Two women of vision and courage stand at the origin of our Congregation, women who lived in response to the Spirit, attentive to the needs of the time, open to the challenges of the future.
In 1806, Sophie Barat travelled to Poitiers with Henriette Girard. Here they opened the first Sacred Heart novitiate with Lydie Chobelet, Josephine Bigeau, and Thérèse Maillucheau.
After the foundation of the Society in Amiens, the community of Sophie Barat and her companions merged with the Visitation Sisters’ community of St. Marie d’En Haut in Grenoble.
BFN Province and the Sophie Barat Centre in Joigny have created a video that beautifully recounts the story of Madeleine Sophie and the founding of our Society.
On October 17, 1801 in Amiens, Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat and two companions founded the first Community and first School of the Society of the Sacred Heart, officially founded on November 21, 1800 in Paris, in rue de Touraine (Maison Duval).
"Sophie Barat showed inventiveness and mobility when dealing with epidemics, and her practical insight led her to take decisions quickly." Read more about Sophie's response to the epidemics of her time in this reflection by Phil Kilroy rscj.
On June 4, 1836, St. Madeleine Sophie moved into a new motherhouse in Paris and consecrated it to Our Lady of Sorrows. This is perhaps the first public indication of her deep devotion to Mary under this title. The devotion arose in the 17th century with the Servite Order, and commemorated the “seven sorrows” of Mary: the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the loss of Jesus in the Temple, her encounter with Jesus on the way to Calvary, the death of Jesus, Mary receiving his body from the cross, and the burial of Jesus.
In response to queries about the châsse of St. Madeleine Sophie, we have put up this photo-summary of events after her death.
The complete writings of Rose Philippine Duchesne, published in French in 2017, have now been published in English by the Society of the Sacred Heart.
The recent reports from the General Chapter have called our attention to the other passengers who crossed the Atlantic with Philippine in March to May, 1818. Here are some of the things we know about the other four RSCJ and some of the other passengers.
An intellectually gifted child, Janet was the youngest of the thirteen children in the Anglican Rectory at Cottesmore, in Rutland, England. Typically of her social class and time, she was educated at home and was fortunate in her governesses who included very capable, well trained German and Swiss teachers with whom she learned fluent German and French, and studied philosophy, maths and literature. With the help of one, she pursued a theological interest that began when she was 13, sparked by a conversation with a brother who was reading Aristotle and who declared to her that all creatures had a ‘last end’ or ultimate purpose and goal in their lives, and asked her what hers was. Janet did not know, but set herself to find out.
