Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat (1865)

Born before the Reign of Terror brought on by the French Revolution, Madeleine Sophie Barat was one of the most brilliant and courageous French Catholic girls in the history of the Church. With heroism and charm combined, with devotion and genius mingled together, she rallied hundreds and hundreds of young women to the cause of the Church Militant in those dreadful days. In 1801, she founded the Religious of the Sacred Heart, familiarly known as the Madams of the Sacred Heart. The fruit of her work was one hundred and five religious houses, and four thousand nuns, right in her own day. One of the spiritual daughters of Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat is Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, who is buried in Saint Charles, Missouri, outside Saint Louis. Saint Madeleine Sophie was eighty-six years old when she died.

Savinien Petit's portrait of Madeleine Sophie Barat (photo by AntonyB: details)

Savinien Petit’s portrait of Madeleine Sophie Barat (photo by AntonyB: details)