Madeleine Sophie Barat

Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat (December 12, 1779 – May 25, 1865) is a French saint of the Catholic church. 
She was the daughter of Jacques Barat, a cooper who worked with the vineyards. Naturally bright, she was educated by her older brother Louis, a monk. When she was ten years old, France underwent the French Revolution with its suppression of Christian schools. The education of the young, particularly young girls, was in a troubled state. 
As Madeline grew older, her brother feared she would be exposed to too much of the world, and so brought her to Paris with him. She wanted to be a Carmelite lay sister, but with Father Joseph Varin and three other postulants, she founded the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1801, devoted to the Sacred Heart and dedicated to teaching girls. 
She was in contact with other Catholic figures of the time, such as Venerable Leo Dupont, the Apostle of the Holy Face.Robert H. Steuart, 1937 Diversity in Holiness Sheed & Ward Press, ISBN 0836909062 (Google Books) page 79 She became Superior General of the Society at age 23 and held the position for 63 years. Receiving papal approval of the Society in 1826, she founded 105 houses in many countries; Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne and four companions brought the Society to the United States. 
 
Mother Barat died in Paris. She was canonized on May 24, 1925 by Pope Pius XI. 
Barat College in Lake Forest, Illinois, was named after Mother Barat and it merged with DePaul University from 2001 until 2005. In 2005, however, DePaul decided to close the school and focus its financial resources towards their other campuses in Chicago and surrounding suburbs where they had a satellite campus. The final class at Barat College finished June 11, 2005, exactly 100 years to the day the first class graduated. 
'Barat' is the name of a house at Woldingham School, a Sacred Heart institution in Surrey, England.
 Baradene College of the Sacred Heart is a girl's high school in Auckland, New Zealand; one of their six houses is called 'Barat'.
Sophie-Barat-School Hamburg (Germany),an elite school, was founded and named after her. It is led by the Sacré Coer.
==Notes==
==External links==
* Madeleine Sophie Barat — Catholic Community Forum
* Ven. Madeleine-Sophie Barat — New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia
* St. Madeleine Sophie Barat — American Catholic
* Founder Statue in St Peter's Basilica
* Sophie-Barat-Schule Hamburg,Germany
ca:Magdalena Sofia Barat
de:Sophie Barat
es:Magdalena Sofía Barat
fr:Madeleine-Sophie Barat
it:Madeleine-Sophie Barat
mt:Santa Madalena Sofia Barat
nl:Madeleine-Sophie Barat
Category:French Roman Catholic saints
Category:French Roman Catholic nuns
Category:French saints
Category:Female saints