istruzione della gioventù. Per merito di S. Filippina, nel 1818, l’Istituto andò oltre oceano, in America del Nord, e in condizioni durissime raggiunse persino le tribù Potawatomi.
L’epistolario della Fondatrice conta migliaia di lettere, spesso scritte durante i viaggi: con esse guidava le suore sparse per il mondo. Affermava: “ il troppo lavoro è un pericolo per un’anima incompleta, per chi ama Nostro Signore esso è un abbondante raccolto”. Madre Barat diede vita complessivamente a centocinque case. Nel dicembre del 1826 la Società ebbe, con una celerità inusuale, l’approvazione pontificia di Leone XII.
La spiritualità di S. Maddalena Sofia era ispirata a S. Ignazio di Loyola e alla devozione al Sacro Cuore. Diceva: “Questa piccola Società è tutta consacrata alla gloria del Sacro Cuore di Gesù e alla propagazione del suo culto; tale è il fine che devono prefiggersi tutte quelle che ne diverranno membri”, “lo spirito della Società è fondato essenzialmente sull’orazione e la vita interiore”. Compito principale è l’educazione della gioventù per “rifare nelle anime i fondamenti solidi della fede nell’Eucaristia ed allevare una folla di adoratrici”. Venerava la Vergine Maria, “Mater Admirabilis”, guardando al suo “Cuore Immacolato” che svela i tesori della vita interiore e come “Madre Addolorata”, per restare “fedeli e calme ai piedi della Croce”. Dal carattere garbato e imparziale, fu perseverante nelle grandi fatiche che dovette affrontare. Ebbe il merito di istruire le donne, in un contesto sociale rinnovato, quando la cultura era prerogativa maschile.
Nel 1864, ormai ottantacinquenne, voleva dimettersi ma le suore non rinunciarono alla sua guida. Le fu affiancata una vicaria. L’anno successivo fu colpita da una paralisi nella Casa Madre di Parigi. Spirò il 25 maggio 1865, festa dell’Ascensione del Signore. Per umiltà non aveva mai acconsentito ad un ritratto che fu dunque fatto sul letto di morte. La congregazione contava tremilacinquecento suore, in sedici paesi.
Papa Pio XI la canonizzò durante il Giubileo del 1925. Il suo corpo,
trovato incorrotto nel 1893, fu traslato nel 1904 in Belgio (a Jette), a
seguito dell’espulsione delle religiose dalla Francia. Dal 1998 è a Bruxelles,
mentre le sue figlie sono oggi presenti in tutti i continenti per educare i
giovani, nei grandi centri come nei piccoli villaggi.
PREGHIERA
O Santa Maddalena Sofia,
che foste scelta da Dio in modo ammirabile per far conoscere
ed amare il Divin Cuore di Gesù
e compiste così fedelmente questa missione,
gradite oggi l’omaggio della nostra fiducia e delle nostre preghiere.
Guidateci nella via della dolcezza e dell’umiltà,
infiammate i nostri cuori dello zelo da cui il vostro fu consumato,
proteggeteci sempre affinché meritiamo di vedere un giorno
i nostri nomi scritti in quel Cuore Sacratissimo
e di fare in Lui solo la nostra dimora, nel tempo
e nell’eternità.
Amen.
Autore: Daniele Bolognini
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/33050
Autel
et châsse de sainte Madeleine-Sophie Barat en la chapelle du Sacré-Cœur de
Jette, vers 1970
Den hellige Magdalena
Sofia Barat (1779-1865)
Minnedag: 25.
mai
Den hellige Magdalena
Sofia Barat (fr: Madeleine-Sophie) ble født den 12. desember 1779 i landsbyen
Joigny nord for Auxerre i departementet Yonne i Burgund i Frankrike. Hun var
yngste datter av tønnemakeren Jacques Barat, som hadde en liten vingård, og hans
hustru Madeleine Foufé. Hun ble døpt dagen etter og hennes elleve år eldre bror
Louis var hennes gudfar. I tillegg hadde hun søsteren Marie-Louise, som også
var mye eldre enn henne. Hun ble bare kalt Sofia, trolig for å unngå
sammenligning med moren. På grunn av sin modenhet og alvor fikk hun tillatelse
til å få sin første kommunion lenge før sine jevnaldrende.
Da broren Louis som
22-åring var ferdig med seminaret i Sens, var han for ung til å prestevies, og
han kom som diakon til Joigny for å undervise på kollegiet der. Da mente han at
det var hans plikt å undervise henne som guttene på kollegiet i latin, gresk,
historie, fysikk og matematikk, spansk og italiensk, uten avbrudd og uten
kameratskap. Louis ville også undertrykke søsterens følelser, og han bebreidet
og straffet henne i stedet for å rose henne. Hans strenghet mot sin søster
virker både merkelig og unormal. Men til tross for, eller på grunn av, denne
behandlingen utviklet hun en kjærlighet til lærdom og til en sunn oppdragelse.
Raskt ble hun en av brorens beste elever, og de greske og latinske klassikerne
leste hun snart bedre enn elevene på seminaret.
Under Den franske
revolusjon ble Louis arrestert av Jakobinerne under Terrorregimet i 1793 og
brakt til Paris. Han hadde avlagt eden på Sivilkonstitusjonen for presteskapet
etter råd fra Biskopen av Sens – han kunne ikke vite at biskopen skulle bli
jakobiner og ateist. Men straks eden var blitt fordømt av paven, trakk mange
den tilbake, inkludert Louis. Hele tiden i fengselet hadde han trusselen om døden
hengende over seg. Etter Robespierres fall to år senere fikk han sin frihet
tilbake, ble presteviet og vendte tilbake til Joigny.
Der var Sofia vokst opp
til en sjarmerende og livlig jente, sine foreldres øyensten og sentrum for en
beundrende krets av venner. For Louis virket det som om det var en reell fare
for at hun skulle miste det kallet til et religiøst liv som hun tidligere hadde
følt. Han bestemte seg for å ta med seg Sofia til Paris for å fortsette hennes
utdannelse der. Fra hun var 15 år var Bibelen, kirkefedrene og teologi hennes
hovedfag i tillegg til bot og selvransakelse. Vi blir fortalt at hun aksepterte
alt dette med «munter resignasjon».
I Paris lærte den
16-årige jenta i 1795 å kjenne abbé (pater) Joseph Varin de Solmon. Han var
superior for «Foreningen for Jesu Hjerte» (Sacré-Coeur), som Louis
tilhørte og som var oppstått blant en gruppe unge seminarister på Saint-Sulpice
i Paris med p. Varin og Leonor de Tournely i spissen. De arbeidet for at
jesuittene igjen skulle tillates etter at de var blitt forbudt 30 år tidligere
av pave Klemens XIV (1769-74), og både Louis og p. Varin ble senere jesuitter
da ordenen igjen ble tillatt. De Tournely hadde planer om å danne en parallell
gruppe for kvinner som kunne ta seg av utdannelsen av jenter, men han døde i en
koppeepidemi bare tretti år gammel.
P. Varin ble tiltalt av
Sofias dyder og hennes tillit til Gud, og han observerte hvordan hun i de
følgende årene for å lindre den herskende prestenøden virket som hjelpekateket
og underviste forsømte unge. Etter stengingen av mange kristne skoler under
revolusjonen spurte mange seg hvordan de unge skulle få sin utdannelse.
Sofia ønsket å en dag bli
legsøster hos karmelittene, men p. Varin forsto at hun ikke var egnet til dette
livet. Han hadde alltid hatt lyst til å grunnlegge en orden for oppdragelse av
jenter i faresonen, med konstitusjoner bygd på jesuittordenens, og i Sofia
Barat så han den egnede personligheten som kunne sette denne drømmen ut i
livet. Sofia lot seg overtale, og den 21. november 1800 viet hun seg sammen med
tre ledsagere til Jesu hellige Hjerte. Dette regnes som grunnleggelsesdatoen
for hennes kongregasjon.
I september 1801 ble
Sofia sendt for å undervise ved en skole i Amiens, og dette ble det første
huset i det nye instituttet. Det var politisk umulig å ta navnet Selskapet av
Jesu hellige Hjerte, så medlemmene var kjent som Dames de la Foi eller de
l'Instruction Chrétienne. Med fornyet hjelp av Varin grunnla Sofia i 1802
kongregasjonen Dames du Sacré Coeur eller «Selskapet av Jesu hellige
Hjerte» (Societas Religiosarum Sanctissimi Cordis Iesu – RSCJ). Hun
tok selv navnet Moder Magdalena (Mère Madeleine) da hun ble ikledd
ordensdrakten den 7. juni 1802 sammen med Geneviève Deshayes. Ved den
høytidelige ikledningen mottar søstrene i kongregasjonen en ring samt et
sølvkors med ordene Cor unum et anima una in Corde Iesu, «Ett hjerte og en
sjel i Jesu Hjerte», et sitat som stammer fra grunnleggersken.
Snart åpnet
kongregasjonen en andre skole, denne gang en friskole for de fattige.
Postulanter kom og gikk, og den første superioren, Mademoiselle Loquet, dro
også til et annet sted, etter at det viste seg at hun ikke hadde evne til å
styre og manglet et ekte kall. Den 23-årige Magdalena var mye yngre enn de
andre søstrene, som nå var 23 i alt, men i 1802 ble hun først enstemmig, men
motvillig valgt til superior og i 1806 til kongregasjonens generalsuperior.
Ingen kunne da vite at hun skulle lede kongregasjonen i 63 år. Det første hun
gjorde, var å knele og kysse føttene til hver enkelt søster.
Moder Magdalena var en
kvinne av stor sjarm og foretaksomhet, og i begynnelsen møtte kongregasjonen
mye suksess. Mange søstre trådte inn, og i november 1804 tok hun over det
forlatte klosteret Sainte-Marie-d'en-Haut i Grenoble, og sammen med det noen
medlemmer av en kommunitet Visitasjonssøstre grunnlagt av den hellige Frans av Sales (død
1622). En av disse var den hellige Rosa Philippine
Duchesne, som skulle bringe kongregasjonen til USA i 1818. Grenoble var den
første av rundt åtti grunnleggelser som Moder Barat kom til å foreta. Etter
Grenoble kom Poitiers, hvor hun fikk tilbud om å få det gamle
cistercienserklosteret Les Feuillantes. Der etablerte hun novisiatet, og det
ble hennes hovedkvarter i to år – kanskje de lykkeligste i hennes liv. Derfra
reiste hun rundt i Frankrike og Flandern og grunnla hus i Belley, Niort, Gent
og Cugnières.
Men etter innledende
suksess måtte Magdalena deretter i åtte år leve med store vanskeligheter innen
instituttet, noe mange grunnleggere har måttet tåle. Moder Barat ble valgt til
generalsuperior i 1806, men bare med en stemmes overvekt. For under et av
hennes fravær hadde en lokal superior, hjulpet av den ambisiøse kapellanen i
Amiens, gjort et målbevisst forsøk på å endre konstitusjonene uten
konsultasjoner og i siste instans å bli kvitt grunnleggersken. Dette varte i
flere år, men motstanden kollapset i 1815. Da ble kongregasjonens regler, som
var skrevet av Moder Magdalena og Abbé Varin og basert på jesuittenes regel,
endelig vedtatt.
Vanskelighetene ble fulgt
av en periode med konsolidering og videre ekspansjon, og de lokale superiorene
ble i 1820 kalt til moderhuset i Paris for å sette opp en studieplan for
skolene. Det ble oppnådd enighet om de generelle prinsippene, men med åpenhet
for tilpassing og videre utvikling hvert sjette år for å møte tidenes endrede
behov. Kongregasjonens internatskoler i Paris ble skattet så høyt at det reiste
seg sterke krav om at de måtte etterlignes andre steder. Side om side med
etableringen av uavhengige kostskoler med skolepenger gikk utviklingen av
skoler for de fattige, og utvilsomt gikk noe av fortjenesten fra de førstnevnte
til å hjelpe de andre. Moder Magdalenas kongregasjon møtte tidens behov for et
vitalt og godt utdannet korps av hengivne lærere som ble sett på som nye og
uten forbindelse med noen orden under Ancien régime. Fremfor alt høyadelen
sendte sine døtre til Magdalenas skoler, men også barnehjem og fattigskoler ble
betrodd kongregasjonen.
De mange grunnleggelsene
gjorde at Moder Barat så nødvendigheten av en sterkere garanti for enhet, og
hun søkte den i union med Roma. Den høytidelige approbasjonen kom mye raskere
enn normalt på grunn av et notat grunnleggersken skrev og presenterte i mai
1826 for pave Leo XII (1823-29). Kongregasjonen fikk formell pavelig godkjennelse
i desember 1826. Tretten år senere var det igjen vanskeligheter rundt
konstitusjonene, men disse ble igjen løst ved grunnleggerskens taktfulle
rettferdighetssans og tålmodige bestemthet. Hun visste når hun skulle vente og
når hun skulle presse på.
Julirevolusjonen i 1830
stengte novisiatet i Poitiers, og det ble for en tid forvist til Sveits. Men
Magdalena likte å reise, og hennes eget liv var nå en sammenhengende reise:
Frankrike på kryss og tvers, tre ganger til Roma og minst en gang til Sveits,
England (1844) og Østerrike. Hun sa selv at hun alltid var underveis, samtidig
som hun skrev brev og hele tiden travel med administrasjon eller møter med
besøkende. Hun skrev til en av sine nonner at «for mye arbeid er en fare for en
ufullkommen sjel, men for en som elsker Vår Herre, betyr det en rikelig høst».
Instituttet spredte seg til Nord-Amerika (1818), Italia (1828), Sveits (1830),
Belgia (1834), Algerie (1841), England (1842), Irland (1842), Spania (1846),
Nederland (1848), Tyskland (1851), Sør-Amerika (1853), Østerrike (1853) og
Polen (1857).
Hennes nonner har alltid
utmerket seg ved en konstant hengivelse til barna i deres varetekt, og ikke få
av dem har fulgt sin grunnleggerske i å oppnå et imponerende nivå av
intellektuell styrke, om ikke ved hjelp av de samme metodene som ble utøvd av
hennes bror. Imidlertid må vi huske at denne erfaringen bar uvanlig frukt i
hans søsters liv og verk. Magdalena ble bevisst kvinnenes apostoliske oppgave
som troens vokter og misjonær innen familien, noe som lenge var anerkjent innen
den jødiske religion. Derfor grunnla hun forbundet for «Mariabarn», hvor
tidligere elever kunne styrkes i sitt Gudsforhold også etter at de var ferdige
på instituttet.
Magdalena levde lenge nok
til å se kongregasjonen grunnlegge 105 hus med skoler i 12 land, 9 i Europa
samt i Afrika og Nord- og Sør-Amerika. Kongregasjonen grunnla pensjonater,
internatskoler og eksternatskoler for barn fra alle samfunnslag, gjennomførte
åndelige øvelser for kvinner og utdannet lærerinner. I 1864 tryglet Moder Barat
kongregasjonens generalkapittel om å få tre tilbake, men alt hun oppnådde var å
at det ble valgt en vikar for å hjelpe henne.
Den 21. mai 1865 ble hun
rammet av et slag og ble lammet, og på Kristi Himmelfartsdag den 25. mai 1865
døde hun i Paris, 85 år gammel. Hun ble gravlagt i novisiathuset i Conflans.
Ved en rituell identifisering av hennes levninger i 1893 ble hennes legeme
funnet nesten friskt og uråtnet. I 1904 ble religiøse ordener oppløst og utvist
fra Frankrike, og hun ble da flyttet fra Paris den 30. april 1904 og fikk sitt
siste hvilested i Jette-Saint-Pierre i nærheten av Brussel i Belgia.
I 1879 ble hennes
«heroiske dyder» anerkjent og hun fikk tittelen Venerabilis («Ærverdig»).
Hun ble saligkåret den 24. mai 1908 (dokumentet (Breve) var datert den 22.
januar 1908) av den hellige pave Pius X (1903-14)
og helligkåret den 24. mai 1925 av pave Pius XI (1922-39). Hennes minnedag er
25. mai (i noen bispedømmer 24. mai). Hennes navn står i Martyrologium Romanum.
Hun fremstilles i svart ordensdrakt med hvit oval rysjelue og svart slør.
Magdalena kan betraktes
som et slående eksempel på vitaliteten i Kirken i Frankrike etter den
revolusjonære perioden. Hennes lange liv og mange grunnleggelser var
bemerkelsesverdige uansett tidsepoke, men undervisningen, innpodet henne av
broren, var basert på metoder som anses undertrykkende og foreldede i dag.
Ordenen var en av de første som tillot sine medlemmer å bære sivile klær i
stedet for ordensdrakt. I Sverige er hennes orden ansvarlige for driften av
Johannesgården i Göteborg.
Kilder:
Attwater/John, Attwater/Cumming, Farmer, Jones, Bentley, Butler, Butler (V),
Benedictines, Delaney, Bunson, Day, Ball (2), Cruz (1), Jones (2), Engelhart,
Schauber/Schindler, Melchers, Index99, KIR, CE, CSO, Patron Saints SQPN,
Infocatho, Bautz, Heiligenlexikon, hh.schule.de - Kompilasjon og
oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden -
Opprettet: 1999-08-03 19:43 - Sist oppdatert: 2005-08-24 22:51
SOURCE : http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/mbarat
Voir aussi : http://www.rscj.com/CONNAITRE/Histoire/index.php
http://www.madeleinesophiebarat.com/french.htm
http://sofie.org/resources/founding-mothers/madeleine-sophie-barat
