What is interesting about Sophie Barat is that, at the time of the Revolution, instead of fighting, she builds something…she is saying that time is greater than space, and so she will take time to build what she wants, that is, education.
- MGR. Hervé Giraud, Archbishop of Sens-Auxerre
This video, created by the BFN Province and the Sophie Barat Centre in Joigny, beautifully recounts the story of Madeleine Sophie and the founding of our Society. Directed by Quentin Pouteau, the son of Nathalie Pouteau (the current director of the Sophie Barat Centre), it provides an overview of Sophie’s life and work, and the impact she had.
Featuring interviews with Monsignor Hervé Giraud, Archbishop of Sens-Auxerre, Rachel Guillen, rscj, and Nathalie Pouteau, the director of the Sophie Barat Centre, it talks about Sophie’s birth and early childhood, the rigorous education given to her by her brother, Louis Barat, her enormous and overflowing love for Jesus and her concern for children. With 97 flourishing institutions and 3,539 nuns living her spirituality by the time of her death, it shows how Sophie’s great accomplishments changed the lives of so many girls and women of her time. At a time of violence and political instability, Sophie chose to build instead of fight, to found a congregation that would prioritize education for women, espousing a pedagogy that was altogether ahead of its time in its focus on the individual child, their gifts and their needs.
Whether you have spent a lifetime studying the life and work of Madeleine Sophie, or whether you are only beginning to learn about her and the Society she founded, this video will enrich your knowledge and immerse you in the life of an original and innovative thinker, a devoted saint, and one of the greatest educators of her time: the woman born of fire.
To view subtitles in English, Spanish or French, click on the YouTube icon on the bottom right to go to the YouTube page, and then click on settings, also on the bottom right, and choose your language.