Saint’s Corner
St. Madeleine Sophie Barat
May 25th we remember St. Madeleine Sophie Barat. She was born on December 12th, 1779 in the region of Burgundy, France. She devoted her early life to studying, with her older brother as her teacher. He was a stern teacher because he believed that Madeleine was destined to do great things for God. The French revolution soon followed and France was left without many teachers.
Shortly thereafter she met a priest named Father Varin. She told Father Varin that she wanted to become a Carmelite lay-sister and his response changed her life. He told her that she was to use her education to help educate the girls of France. With his encouragement, Madeleine began her religious life and was sent to teach in a school a year later. At the age of 23 she was appointed
superior of the new order of the Society of the Sacred Heart. She held the post for 63 years and opened many schools for the poor in that time. She died at the age of 85 on the Feast of the Ascension in 1864 and was canonized in 1925.