A. The beginnings of the Society

It was in Paris that Sophie and her first three companions made their religious vows on 21st November 1800, the date considered as the foundation-day of the Society of the Sacred Heart. In Amiens the first three professed gave themselves to the education of little girls, in circumstances that were very poor. They did all the work, they wrote copy-books by hand by the light of a small candle, and shared meals which were meagre indeed. Only at night-fall was there some relaxation, by sharing together, prayer and singing. Because the foolish superior had little regard for "sister Sophie who cannot put two words together", it was she, Sophie, who in the midst of the thousand things she had to do, was sent to accompany the small boarders on their walks, wearing an attire that was far from flattering.

The seed had been sown: the society of the Sacred Heart was born. This first school was known ad the "cradle" and so the General Chapter of 2000 took place in Amiens and gave special consideration to the topic of education for the world today.

The date 1806 when, despite her protests, Sophie was named superior general of the young congregation, marks a whole series of storms, intuitions, and developments, which took place according to the rythm decreed by providence. The progression was sometimes slow, sometimes by leaps and bounds, at different times and in different places.

Intuition: It was a holy priest, an emigrant in Vienna, Léonor de Tournély who first dreamt of a Society of the Sacred Heart. He died in 1795, aged 30, burnt out by his inner fire, and peacefully insisting :"It will be! it will be!" Several previous efforts had been in vain. Tournély passed on his inspiration to Joseph Varin who like him was a Father of the Faith. This was a pseudonym for the Society of Jesus, whose members waited in exile for the time when they could serve the Kingdom of God under the banner of Ignatius of Loyola. Father Varin spoke to Louis Barat, himself also a Father of the Faith, about his search for someone who would be the corner-stone of this future Society. The latter mentioned "his little sister", who seemed well prepared, and the meeting with her sealed the matter. Sophie gave up her desire for Carmel and in a life of intense activity henceforth had to sacrifice her desire for prayer, reducing it to a mere 6 or 7 hours each day.

Storms: The young Society was not spared from storms. Her earliest companions die not persevere but chose other ways to serve God. The intrigues led by Father de Saint-Estève, a forged document sent to Rome which condemned Mother Barat's manner of governing, almost ruined the Society. A friend of Sophie, Julie Billiart, Saint Mary of Providence, who was also guided by Father Varin in the education of poor children was the victim of serious calumny. She was forced to go into exile in Namur, and her orphanage in Amiens was taken over by Mother Barat and her religious following long-delayed rehabilitation of Julie's character.

The sister-community of the Dilette, established in Rome, had similar storms, and the two communities had to separate. The house of the Sacred Heart in Dooresele, near to Ghent, also separated. The local bishops feared the intrigues of gallicanism. This foundation was the cradle of the congregation of the Sisters of Christian Education, whom we call our "cousins"; It was not until 1834 that the Sacred Heart was established in Belgium, in Jette.

One incident: at Perpignan in 1807, revolutionaries were about to climb over the walls to ransack the boarding-school which the boarders had just left. One of them shouted that this school was not set up by the restoration but by decree of the emperor… and all withdrew. But everywhere else was not so lucky and many works and properties had to be abandoned. In Turin in 1848 the people turned against the religious and expelled them to the States of Sardinia, so that five houses were abandoned within the space of a few months.

Yet again gallicanism set the pace for dialogue with Rome, sometimes making this very difficult, during the decades that followed. The bishops in France did not look kindly on the setting up of the Mother-House in Rome, close to the Holy See. In 1839, Mother Barat accepted to live in Rome for three years as an experiment, though she herself considered this decision of the General Chapter members to be premature. There followed three years of great suffering for the foundress. She lived through this suffering with the greatest discretion and honesty, doing everything she could to preserve union of hearts and minds, and dialoging with the Holy See and the Archbishop of Paris. In 1842, when the three years were ended and it was the time for another council meeting, there came another twist in the drama. Monsignor Affre, bishop of Paris, refused to allow the council to meet outside his diocese. (The congregation had first been recognised within the diocese of Paris). There followed a fever of diplomatic exchanges between Paris and Rome: the intervention of the French government, the mediation of a true friend, Monsignor Mathieu[1], and lo and behold the Society was once again saved. In 1848, as he was dying a hero at the barricades, Monsignor Affre, who had previously mis-judged mother Barat, sent her a message assuring her of his esteem and affection.

Development was swift. Foundations multiplied, sometimes as in Cuignières, in such poverty that they had to be abandoned. An added factor contributing to this mushrooming expansion was the desire of groups of religious wanting to join the Society en bloc. It was this movement which brought Philippine Duchesne, a former Visitation Sister to the Society. This holy missionary pioneer was canonised 1988. The abundant flowering of the Society was due to the indefatigable labours of Madeleine-Sophie who paid little attention to her delicate health - she was cured of cancer by a miracle in 1804- (mention is made also of consumption). In greater degree it was due also to the spiritual charism which underpinned the genius for government.

Truly, mysticism was at play here, a fact recognised by other religious congregations who read and appreciate the Constitutions of the Society of the Sacred Heart which were drawn up jointly by Mother Barat and Father Varin in 1815. This juridical text is shot through with a spiritual impulse which is a life-long inspiration for action. There is nothing militarist or individualist in what it calls for. Judge from the following : "They will consider it their most sacred obligation and their sweetest occupation to contemplate, study and know in depth the interior dispositions of this divine Heart, in order to unit and conform themselves to it." (Rule for the novices). Yes, even if Madeleine-Sophie was formed in the Jesuit school of thought, she never lost her own style, which was nearer to the French school. From what time does the following little-known prayer date?

B. The joys of the first years

From the window of her attic room in Joigny, young Sophie could see only a few roofs jutting out against the hills of this little provincial town. Totally given to prayer and to study in her ultra-monastic cell, Sophie came to understand that the contemplative lives before the face of God for the sake of the world. Her desires reached to far-distant countries, and to China in particular. Her generosity was aroused by this huge sub-continent, unknown and masked in a cloud of mystery, where no one knew the God of love.

Some years later in Paris, the door of Carmel remained closed to Sophie while the as yet unborn Society awaited the four who would consecrate themselves to God. (Sophie was the only one who would persevere in this consecration). Later she said to the novices :

"At the same time a missionary who was leaving for the island of Madagascar came to see us and to talk to us about his work. Later he wrote to us asking: did we not wish to devote ourselves to the salvation of those who lived in idolatry? When this letter came I knew immediately, from what happened within me, that our Society would be world-wide: and this thought was deep in my heart, like a call from God. Anxious to respond, I took advice. I received the reply :"No, you are to stay in France. That will be the field of your work - you will seldom leave it." I submitted, and seeing that God did not want this of me I satisfied myself with this prayer :"Lord, since you do not wish to grant your servant's desire, allow me to ask you for a companion who one day will do that work instead of me, someone who will do it better than I."

We will see later how wonderfully this prayer was answered !

The first steps of the young Society began in Amiens, in poverty and with many difficulties. The eldest of the three foundation-stones, Geneviève Deshayes, tells of happy times in the evenings when the day's work was finished and the children were in bed.

"Our happiness consisted in a great purity of union, in God alone. Usually we chatted around the kitchen table. There, the three heads bent close to one another, would have been a picture of happiness and trust. Sister Sophie, burning with zeal, spoke of her longing for the missions in Canada…"

C. The beneficiaries

With whom did Madeleine-Sophie want to share her lively faith ?  To whom did she want to give an education (in not only intellectual but also artistic studies) that would enable them to take their place in society ?  It is fair enough to begin by considering the children of the free schools. These were founded at the same time as the boarding-schools, and sometimes, even before them.

In Jette, for example the poor-school was begun in 1834 while the boarding-school began only in 1836. The first free school was in Amiens, in 1802. These schools which had large numbers of pupils, influenced a great many families. Their purpose was to support the families in their efforts to secure an education for the children and to support them in their difficulties too. The more affluent families of the boarders contributed to the financial support of these schools. For how could it have been possible to have had rich and poor sharing the same school-benches? Could one have spoken of the duty of the "haves" to share with the "have-nots"? Of the duty of those who are privileged, to uphold the dignity of those who have no voice in society? Saint Madeleine-Sophie had a special place in her heart for these children who belonged to the world of work, whether they were pupils at the poor-schools, or orphans due to cholera, or the little boys at the school which she was forced to open in Italy. She wanted all her daughters to share this special love for those who had little or nothing. So in the Rule she stressed the indifference which all should have as regards where they might be sent, or the service they would be asked to give. She allowed all, indeed she encouraged all to have a particular preference for work in the poor-schools.

Many customs in the boarding-schools were similar to those of other religious congregations at that time. Saint Madeleine-Sophie insisted on a strong formation of character, to withstand the attractions of social life. At this early stage, she wanted the young women themselves to be the "artisans of their own development". Can you believe it? One can almost hear here, the voice of Federico Mayor, eminent secretary of UNESCO, as he explains his proposed programme of work. "It is important that educators offer objectives, always leaving something further to be sought after", he said. Madeleine-Sophie saidhe same thing writing about education, when she warned against a hot-house, closed-in style of education for "those hearts which are still young and sensitive."

D. The programme of Education

Like Madeleine-Sophie many of her first companions had enjoyed a wide-ranging education and were at ease both with the sciences as also with Latin, Greek, etc. This, despite the political, religious and social upheavals of that time. Very soon therefore - from 1820 onwards, Mother Barat, along with others, set about drawing up successive plans of study for the young teaching religious who were confined to the cloister by church law. During their years in formation she ensured there were times set aside for study in the elementary and senior juniorate.

All the same however, her chief objective was neither an extensive intellectual formation, nor a somewhat less extensive formation in the arts and home-skills. She wanted to form them above all as women of faith. Her catechesis was strong, and stressed the essentials. She gave no place to private devotions. For her, devotion to the Sacred Heart was far from being just a number of rituals, rather it sprang from a heart taken over by the love of God as expressed in Jesus, particularly in the Eucharist. The spiritual programme proposed for all, was important: the whole house followed a regime which was very similar to that of the monasteries, with its rhythm of exercises in common and of prayer which surrounded activities of any importance. In the Society's calendar, feasts are emphasised and celebrated with fervour, and sometimes too, with fun, as on 20th October, feast of Mater Admirabilis and "the burial-day of the new pupils".

21st November brought out all the young boarders who took part in "little Mary's procession." Even the naughty ones joined in, marked out by wearing the "black veil"! The lily-procession on 8th December was an occasion to draw on the treasury of hymns and tableaux, and for the offering of lilies, symbol of purity of heart.

To some, Saint Madeleine-Sophie proposed "yet more". Retreats featured on the programme for the boarding-schools and were offered also to adults who came for spiritual renewal. "Congregations", of the Holy Child, of Saint Louis Gonzaga, of the Angels, of the Children of Mary, all offered a deeper commitment. For every age and stage of spiritual formation there was a corresponding more demanding programme which was spoken about in assemblies or when pupils urged one another on to greater generosity. From 1832, in Lyons, the "Congregation of the Children of Mary in the world" - to use the expression of that time - offered former pupils a pathway for prayer and social action. In the Journal of the Congregation of the Children of Mary, set up in Jette around mid-19th century, it states that, following the grace of being saved from an epidemic, the Children of Mary committed themselves to making a regular financial contribution for the support of poor priests. In another part of the world, in Chicago in 1898, the Children of Mary undertook to contribute to the education of young Italian children, and to work for better living-conditions for those families. Still in Chicago there were clubs and workshops for different groups of working men and women, a magazine, concerts…

Alongside those of the Children of Mary, were the high ideals of faith and commitment put forward by other congregations in such groups as "Consolers of Mary", and the congregation of Saint Anne. In this spirit the little village of Bois-l'Evêque took up devotion to the Sacred Heart. There were many workers who freely got together for the celebration of the First Fridays, offering reparation to the Sacred Heart and consecrating their daily life to the God of love.

E. The spirit of the Society

But even the best and most well-worked-out programme would have remained a dead letter without the power of example. Mother Barat used to say "We can only form others if we are formed ourselves." Her pedagogical instinct was very sure. If she wanted a particular response, she knew how to await the moment when generosity would triumph. At the boarding-School in Aix which had been taken over by the Society from teachers who wanted to join the congregation, each boarder had her own tuck-box, with her own key! During a visit from the bishop, all the children in a rush of generosity, agreed to hand over their keys to him. Thus ended a practice which as a source of various abuses as well as of stomach problems!

Mother Barat countered the snobbish pretensions of some of the children of the aristocracy with her smiling and indomitable humility, refusing to meet those young ladies until such time as they agreed to deal with sisters who were not "well-born".

She had a special preference for "difficult" children. The story of Julia shows that her patience and gentleness went far beyond what could be expected of even the most devoted educators. In truth, Mother Barat was accused by some of weakness in her dealings with Julia. Nonetheless during the process for her beatification the examination of 200 letters written by Saint Madeleine-Sophie to Julia only added to the elements which favoured the progress of her cause. This young adolescent girl had been found near Marseille, speaking an unknown language, and was adopted very generously by a Russian lady. The lady, however, was worn down by Julia's lies and rudeness. Mother Barat took on Julia, placing her first in one boarding-school, then in another. She sent her to the United States. Nothing worked. A generous Christian man married Julia and tried to tame her wild nature. At this point as well as being ungrateful for all she had received by way of education, Julia became an alcoholic. From heaven, Mother Barat continued to watch over her, and won for her the grace of a peaceful death.

[1] Monsignor Mathieu, Archbishop of Besançon, was the mediator between Rome, the bishops in France and the French government, during the crisis of 1839-1842, which almost destroyed the Society. Former confessor of the community in Paris, he had Mother Barat's full trust. For his part, he had such regard for her that he was prepared to put his own well-being at risk for her sake. This is a friend who wrote to her:" Allow me in sharing your cross, to share something of its weight." His complete dedication in face of the diplomatic manoeuvrings , his wise advice, his prayer, all these contributed in no small way to saving the Society in 1843.

Last update: 2005-02-27