St madeleine sophie barat biography

BIOGRAPHY OF MADELEINE SOPHIE BARAT

This is the first major biography of Madeleine Sophie Barat (1779-1865) since the late nineteenth century. Born in France on the eve of the Revolution, Sophie Barat was caught up in the movement to restore and recreate society devastated by violence and war.

She founded the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1800 and this community of women developed an educational project which was rooted in France and soon spread throughout Europe and the Americas.

Fun facts about saint madeleine sophie barat

Sophie Barat led this rapidly expanding congregation of women for sixty-three years. Several times her leadership was queried and challenged both within and without the Society and only in 1851 was it finally accepted without question.

By the time of her death the Society of the Sacred Heart numbered 3,359 members.

Written within the perspective of women's history, this biography tracks Sophie Barat's development from her childhood in Joigny, a town in the Bourgogne, to her death in Paris in 18