Святая Мадлен Софи Бара: Основательница Общества Святого Сердца

French Roman Catholic saint

Madeleine Sophie Barat, RSCJ, (12 December 1779 – 25 May 1865), was a French saint of the Catholic Church who founded the Society of the Sacred Heart, a worldwide religious institute of educators.

Barat was born on the night of 12 December 1779, in Joigny, France, next door to a house fire at a neighbor's home. The stress and the terror of the fire caused Sophie's mother, Madeleine Fouffé Barat (1740–1822), then pregnant with her third child, to go into labour. Born two months premature, Madeleine Sophie was considered so fragile that she was baptised early the next morning in Sainy Thibault Church, just a few yards from the Barat family home. Although her parents had arranged godparents in advance, there was no time to call them to the church and so at five o'clock on the morning of 13 December 1779, Louise Sophie Cédor, a local woman on her way to early Mass, and Sophie's older brother, Louis, stood in as her godparents. Barat was born into a financially comfortable family whose ancestors had lived in Joigny for generations and were proud of their roots in the region. Her father, Jacques Barat (1742–1809), was a cooper and vine grower. Both professions were respected trades, with centuries of French culture behind them. The Barats were Jansenist Catholics, which is said to have shaped Sophie's spirituality profoundly. She was always willing to help people in need and to pray for others.

Barat's older brother Louis was a serious boy and a brilliant student. Their parents encouraged his interest in studies and employed a tutor for him at home. Shortly after entering the Collège Saint Jacques in Joigny at the age of nine, Louis decided to become a Catholic priest. In 1784, at the age of 16, Louis left Joigny to begin his studies for the priesthood at the seminary at Sens. Louis was ordained a deacon, but because he was too young to be ordained, he was obliged to return home until he was 21. Louis became a teacher of mathematics at his old school and decided to take on Sophie's education. He taught her Latin, Greek, history, natural science, Spanish, and Italian providing Sophie with an education that was rarely available to young women and girls at the time. The first school was opened in Amiens in northern France in September 1801 and Sophie traveled to the provincial city in order to teach. She made her vows, 7 June 1802. The new community and school grew quickly. A school giving classes to the poor of the town was opened. In December 1802, at the age of twenty three, Sophie became Superior of the Society of the Sacred Heart.

In November 1804, Barat traveled to Sainte Marie d’en Haut, near Grenoble, in southeastern France, to receive a community of Visitation nuns into the Society. Among them was Philippine Duchesne, who would later introduce the Society to America and was canonized a saint in 1988. A second school was then established at Grenoble, followed by a third at Poitiers in western France. Father Varin envisioned an entire network of such schools and, after the first establishments in France, foundations were established in North America (1818), Italy (1828), Switzerland (1830), Belgium (1834), Algiers (1841), England (1842), Ireland (1842), Spain (1846), Holland (1848), Germany (1851), South America (1853), Austria (1853) and Poland (1857). Barat is credited with the twofold gift of intuition in the choice of persons fitted for office and trust of those in responsible posts. New foundations were always entrusted to other hands. In 1820, she called all of the superiors together in a council at Paris to establish a uniform course of studies for the quickly expanding network of Sacred Heart schools. Barat was known to refuse to have her photograph or portrait taken, and it had been believed that no portrait of her existed from her lifetime, but there is photograph of her on her deathbed. In 1992, a portrait was discovered during a restoration at the convent of Sante Rufina e Seconda in Rome by the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea. It is believed to have been painted prior to her beatification and sent from Italy to the Mother House in Paris in 1879. It currently hangs in the General Archives of the Society of the Sacred Heart. One of Barat's earliest biographers was Louis Baunard, who wrote Histoire de la vénérable Mère Madeleine Sophie Barat, fondatrice de la Société du Sacré Cœur de Jésus.

“We don’t live with angels; we have to put up with human nature and forgive it.”

“Before making any change take counsel Prudence and a wise slowness are necessary in the beginning.”

“More is gained by indulgence than by severity.”

"Be humble, be simple, bring joy to others." "For the sake of one child, I would have founded the Society." "Your example, even more than your words, will be an eloquent lesson to the world." "Give only good example to the children; never correct them when out of humor or impatient. We must win them by an appeal to their piety and to their hearts. Soften your reprimands with kind words; encourage and reward them. That is, in short, our way of educating." "Let us leave acts, not words. Nobody will have time to read us." The Sophie Barat School in Hamburg, Germany, an independent non fee paying co educational grammar school, is run by the Society of the Sacred Heart. Barat College, in Lake Forest, Illinois, the descendant of the Academy of the Sacred Heart, was founded on Wabash Avenue in 1858 and relocated to Lake Forest in 1904. It received its charter from the State of Illinois in 1918. Barat College merged with DePaul University in 2001 and was closed in 2005. The Barat Education Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization, was established in 2000 prior to the sale of Barat College to DePaul University. At the time, the foundation was charged with the development and support of innovative educational programs and services that reflected the values and educational tradition of Barat College. When DePaul University closed Barat College in June 2005, the board of directors voted to perpetuate and build upon the Barat legacy of education, leadership and advocacy. Today, the Barat Education Foundation is committed to continuing and adapting the heritage and legacy of Barat College to the 21st century world. The "Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat Tribute and Memorial Scholarship" is available annually to two new or returning students attending Oak Hill School in St. Louis, Missouri. The scholarship is funded by tribute and memorial contributions, and the amount of assistance varies each year.

Sophie the Giraffe, a French children's toy, is indirectly named after Madeleine Sophie Barat, because the first toy went into production on May 25, 1961, St. Sophie's day.